UHLC Nota Bene

Final exams are just around the corner, so our Relaxation Station will soon be in full effect! This time around, we're adding a few books written specifically for law students and lawyers. Titles include: Mindfulness for Law Students: Using the Power of Mindfulness to Achieve Balance and Success in Law School  by Scott L. Rogers Mindfulness for Law Students  introduces law students to contemplative practices and research that shows how incorporating mindfulness techniques can alter the physical structure and function of the brain to reflect decreased levels of stress, increased levels of productivity, and improved mental health. This book uses legal terms and concepts to teach lawyers what they need to know about mindfulness and neuroscience to lead more balanced and effective lives and was written with input from law students, law professors, and recent law school graduates to ensure that the lessons are accessible and can be easily integrated into your busy schedu...

BernanPress has recently published the Twenty-Fourth edition of Environmental Law Handbook . Edited by Thomas F.P. Sullivan, it contains seventeen chapters written by attorneys and scholars. The first chapter focuses on the basics of environmental law covering the environmental legal system, common law theories such as nuisance, trespass, negligence, and strict liability, as well as summary of different aspects of environmental law from statutes, environmental regulations, state and local laws. The second chapter covering enforcement and liability looks at federal enforcement trends, general concepts of enforcement and liability, civil enforcement and liability, citizen suits, and criminal enforcement, and mitigation and avoidance of liability. The other chapters focus on the major environmental acts, which make up the bulk of federal environmental law. The authors provide a thorough analysis of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clear Air Act (CAA), Clean Water Act (C...

The O'Quinn Law Library collection now includes the 2020 edition of Texas Trial Procedure and Evidence by Jim Wren and Jeremy Counseller.   Texas Trial Procedure and Evidence is an annually-updated resource   It contains a number of quick-reference guides meant as a reference during trials, as well as containing what is effectively a practitioner's checklist for pre-trial preparation.  This book is intended as a reference guide for practicing attorneys, but it functions equally well as an introduction for law student to both trial practice and the rules of evidence in Texas courts.  Legal researchers may alse be interested in this book as a quick reference to search for rules by subject. Texas Trial Procedure and Evidence is currently available on the New Books shelf at the far end of the law library reference desk.  This book's call number is KFT 1779.W74 2020 .

Family law is full of complex and difficult issues, many of which are complicated even further when one or more parties serve in the military. Fortunately, Mark E. Sullivan has written a comprehensive, two-volume guide for attorneys representing servicemembers and their families in domestic cases. Now in its third edition, The Military Divorce Handbook covers a wide range of issues, such as locating military personnel, obtaining evidence abroad, obtaining documents from the government, navigating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, custody and visitation, military tax issues, pension and property division, domestic abuse, and family support. In addition to discussions of substantive law, the book also includes numerous practice tips, sample legal documents, and references for further research. The Military Divorce Handbook is now available at the O’Quinn Law Library, on the New Books shelf next to the reference desk.      

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the “right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.…” In doing so, it guarantees what Louis Brandeis called “the right to be let alone—the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men.” Today, when so much of our time is spent online or on our cell phones, this right is as important as ever. New technologies raise new questions about the proper application of the Fourth Amendment, and our courts sometimes struggle to keep up with the dizzying pace of innovation.  If you’re looking for a user-friendly reference guide to keep you up to speed on Fourth Amendment law, The Fourth Amendment Handbook is for you. Now in its fourth edition, this ABA publication begins with an introductory essay outlining the history of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, followed by a survey of all Supreme Court Fourth Amendment cases through Jan...

Now in its fourth edition, Researching Texas Law has become an essential in the arsenal of the legal researcher in Texas. Authored by Baylor law professors Brandon D. Quarles and Matthew C. Cordon, Researching Texas Law covers both research strategy and topics and information specific to the Texas researcher. Researching Texas Law is not geared solely to law students, but practitioners as well. The legal research process and case law research receive their own complete, yet brief explanations. The case law chapter also includes a concise explanation of finding writ and petition history for civil and criminal cases, a practice unique to Texas and it’s multi-level appeals process.   From there the book goes straight to some of an attorney’s most important tools: court rules, jury instructions, briefs and records, and jury verdicts and settlements. The jury instructions section is especially useful, with lots of resources for jury charges specific to certain areas of law. O...

Still yearning for more on the criminal justice system after Confessions of an Innocent Man and When Justice Fails ? Looking for another perspective from that of the (fictionally) wrongfully accused or social science researchers? Not to fret… Rehabilitation and Incarceration: In Search of Fairer and More Productive Sentencing offers a unique, judicial perspective from the late Hon. Harold Baer Jr., who served on the New York Supreme Court and later “The Mother Court.” In Rehabilitation and Incarceration , U.S. District Judge Harold Baer Jr. explains the crisis of mass incarceration; how it came about; and the pressing need and means to reduce prison populations and recidivism, promote rehabilitation and re-entry into society, and protect public safety. Having presided over the experimental re-entry court of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Baer brings to Rehabilitation and Incarceration insight from his extraordinary experience in takin...