Santa Ana Lawyer Translates the Law Into Plain English --and Spanish

Actor Ricardo Montalban calls his friend Jess J. Araujo’s book “a great gift” to the Spanish-speaking community.

But the Santa Ana lawyer’s book, “The Law and Your Legal Rights: A Bilingual Guide to Everyday Legal Issues” (Fireside; $16), will be useful to anyone seeking basic information about the laws and legal procedures that impact our daily lives.

The book, Araujo said in an interview, is aimed “at the nonlawyer who wants to know how the legal system works in day-to-day, garden-variety legal problems.”

Written in easy-to-understand language--in both Spanish and English--the book covers areas such as employer and employee rights in the workplace, small claims court, motor vehicle laws, family law, drunk driving laws, wills, bankruptcy, contracts, evictions, car repossessions, criminal law, immigration and naturalization, and accidents and personal injury. It also provides an introductory overview of the legal system.

In his foreword, Montalban writes that “even those who seem hopelessly intimidated by the law will come to see the reason and order upon which the laws of the United States are based, and fortified with that knowledge, they will be able to go forth, armed with a tool against fear born of ignorance.”

Araujo, who has been in practice in Santa Ana for 23 years, specializes in accident and injury cases. He teaches classes on legal subjects at Cal State Fullerton and writes a legal advice column for the Spanish-language newspaper Rumores and the monthly magazine Para Todos.

“The Law and Your Legal Rights” is an expanded version of Araujo’s similarly titled book, “The Law and Your Legal Rights: A Concise Bilingual Summary,” published by R.H. Publishing of Santa Diego in 1989. The first book focused mainly on California law, however, while the new one is national in scope.

“When I wrote the first book I just wanted a book . . . to give to my clients,” Araujo said. “I realized that many times if I have a consultation with somebody, the questions and answers go back and forth quickly. It’s very important for clients to walk away and understand things that are discussed and remember essential parts of issues two days later. Sometimes that’s a little bit too much too ask of nonlawyers. By handing them a book, they could leisurely pick it up and refer to it again as a reference, and it would make my job easier.

“Most lawyers would agree if you have a client who understands and can really appreciate the issues and legal circumstances of their cases they can participate and contribute to the case much more positively.”

The new book, Araujo said, “is designed to be useful no matter what state you’re in, and it also addresses federal laws. Also, what’s significant is I have done an individual treatment of the laws of the seven states that have significant Hispanic populations.” Charts, for example, show what blood-alcohol content is considered to be driving under the influence in each of the states.

Araujo emphasizes that his book is not intended to be a substitute for an attorney, nor is it intended to offer a complete treatment of the legal aspects of each topic.

But, he said, “for $16, you can have a comprehensive summary of state and federal laws from a layman’s standpoint, which is very important. You want to be able to have a reference book on your shelf so if you want to know the typical things that happen in a legal setting, you can grab it.”

The book also discusses how to deal with lawyers.

“Especially in the Latino community, there is some apprehension in dealing with lawyers,” he said. “As a result, some people wait too long before they finally do contact a lawyer, often jeopardizing their legal interests,” he said. “When you have a claim for injury, for example, there is a time limit within which you have to file a claim. And in a case where there might be a government entity involved, the time can be very short. People don’t know that.”

Araujo recently returned from a book tour to Miami, San Antonio, and El Paso. Now he’s focusing on local signings. He’ll do one at 6:30 tonight at Martinez Books & Art Gallery, 200 N. Main St., Santa Ana.

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Coming Up:

* Poet Steve Goodyear will read at 8 tonight at the Alta Coffee House & Roasting Company, 506 31st St., Newport Beach.

* Barbara DeMarco Barrett will interview Naomi Epel, author of “The Observation Deck: A Tool Kit for Writers,” on “Writers on Writing” at 6:30 tonight on KUCI (88.9 FM) in Irvine.

* Sean Diviny, author of “Snow Inside the House,” will read and sign at 10:45 a.m. today at Barnes & Noble in Metro Pointe, 901 S. Coast Drive, Costa Mesa.

* Diane Sedo, author of “Taking Tea With Alice: Looking Glass Tea Parties and Fanciful Victorian Teas,” will sign at 7 p.m. Friday at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo. She’ll also speak and sign at 4 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach.

* Cartoonist Mark O’Hare will sign copies of his collection, “Citizen Dog,” at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Fashion Island, 953 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach.

* Cartoonist Kevin Fagan will sign copies of his new Drabble collection, “Mall Cops, Ducks and Fenderheads,” at 2 p.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in the Marketplace, 13712 Jamboree Road, Irvine. He’ll also sign with cartoonist Mark O’Hare (“Citizen Dog”) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Borders Books and Music, 429 Associated Road, Brea.

* Children’s author Barbara Klyde will read and sign copies of “If Giraffes Wore Necklaces” at 11 a.m. Saturday at Barnes & Noble in the Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach.

* Linda McCoy-Murray, widow of Los Angeles Times sports columnist Jim Murray, will speak and sign copies of a compilation of her late husband’s columns, “The Last of the Best,” at 4 p.m. Sunday at Barnes & Noble in the Huntington Beach Mall, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach.

* Sharon J. Wolhmuth and Carol Saline, creators of “Best Friends”--a collection of photographs and essays on friendships--will speak at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Manuscripts series at the Newport Beach Public Library, 1000 Avocado Ave., Newport Beach. General admission: $8. For reservations, call (949) 717-3890.

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Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before the event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Life & Style, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.