[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 135 (Friday, September 19, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IN RECOGNITION OF THE SAN MATEO COUNTY LAW LIBRARY

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                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 19, 2014

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the San Mateo County Law 
Library, a unique California resource that provides public access to 
justice. The law library in Redwood City, founded in 1916, houses a 
wealth of information not available at other public libraries and is 
used by some 9,000 individuals a year. In addition to attorneys, legal 
professionals and students, ordinary citizens use the library to get 
assistance with landlord/tenant complaints, marital and child custody 
disputes probate questions, entrepreneurial pursuits, safety issues and 
a broad range of other legal issues. In fact, last year the general 
public constituted 26 percent of all library users.
  Individuals without legal training are not left to their own devices 
to find and interpret legal literature. Librarians help everyone find 
answers to their legal questions, regardless of their educational 
background or financial circumstances. The appreciation for this 
service is best expressed by the public users themselves. One patron 
said, ``The best legal librarians in the Bay Area. Superior kindness, 
knowledge and patience.'' Another said, ``The staff here have made my 
life better, and for that I feel compelled to dole out some kudos to 
them.''
  The idea for law libraries was born in the Bay Area. In 1870, the San 
Francisco Law Library Act required the City and County of San Francisco 
to provide facilities and services at no charge and mandated access to 
county citizens. In 1891, the California Legislature adopted this 
practice at the state level requiring each county to have a law 
library. The libraries were not connected as a system, instead each 
county library rendered services according to the needs of its 
communities and was funded by the filing fees generated by the court 
system.
  Because the state law does not provide any financial support to 
maintain the law collections or services, the San Mateo County Library 
is now at risk. Filing fees have dropped dramatically.
  Before the San Mateo County Law Library opened at its current 
location at 710 Hamilton Street in Redwood City, it used to consist of 
two branches to serve the entire peninsula, one in San Mateo's Superior 
Court and the other in South San Francisco's courthouse. Due to funding 
cuts, support for the law collection at San Mateo's Superior Court had 
to be discontinued many years ago and then the courthouse was closed. 
Similarly, support for the law collection at the South San Francisco 
courthouse was discontinued in 2011 due to cutbacks and then the 
courthouse was closed. This created a Catch 22: as the courts closed 
and filing fees increased, fewer law suits were filed, more members of 
the general public used the law libraries to solve their legal issues, 
and the funding for the library dropped. The popularity of the San 
Mateo Law Library has ironically contributed to its threat of 
extinction.
  California's County Law Library Statute was a direct result of the 
progressive movement in the late 20th century when disparity in wealth 
resulted in armed clashes between the working and moneyed classes. 
Lawyers were considered tools of the rich and the law libraries were 
tools for the common man to be his own lawyer. Justice Conrad Rushing 
wrote: ``The establishment of law libraries was not by any means the 
most important feature of what grew out of the progressive movement, 
but it nevertheless spoke strongly to the idea of equality under the 
law.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to honor the 
important role the San Mateo County Law Library continues to play today 
by providing access to legal support services and justice. May it be 
saved for all San Mateo County residents as a symbol and manifestation 
of ``equality under the law.''

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