Bank robbers operate
on the premise of going where they know there's money. The same applies when
one is seeking a better understanding of the "Law." You must go to
where the law is written.
However most people
in need of a better understanding of the law, and or representation within a
court of law, know that there is an easy way out. Hiring a lawyer, after all
that's his job. He or she makes his or
her living by knowing what's in all those law books.
Well let me do them
a favor. Yes, Pro Se HQ is here to make your attorney's job a little easier
also. How? By helping the laymen understand what I have learned about the law
and where to find it. You see when the
client understands the laws that are relevant to his or her case they will be
in a better position to explain their case to hire the right lawyer in the
first place. They will also be in a better position to know if their chosen
counsel is still wet behind the ears, whereby they can avoid hiring them at the
outset, plus follow the progression of their claim or defense knowing that
their lawyer is presenting a basis in law and fact which supports a decision in
their favor.
It all starts with
the books people. Think about it, when you go to the law library, what do you
see. When you walk into a lawyers office
what do you see? Books and books, rows of books all over the place. The trick
is that the lawyer has spent years learning how to navigate through all the
numerous volumes of books you see. To know what's going on we to must learn at
least the basics of the same books our lawyers turn to. Not to mention those of
us with the courage to stand Pro Se, not only must we put some time in learning
what books we need but we must further learn the differences between all these
books, but how to navigate through them as well.
When I first decided
to stand Pro Se I was fortunate to find a book I think of as the pro se
litigants bible. That book is titled "RepresentYourself in Court, How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case, Paul
Bergman, J.D. and Sara J. Berman, J.D.."
For around $25 one can get this book, or purchase the eBook for around
$35 at the publishes website @www.nolo.com.
This book is your best bet for understanding the workings of the courts
on the cheap. It's written so that we laymen can grasp basic legal concepts,
and it's where I first learned that our courts are concerned with the basis in
facts and the law.
Most public and
college libraries will shelve a few copies of "Represent Yourself in
Court." Trust me though, once you
pick this book up you'll want your own copy to keep around the house. Like I
said it introduces the reader to the most common topics in law, civil,
criminal, family, divorce and so on.
While your at the
library checking out "Represent Yourself in Court," those of us
handling high finance litigation on no budget will also want to become familiar
with the Encyclopedia of Law called "Corpus Juris Secundum." When you walk into your lawyer's office and
catch a glimpse of his or her shelves filled with these books you will know
that he or she had a good line of credit, their own start-up capital, or
followed in their parents footsteps, and inherited or were the recipient of
these blessed hand-me-downs.
They're not cheap
folks, at over $10,700 per set, you begin to understand why lawyers only give
one hour free consultations. You may
further notice that during that one hour the prospective attorney usually wont
get up from behind the desk to consult these encyclopedia in front of you.
Within Corpus Juris Secundum you will find general rules of
law along with some of the limitations and exceptions to rules of law. The
volumes contain citations and supporting cases from both state and federal
courts giving you a view of the law in local jurisdictions as well as a snap-shot
of the law across the United States of America.
Litigants still must proceed with some caution when referencing this
encyclopedia of U.S. law, due to the growth of statutory and regulatory
governance across America. As cautioned within Wikipedia's definition of the
same, "rather than being used as sources of authoritative statements of
law, legal encyclopedias will be more often used as tools for finding relevant
case law."
If
"Representing Yourself in Court" becomes your legal bible, as it was
for me, then I'd be doing you a miss-service if I failed to tell you that in
order to understand any of the concepts you'll find in the afore mentioned
books you must and almost can't expect to decipher them without an accompanying
law dictionary. The "Holy
Grail" of law dictionaries for me is "Blacks Law
Dictionary" Available at most
public libraries, and a must for any book house claiming to be a law library.
If this book is not available, you're not in a law library, and if you don't
see one in a prospective attorney's office RUN!
So, you know. You can pick-up "Nolo's Plain-English Law Dictionary" for around $25 or you can
go to your attorney's trusted source, www.westlaw.com
and dole out the $80 for the holy grail. (Black's LawDictionary). Now you're ready to
do some legal research right? NOT! Ain't
that simple speedy. There's more to
legal research than the above, so I'll recommend you save up some more doe to
cop a copy of "Legal Research, How to Find &Understand the Law, Stephen Elias, Attorney."
What? Attorney…How
to Find & Understand the Law? Yes,
you'll be taken aback when attorney Elias shares information in this guide
giving you basic tools of legal research.
He gives clear examples and instruction so that you'll be reading and
understanding statutes, regulations, and cases in no time. You might just start blogging about this one
book alone, if you do, please mention where you heard it first.
Thank You, Pro Se
HQ,
P.S. Please tell a
friend or two, "He's back." Stay tuned and watch for posts on my
other blog at www.thecasinogamingoracle@blogspot.com
as well. God Bless!