Jackson County Law Library, Inc.

08/05/2022

Thanks to my children's favorite author/illustrator, Sandra Boynton for making this reminder! On this illustrious day, we're like to remind everyone to make sure your briefs are in order before appearing in court!

07/21/2022

Your friendly neighborhood librarian just figured out he spelled 'Statute' as 'Statue' and then copy and pasted it on about a hundred files. If anyone needs me, I'll be under my desk, quitely weeping.

07/18/2022

Hello everyone! I apologize for the lack of updates, since the Fourth we’ve hit the ground running for updates for the library. There’s been a slew of filing updates to resources like Collier’s on Bankruptcy, Lawson’s on Employment Law, and many others! I’m also working on getting a computer upgrade to the Independence location with the goal of bringing them back online later this year. For those of you that have used the Independence computer in the past two years, I humble myself before you and ask your forgiveness. Those that haven’t, well. Just trust me that it’s deserved! As always I’m looking for suggestions for new materials for the library and if you have any ideas for Continuing Legal Education (I’m looking at you presenters!) please email me at [email protected]! Also, I have to give credit to the TeeTurtle artists for the picture, they have a bunch of cute shirts on their website.

06/17/2022

Just as a heads up, the Library will be closed Monday, the 20th of June for the celebration of Juneteenth National Independence Day! I’d wax on eloquently about the legislative history of the holiday, but Bailey DeSimone of the Law Library of Congress already did that here: https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2021/06/legislative-history-of-juneteenth/?loclr=ealn Wishing you all a safe and happy celebration!

In honor of the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, the Law Library of Congress would like to commemorate its legislative history.

06/06/2022

Hey everyone! Be sure to join us at the end of the week for the 2022 Solo and Small Firms Conference! We’re going to be at Booth 31 handing out some shiny pens and pamphlets and generally having a grand ol’ time! Check out the details here: https://mobar.org/solo/!

06/03/2022

Well, not here, but a court in California (The Third Appellate District, specifically) ruled that bees can be legally referred to as fish. (The article can be found here: https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/great-day-for-bumblebees-as-californian-court-rules-that-they-are-fish/) Now at first glance this is weird. Bees obviously aren’t fish – the court notes that in its ruling. What makes this interesting, in my opinion, is that this highlights two functions of the legal system.

One, the court ruled this way due to precedent. The Trinity bristle snail is not a fish either, but fell under a similar ruling. To summarize, these are land invertebrates, not marine invertebrates, but that is lacking from the Game and Fish code. As stated in the courts opinion, “the issue presented here is whether the bumble bee, a terrestrial invertebrate, falls within the definition of fish, as that term is used in the definitions of endangered species…” See the courts opinion here: https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/C093542.PDF.

This brings us to the second point of interest – the interpretation of legislature. This is an example of the court and legislature working together to get at the spirit of the law even if it’s not explicitly stated. With the courts ruling, this highlights an area of the code that needs clarification and gives the Fish and Game Commission authority to act in the interim.

05/27/2022

Good afternoon, everyone!

TL:DR Phones are back online, CLEs are going great, and coffee is fresh!

Phone lines are back up! Embarrassingly enough, they were just unplugged. Now that I know what boxes are our phone service, I will be prepared next time lightning strikes.

Yesterday, we had a great CLE with Judge Thomson with 14 attendees and we are excited to see what else comes up on the CLE front – remember, we’re always looking for presenters so let us know if you would like to get some credits by teaching!

We also have some fresh coffee flavors including Honey Lavender and Blueberry Crumble! Drop by, have a cuppa, and hang out for a bit!

05/13/2022

TL:DR – Phones are down! If you need me email [email protected] and I’ll be with you ASAP!

Good afternoon, everyone. Note the lack of exclamation mark showing my lowered enthusiasm. Ok, so it’s story time:

When I arrived last Monday, we had no internet. After running the troubleshooting wizard, it pointed me to the router. The UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) was making a loud noise and half of the sockets wouldn’t work on it. I am assuming it got hit with a bolt from the heavens. I swapped the UPS with a plain ol’ powerstrip to restore power and internet. I was tempted to call it good until later, but I know it’s only statistically improbable that lightning strikes twice, not impossible. (I was rewarded for my tenacity with a five minute long power outage on Thursday. I was the only one in the building pumping my fist in the air and saying “Yes!”)

To top that off the copier was dead too, it was repaired the same day (thanks GFI!) but I did not check our phones. As the week went on, I began to wonder why I hadn’t received any after hours messages. I checked the phone and lo, and behold! It was unplugged. I replugged it and called it good.

So today I realize something. No one has called me still. No robots, no salespeople, no wrong numbers, no surveys, and most importantly, no patrons. So I called the library. Guess what. “What?” I hear you say? That’s correct, there’s a short message telling me that the voicemail is not set up. I worked on the phone for a bit and valiantly figured out how to set the date and time. However, that wasn’t really the problem so I called our phone provider and the rep said we were all out of whack and he would send a technician with more whack on Tuesday of next week.

So give me an email at [email protected] and I will get with you as soon as possible!

05/06/2022

A someone that was born and raised in Independence, Missouri, Harry Truman is near and dear to my heart. The library will be closed Monday to celebrate his state holiday, but visit me on Tuesday and ask me about the time my dad flipped the president the bird. It's not as dramatic as one would think, but it will add some levity to your Tuesday!

04/26/2022

I was fortunately able to start my car this morning, so reference services is back in the building! In other news, stop by the library Thursday after work from 4:30pm to whenever everyone leaves to have a drink, a snack, and enjoy making professional connections!

04/25/2022

Good morning, everyone! It’s certainly Monday – you local librarian is home today with car issues. That being said, if you need some assistance, drop me a line at [email protected]!

04/21/2022

Well, I failed to do a 4/20 post, which I feel is in character for the day. Among the new books specifically requested was Cannabis Law: A Primer on Federal and State Law Regarding Ma*****na, H**p, and CBD. With the changing laws, this is a great book if your sphere of expertise intersects with h**p products in any way.