Thursday, August 10, 2006

How to Find Out What the Law Is

If you want to be a responsible and active citizen, and you can't afford to hire a lawyer, you need to be able to look up the law yourself. Fortunately, that's a lot easier now than it used to be because of the Internet.

Mississippi Law
  • It's valuable to have the website of the State of Mississippi saved in your Favorites to check out all sorts of state agencies.
  • The entire Mississippi state code is online and searchable.
  • If you want an old fashioned paper copy, it's in the Armstrong Library. You may read it and make copies, but it is Reference material and cannot be checked out.

City Law

  • Just recently, the Armstrong Library has received a paper copy of the Natchez City Code. Again, it is Reference Material and cannot be checked out.
  • The City Code is not yet available online. However, it can be for only $400 a year. The Mayor has been asked to put that amount in the City Budget for next fiscal year (October 1). So hopefully that will be available soon.

County Law

  • You're not going to believe this, but there is no copy of the County Code. If you want to know what the law is, you have to go searching through all the old minutes. Looks like somebody doesn't want you to know what's going on!
  • The good news is that Chancery Clerk Tommy O'Beirne is going through the minutes to put everything in one place. There's no telling how long that will take.

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