Online Legal Resources

Solano County Law Library

600 Union Avenue
Fairfield, CA 94533
(707) 421-6520

The Law Library is a public library providing books and other material to assist people researching legal questions. The library's collection of over 25,000 volumes includes basic legal sources as well as specialized resources that support specific types of law, such as civil law, criminal law and family law. Staff can assist members of the legal community and lay persons in using these materials during open hours.

When the library is closed, self help is available from the Library’s website. Library card holders can access our collection of full-text electronic books from our library catalog during and after hours.

General Information

LawHelpCalifornia.org
Free online legal self-help resources and referrals to legal aid and court services, sliding scale legal programs, and lawyer referral services.

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/
Sponsored by the Judicial Council of California, this is the official website for public access to the California courts. This bilingual site features forms which can be printed or completed online.

www.findlaw.com
Popular website providing comprehensive legal resources on the internet, including statutory and case law, news articles, and much more.

www.nolo.com
California’s premier legal self-help publisher, Nolo Press. This site offers a wealth of articles and information about their publications.

http://law.freeadvice.com
Comprehensive, balanced, easy-to-understand legal content prepared by attorneys and designed to help users find answers to questions and solutions to legal problems.

Guardianship

http://www.aarp.org/families/grandparents/gic/
Provides information for grandparents, including grandparents raising grandchildren, grandparents with visitation problems, and step-grandparents.

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/guardianship
California Courts Self-Help Center provides self-help information about probate court guardianships, as well as forms and instructions.

http://www.gu.org
This policy-oriented website also offers much information about kinship care, state and federal law, and support groups.

http://grandsplace.org
Website offers legal references, online message boards, and links to related resources.

http://www.lsc-sf.org/web/index.html
Provides free legal and social work services and representation for children and youth under 18 years old in the bay area.

http://www.prisonerswithchildren.org/
Contains information for grandparents and other relative caregivers and their advocates; includes a statewide resource list as well as resources for northern, central and southern California.

http://www.seniorlegalhotline.org 
Senior Legal Hotline provides free legal advice and brief services by telephone to California residents 60 years of age and older who have questions regarding custody or visitation of grandchildren.

Legal Research

http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/scall/locating.htm
Access to “Locating the Law, “ a guide to doing legal research.

http://www.virtualchase.com/about.html
Sponsored by a law firm, this site offers articles, guides, teaching materials, an alert service, and Internet research strategies and resources. Open to anyone, free of charge, but geared towards experienced researchers and legal professionals.

Legal Services

http://www.lawhelpca.org/CA/index.cfm
Helping Californians find legal aid referrals & self-help resources

http://www.calegaladvocates.org/
Official website for the Legal Aid Association of California.

http://www.abanet.org/
American Bar Association: includes lawyer referral and information services.

www.calbar.org/
Official website of the California State Bar includes background information on all attorneys licensed in the state, formal attorney complaint procedure, and other information.

http://solanobar.org/
Official website of the Solano County Bar Association.

http://www.martindale.com/
Online access to Martindale-Hubbell’s Lawyer Locator service, with information on over a million attorneys and law firms.

www.lawguru.com/cgi/bbs/
Contains a great deal of information, and includes the option of submitting a question to an attorney for a response.

Government Agencies

http://www.publiclawlibrary.org/
By the Council of California County Law Librarians

www.ca.gov
Official web site for the state of California containing many useful links.

www.lib.lsu.edu/gov/fedgov.html
Louisiana State University Libraries federal agency directory.

Laws and Regulations

Municipal:
http://www.ci.benicia.ca.us/
City of Benicia agendas and minutes of council meetings, and the municipal code.

http://ci.dixon.ca.us/
City of Dixon minutes of council meetings, summaries of ordinances, resolutions, and contact information.

http://www.ci.fairfield.ca.us/
City of Fairfield minutes of council meetings, ordinances, resolutions, codes, and contact information.

http://www.rio-vista-ca.com/
City of Rio Vista minutes of council meetings, ordinances, resolutions, the municipal code, and contact information.

http://www.ci.suisun-city.ca.us/
City of Suisun agendas and minutes of council meetings, the city code, and contact information.

http://www.ci.vacaville.ca.us/
City of Vacaville Municipal Code, administrative and city services.

http:www.ci.vallejo.ca.us/GovSite/
City of Vallejo agendas for city council and city commission meetings.

http://municipalcodes.lexisnexis.com/codes/vallejo/
Vallejo municipal code and city charter.

County:
http://www.co.solano.ca.us/
Official website for Solano County. Contains board meeting agendas and minutes and other county government information.

State:
www.leginfo.ca.gov
Official website for California codes, bills, and legislative history.

http://traynor.uchastings.edu/library/index.html
Official website for UC Hastings Law Library including California ballot propositions from 1911 to the present.

Federal:
http://thomas.loc.gov
Legislative information from the Library of Congress; bills, resolutions, laws, committee reports, treaties, historical documents, and the Congressional Record.

www.gpo.gov
U.S. Government Printing Office with a link to the GPO Access website. Contains federal laws, bills, the Federal Register, legislative publications, etc. Also includes a Kids Section.

Updated August 2009