Tuesday, March 16, 2021: 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

For updated information on e-filing and filing court documents in-person during COVID-19, please click here. If your case is being heard in California state superior court, please be sure to visit your court’s website for the most recent updates. L.A. Superior Court’s website is here.

--- CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME ---

Many people need to find important court records, but doing so can be complicated. Although most documents filed with a court are public record and accessible to anyone, each court makes records available in different ways, and surprisingly few are freely available online. In this class, learn how to locate and access common types of court documents from state and federal courts.

Class covers:

• Finding civil and criminal court documents in other state superior courts
• Accessing older state court documents through county archives
• Using Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) to find federal court documents
• Finding state and federal appellate court briefs

Registration fee: FREE

Presented by: Austin Stoub, Senior Librarian for Reference & Research

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library provides access to legal resources and assistance with legal research.  LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Class recorded March 14, 2024

This class will explore your right to government information in California, and the processes and procedures for obtaining public records from state and local agencies. Topics include what constitutes a public record, deadlines and timeframes, exemptions for confidential and other materials and how to formulate an effective request.

Class covers:

• Importance of the Public Records Act, and why we need it
• What constitutes a public record
• Deadlines and timeframes
• Exemptions for confidential and other materials
• How to formulate an effective request

Presented by: Kelly Aviles, Law Office of Kelly A. Aviles (Kelly Aviles - Owner - Law Offices of Kelly A. Aviles | LinkedIn) , Law Office of Abenicio Cisneros

Course Materials: If you would like to receive a copy of the course materials for any of the classes, including any PowerPoint used, please register at the Register Now! button for the class, provided below.

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library provides access to legal resources and assistance with legal research.  LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Tuesday, April 27, 2021: 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME.

Join author Jessica Goudeau and the LA Law Library book discussion group as we begin our exploration of immigration issues with a discussion of After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America.  Journalist Goudeau presents a richly detailed account of the resettlement experiences of two women granted refugee status in the U.S. while interweaving their stories with the twists and turns of American immigration policy from 1880 to the present.  The New York Times Book Review described the book as “simply brilliant, both in its granular storytelling and its enormous compassion”.  Named a New York Times Editors’ Choice book and a finalist for the J.Anthony Lukas Book Prize.

About Jessica Goudeau:

• Spent more than a decade working with refugees in Austin, Texas and co-founder of Hill Tribers, a non-profit that provided supplemental income for Burmese refugee artisans.
• PhD in literature from University of Texas and served as a Mellon Writing Fellow and Interim Writing Center Director at Southwestern University.
• Articles published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and other publications.

Presented by: Katie O’Laughlin, Managing Librarian, Reference & Research

Registration fee: FREE

Class recorded April 30, 2021.

L.A. County Inspector General Max Huntsman will speak about public corruption cases prosecuted in the County. The discussion will cover the importance of the public taking an active role in government, the criminal laws that cover public and elected officials, the creative ways they get broken and how public officials can be held accountable under the Rule of Law.

• Real-life examples of public corruption cases 
• Why enforcing anti-corruption laws against public and elected officials is so important to democracy and the Rule of Law
• How the public can take an active role in government
• The criminals laws that cover public and elected officials specifically

Presented by: Max Huntsman, Inspector General, L.A. County Inspector General’s Office

Registration fee: FREE

Course Materials: If you would like to receive a copy of the course materials for any of the classes, including any PowerPoint used, please register at the Register Now! button for the class, provided below. A staff member will email you the course materials (usually within one business day).

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.