The following list of useful websites for criminal law practitioners in Texas is by no means complete or authoritative. It is really just the result of my law professor sister in Massachusetts trying to teach me to be a better researcher. There is also a wealth of information out on the internet on various practitioners’ websites and blogs. These resources, and many others, are easy to find with a well-crafted Google search. We hope you find something in this list that is helpful to you.
General Texas State Law Research
1. CASEMAKER on State Bar of Texas website (good for pulling cases and shepardizing);
2. Google Scholar ( http://scholar.google.com/ ) Great for starting your research and narrowing your topic. To get their Advanced Search, there are three paths: a) google “Google Scholar” and choose Advanced Search from the results; b) at the Google Scholar site, select the “old venerable look” from the bottom left corner, and then “Advanced Search” is an option to the right of the search button; or c) at the modern Google Scholar site, select the arrow in the search box next to the magnifying glass icon, and you will have the Advanced Search option. );
3. UT Austin Law Library Research Guides ( http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/research/research-guides.html ) Includes very in-depth guides on Texas legal research with hyperlinks—way beyond my list);
4. Texas State Law Library Research Page ( http://www.sll.state.tx.us/research/texaslaw.html ) With all the law links above & more, including municipal codes;
5. Travis County Law Library ( http://www.traviscountylawlibrary.org/research_links2.html ) Handy links to online resources for briefs, Texas and federal statutes and constitutions, lots more administrative law links, court rules, and other law and legislative libraries
6. Texas Law Help—“Helping low-income individuals solve civil legal issues” ( http://texaslawhelp.org/ ) Good to refer people to if they just want advice so they can handle their case themselves. Also a good place to get an overview of an area of law you may not be particularly familiar with
7. Any published article you want from Hein or PubMed or any of the fee services can be obtained for free through your local library
8. Jury Charge Bank—Harris County ( http://www.justex.net/courts/criminal/JuryChargeBank/Default.aspx )
9. Statutes, Codes, Legslative Research:
Texas Legislature, Constitution & Statutes ( http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/ ) Search by citation or word
Texas Legislature, Bill Search ( http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Search/BillSearch.aspx ) Search for bills by sponsor, topic, committee and/or action
Texas Legislation, Index to Sections Affected ( http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/isaf/ ) Search by code or bill
State Office of Administrative Hearings ( http://www.soah.state.tx.us/ )
For research on Texas Legislative intent:
Archived broadcasts of Senate session and public hearings held at the Texas State Capitol may be viewed from the Senate RealMedia Video Archives page ( http://www.senate.state.tx.us/avarchive/ )
( http://www.house.state.tx.us/video-audio/ ) Some hearings are available as videos through this site, but if it was not videotaped, there will still be an audio recording of the hearing, as House committee clerks are responsible for recording audio of every public hearing. You may listen to these recordings in CD or cassette format in the House Communications, Video/Audio Services office, located in the John H. Reagan Building at 105 West 15th St., Room 330, Austin (just north of the state Capitol). Copies of the audio recordings may be purchased for a fee. For more information, call (512)463-0920. You may send your signed Open Records Request letter via fax to (512)463-5729 or mail to the Texas House of Representatives, c/o Video/Audio Services, P.O. Box 2910, Austin 78768-2910.
Federal Law Research
1. OYEZ ( http://www.oyez.org/ ) Search all published Federal cases by keyword(s). For example, the search string “Texas search and seizure vehicle” produced results limited by these terms. Very powerful search engine;
2. Justia ( http://law.justia.com/ ) Federal & state statutes, federal regulations, federal court decisions, U.S. Constitution. Browse and a simple search. Test the search function before assuming you have found everything—it’s simpler and you need to know how all the search engines work on the free websites!)
3. Public Library of Law ( http://www.plol.org/Pages/Search.aspx ) Federal court cases; state court decisions from all 50 states (only back to 1997); federal and state statutes, federal regulations and court rules, state court rules as posted to the web, legal forms that can be ordered via email
Related Federal Sites
1. USA.gov ( http://www.usa.gov/ ) Portal for federal government agencies, state, local and tribal government websites
2. GPO FedSys—Government Printing Office ( http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ ) GPO identifies itself in this manner: “The core mission of Keeping America Informed, dated to 1813 when Congress determined to make information regarding the work of the three branches of Government available to all Americans. The U.S Government Printing Office (GPO) provides publishing and dissemination services for the official and authentic government publications to Congress, Federal agencies, Federal depository libraries, and the American public.”
3. OpenCongress ( http://www.opencongress.org/ ) Non-partisan, nonprofit bill tracker that also tracks the money & influence in Congress
4. PACER and RECAP ( http://www.recapthelaw.org/ ) Firefox required, PACER is the official way to access the docket and filings for federal courts. It costs per page, and it is not hugely expensive, but can add up for a large document. Look first to see if some kind person has posted the document you want to the RECAP archives. Be a good web citizen, and anytime you use PACER yourself to download a document, donate a copy to the RECAP archives!
Specific Areas of Interest
Collateral Consequences:
http://www.abacollateralconsequences.org/CollateralConsequences/RetrieveValues?id=Texas
Basic Guide to Effects of Criminal Convictions on Immigration Status:
http://immigrantdefenseproject.org/criminal-defense/padilla-pcr
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1182
ALRs and DL Suspensions/Surcharges:
SOAH web site: http://www.soah.state.tx.us/
DPS Driver Eligibilty: https://txapps.texas.gov/txapp/txdps/dlreinstatement/login.do
Pay Surcharges and Sign Up for the Indigency or New Incentives Program:
http://www.txsurchargeonline.com/default.aspx
Failure to Appear to Take Care of Traffic Ticket:
http://www.texasfailuretoappear.com/
http://www.NHTSA.gov (SFST and DRE Training and Resources for Law Enforcement):
1. An example of publications from NHTSA: Challenges and Defenses II: Claims and Responses to . . . [PDF])
2. SFST Student Manual 2009 ( http://www.888oviohio.com/pdf/DWI_STUDENT_2009.pdf )
3. For SFST Papers and Manuals ( http://www.nhtsa.gov/search?q=sfst&x=-1054&y=-12 )
4. HGN ( http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/enforce/nystagmus/hgntxt.html )
Drug Identification/Information:
( http://www.drugs.com/imprints.php )
Criminal Lab Certification/Accreditation:
( http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/CrimeLaboratory/LabAccreditation.htm )
BAT Operator’s Manual:
( http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/CrimeLaboratory/documents/BATOperatorManual.pdf )
Standard Operating Guidelines: Evidential Breath Alcohol Instrument Calibration:
( http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/CrimeLaboratory/documents/OSD-CAL-01.pdf )
Best Practices Collection, Packaging, Storage, Preservation, and Retrieval of Biological Evidence:
( http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/CrimeLaboratory/documents/labBP01BestPractice.pdf )
Other Research Resources Not Specifically Dealing With Criminal Law
1. Council of State Governments ( http://www.csg.org/ ) A regional multi-state organization serving all three branches of state government, helping them shape policy and solve problems—an excellent resource for reports and data
2. National Conference of State Legislatures ( http://www.ncsl.org/ ) A bipartisan organization that serves all 50 states’ legislators by providing technical assistance and research on a variety of issues—an excellent resource for legal researchers as well
3. Texas Secretary of State ( http://www.sos.state.tx.us/ ) You have to dig, but there are full text statutes and rules here on a variety of topics, from the UCC to Elections to border relations—worth a look
4. Texas Attorney General ( http://www.oag.state.tx.us/index.shtml ) Law enforcement, forms, studies with quotable data, Offenses by Punishment Range, AG Opinions and Grants Applications!
5. Offices of the United States Attorneys bulletins ( http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/ )
6. Join TDCAA so you can access their monthly articles and postings. They also offer some very useful publications that prosecutors routinely rely on.
List of a Few Sites Associated With Various Law Schools
1. Duke Law Library ( http://www.law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/intresearch ) Free legal research
2. Georgetown ( http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/freelowcost.cfm ) Free or low-cost legal research
3. Cornell University Legal Information Institute ( http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1182 ) Free legal research
4. Kent College of Law ( http://www.oyez.org ) Free legal research on constitutional issues
Improving Your Research Skills
1. A wonderful, free tutorial from Sarah Glassmeyer at CALI: The Law Student Guide to Free Legal Research on the Internet ( http://freelaw.classcaster.net/about/ )
2. Google Law search: ( http://scholar.google.com/intl/en/scholar/help.html )
