Legal Reference Service for Public Librarians in the Internet Era A presentation for the Ohio Library Council regional meetings, Spring 2002 To insert your company logo on this slide From the Insert Menu Select “Picture” Locate your logo file Click OK To resize the logo Click anywhere inside the logo. The boxes that appear outside the logo are known as “resize handles.” Use these to resize the object. If you hold down the shift key before using the resize handles, you will maintain the proportions of the object you wish to resize. Jan Ryan Novak Director, Cleveland Law Library Association

Caution: Finding “the law” can be more complicated than it seems Interpreting, applying are tasks for lawyers Librarians help users find, evaluate legal information

Legal Information vs. Legal Advice Common law marriage in Ohio Boyfriend moved in 15 yrs ago, etc., Passed away owning assets What is my share of his estate? Legal information Fact analysis - lawyer’s job! Legal advice - lawyer’s job!

Basic Vocabulary Authority - Primary: cases, statutes, regulations, decisions of administrative bodies - The “raw law” - Secondary: encyclopedias, treatises, articles, annotations, handbooks, loose-leaf services, etc

Citations 86 Ohio St. 3d 451 ORC sec U Dayton L. Rev. 513 (Spring 1999) 2000 S 180, eff wl

Updating Citation verification - Shepards and Keycite Pocket parts, supplements Note the currency of the resource used Caution the user about subsequent events

Jurisdiction What law governs Are there additional jurisdictions to consider Define the jurisdictional coverage of sources used When in doubt, find general coverage

Vocabulary ry/wordindex.Cfm

The Key: Find someone who has done the work for you! Precedent Authority Verification

Portals Findlaw LexisONE Legal Information Institute

Go Straight to the Horse’s Mouth: Primary Source Materials Unannotated codes, regulations, rules Recent cases, administrative rulings Forms Explanatory materials Contacts

Ohio Case Law: Specific cases by citation Specific cases when only some information is available Cases on a subject The “best case”

Local Ohio Resources: Local Ohio Resources: Local court web pages - dockets, opinions, faqs, forms, rules, guidelines Municipal government resources - ordinances

Secondary Resources Remember the key: FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE THE WORK FOR YOU! Who is responsible for the site What are the motives for posting the information

Ohio Secondary Resources Legislative Service Commission briefs Ohio State Bar Association public resources Local bar association, law firm public service resources

General Secondary Resources Nolo LII Findlaw ABA

Who Can You Ask for Help? “Free” advice sources - is there a catch? Your local law library Virtual reference desks

Legal Reference Avoids: Recitations of facts, the user’s “story” looking at user’s personal papers, file unequivocal answers, conclusions of law sympathy, empathy Making further contacts on user’s behalf relying on your own knowledge, experience, opinion

Legal Reference Dos: Encourage the user to objectify or depersonalize the question provide multiple authoritative resources disclaim, disclose, caution Emphatically refuse to give advice offer suggestions for expanding information provided suspend judgment

Question:

Answer: We cannot give you legal advice. We can show you Ohio’s custody statutes in Revised Code chapter 3109 and you might be interested in looking at case law which construes these statutes, which you can find in an annotated Ohio Revised Code. See especially RC ’s provisions on modification of custody. There are some case annotations in the annotated code showing how courts have addressed the age of the child in the case of modifications. We cannot decide if these statutes cover the issues in your fact situation. Only an attorney can do that.

Question: Caller: Can I file a law suit against my father for abuse that occurred during my childhood, even though I am now 32? Librarian: Are you asking about Ohio’s laws? Caller: This happened in Texas. He lives in Ohio.

Answer: We cannot advise you on whether you can successfully file such a lawsuit or where the best place to file it would be. You should consult an attorney for that. We can, however, try to find you some information on the issue of the statute of limitations in cases of child abuse, generally.

Question: Can I serve alcohol to my son’s underage friends?

Additional Resources Web based legal research tutorials Kozlowski, Internet Guide for the legal researcher Ohio Legal Resources