Legal Resources

Databases

Database access from outside the library requires a valid library card and PIN.

Web Links

The websites listed here are for people with no legal training and should be read for informational purposes only.  If you need a legal form, be adivsed that forms are often specific to the jurisdiction in which they are to be filed, please check with the appropriate court.  If you are looking for laws, statutes, ordinances, codes, and regulations the online sources are updated more quickly than the books.  Legal research is complex and understanding laws, case decisions or court rulings may require intrepretation by a professional. 

Legal Forms

• Frequently Requested Legal Forms (Sacramento County Public Law Library) - Forms available in MS Word and fillable PDF formats.

General

• Bakersfield Municipal Code
  
• California Statutes
  
• Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute - A comprehensive site with state and international laws, U.S. court decisions, an online legal dictionary and an Ask A Lawyer service.
  
• Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance - Advising Kern County's low income and elderly on their legal rights since 1968, GBLA is located at 615 California Avenue, Bakersfield, 661-325-5943. Interpretation services are available in many languages.
• Internet and Online Sources of U.S. Legislative and Regulatory Information (Adobe PDF) - The ten page publication briefly describes and then sets out in a comparison table more than 60 Internet and online sources for U.S. federal and state legislative and regulatory information. It begins by describing subscription sources and then follows with non-subscription sources (all with links). The eight page comparison table that follows attempts to show all the subscription and non-subscription providers in eight different columns with six of them devoted to six major providers (CQ ROLL CALL, LEXIS, WESTLAW, OTHER SUBSCRIPTION, THOMAS, GPO's FDsys, SENATE/HOUSE, and OTHER NON-SUBSCRIPTION).
  
• Kern County Law Library - The Law Library is located on the third floor of the Kern County Superior Courthouse, 1415 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield.  Free informational workshops are presented on a regular basis, check their website for the schedule.  The Self-Help Center is open to the public Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
  
• Kern County Ordinances
  
• Kern County Superior Court - General information, services, and downloadable EZ Legal Forms.
  
• Law Help - Established to help low and moderate income people find free legal aid programs in their communities.
  
• Locating the Law: A Handbook for Non-Law Librarians, 5th edition. - Revised by the Southern California Association of Law Libraries' Public Access to Legal Information Committee especially for the non-law librarian. The entire 250 page publication is freely available for download.
  
• Open Congress - Bringing together official government data to bring you the real story behind what's hapening in Congress. A free nonprofit, non-partisan web resource with a mission to make Congress more transparent and encourage civic engagement.
  
• U.S. City and County Codes
  
• WomensLaw.org - Provides easy to understand legal information and resources on domestic violence and sexual assault in English and Spanish.