During the month of July, print materials on all aspects of immigration law will be on display throughout the Law Library. Treatises such as Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook and a number of CLE coursebooks from TexasBarCLE will be featured. You’ll also find immigration law resources in the Law Library’s digital collection, including official immigration forms through Westlaw and the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal on HeinOnline.
Gender Marker and Name Change Resources for Transgender Individuals in Texas
For the transgender community, updating one's identification and other legal documents is an important and necessary step to achieving a complete transition. Finding the right resources to help transgender individuals navigate the Texas court system can be a challenge. Fortunately, the Houston Volunteer Lawyers are ready to assist. HVL offers regular legal clinics to guide individuals through the legal transition process, providing assistance in drafting the forms required for a gender marker and/or name change. Simply visit the HVL website for details about the application and pre-screening process. Submit your completed Gender Marker Questionnaire to an HVL staff attorney who will review all applicants for suitability prior to making an appointment for the next gender marker clinic.
Travis County Law Library in Austin also provides resources for those in need of assistance in drafting documents for a gender marker and/or name change. Visit the Travis County Law Library website for detailed information and forms. These forms are drafted specifically for use in the Travis County courts.
The University of Texas Law School also offers help via its student-run initiative, the Trans Name and Gender Marker Project, whose stated mission is "to provide low-income trans applicants with free, high-quality services in preparing petitions for legal name and gender marker changes." Like the Houston Volunteer Lawyers, the Trans Name and Gender Marker Project at the University of Texas Law School requires all interested applicants to complete a short intake form, but once accepted, transgender individuals will get the help they need to both draft a petition for the requested changes as well as guidance in how to proceed with changing identification and other legal documents once a court order is granted.
For additional information about the legal rights and challenges of transgender individuals, consult the book, Transgender Persons and the Law, which is available in our print collection at the Harris County Law Library. And don't forget to ask for assistance from our reference staff who are always available to help answer questions and direct library patrons to further resources
On a final note, sometimes the best information and support come from within one's own community. The Texas Name and Gender Marker Change Facebook group is a good place to look for answers to commonly asked questions from others who have completed the legal transition process.
Latest & Greatest – Prisoners’ Rights: A Legal Research Guide
By Carol A. Fichtelman
Published by William S. Hein & Co., Inc. (2017)
KF 9371 .F53 2017
The 68th volume in a collection of research guides, Prisoners’ Rights: A Legal Research Guide provides researchers with a resource covering the rights of those who are incarcerated in either a federal or state facility. Author Carol A. Fichtelman focuses her attention on both primary and secondary resources and includes some handy websites that might act as good starting points for research. Of course, the first and foremost primary source when it comes to prisoners’ rights is the United States Constitution, and the author readily directs the user to the pertinent sections. In addition to the Constitution, the author points out applicable federal statutes and regulations. She also devotes a section to listing various federal agencies that deal with the rights of prisoners. Also included in the section detailing primary sources are state statutes concerning the laws on diet, religious beliefs, health care, punishment, and grooming.
The second part of the guide focuses on secondary resources. These include legal encyclopedias, specific volumes of American Law Reports, legal periodical articles, books, and a listing of national and state prisoners’ rights organizations.
Although not meant to be a comprehensive guide, Prisoners’ Rights: A Legal Research Guide provides some of the tools necessary to locate information about the ever-changing area of prisoners’ rights.
Five Years of Progress at the Harris County Law Library
We here at the Harris County Law Library are proud to present our latest five year report, "Five Years of Progress: 2013-2017." On January 1, 2013, we opened our doors to our new space on the first floor of Congress Plaza here in downtown Houston, and the transformation has been tremendous. Since that day, our foot traffic has doubled, and our digital resource usage has increased more than 400%, while our cost per patron has plummeted. As our robust public education programs continue to grow, we could not be more excited for the next five years - and beyond!
Check out the report to learn all about our services, programs, and accomplishments.
Latest & Greatest – Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law
Edited by Maria Manoli and Sandy Belle Habchi
Published by McGill University Centre for Research in Air and Space Law
KZD 1145 .M366 2017
The newest edition to the space law collection at Harris County Law Library is Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law, a selection of papers that had been presented at the 4th Manfred Lachs Conference on Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law held in Montreal, Canada. An interdisciplinary look at issues facing the exploration and commercial exploitation of outer space, Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law examines technological developments that provide greater accessibility to the far reaches of the universe and the new threats that emerge with the advent of these advances. In this regard, the papers cover such topics as anti-satellite technologies, security concerns in and regulatory control of the Proto-zone, and conflicts relating to radio frequency interference. The participants also considered areas of potential conflict, such as those involving space weapons, active debris removal, and the selling of lunar resources. From a legal standpoint, some of the issues tackled included the intersecting challenges of space security and cybersecurity, the legal challenges arising from the action of non-state actors in outer space, and the rules of engagement for military space operations. Lastly, Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law looks to the future by analyzing the prospects for space arms control and global space governance.
If the future of outer space is of interest to you, have a look at Conflicts in Space and the Rule of Law. Another book in the Monograph Series that might pique your curiosity is NewSpace Commercialisation and the Law, which was featured in a previous Latest & Greatest blog post.
By the way, in case you were wondering, the conference is named for Manfred Lachs, a Polish diplomat and jurist who was a great influence on the development of international law following World War II.
