Legal History

Gonzales Unfazed, Still “Sprinting” on Job

Embattled U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales appeared unfazed at a lunchtime lecture in Miami, despite a pending Senate no-confidence vote scheduled for later in the day. The vote would have no binding effect, even if it passes, but is considered an unusual historical black mark. However, many lawmakers’ expressed doubts about…

Jun 11, 2007 9:32 PM CDT

June 21, 1788

U.S. Constitution Is Ratified

Jun 5, 2007 8:48 AM CDT

Today in Legal History: Jamestown Settlement, Constitutional Convention, Israel Reborn

On this day in 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America was established as men landed by the Virginia Charter Company on Jamestown Island, in what is now Virginia, began building a fort. More details are provided by the Library of Congress. On this day in 1787, a…

May 14, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Today in Legal History: Ellsberg Acquitted in Pentagon Case, Barbie Nazi War Crimes Trial Begins

On this day in 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed, due to government misconduct. (The administration of President Richard M. Nixon was implicated in a burglary of Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, in an effort to discredit him.) Ellsberg, a Pentagon employee, had released 7,000 pages…

May 11, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Holtzman: Axing AG Would Put Bush on Hot Seat

In all the arguing over whether U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should be asked to resign, several important facts seem to have been forgotten, a former member of Congress says. If Gonzales goes, his replacement would have to be confirmed by the Senate, and the last thing the White House…

May 7, 2007 10:05 PM CDT

Today in Legal History: Demonstrators Shot by Authorities at Haymarket, Kent State

On this day in 1886, someone among 200 or so workers at a labor rally near Chicago’s Haymarket Square threw a bomb into a group of 176 police officers. Police gunfire followed. When the smoke cleared, one officer lay dead, and six others died later, and 60 more were injured.…

May 4, 2007 5:01 PM CDT

The Play Reigns Supreme

New York lawyer jay Harris knows a good play when he sees one–and he’s got the brass to back it up, including a Tony Award for his production of Side Man. So when Harris says he’s found the next big hit, it’s a little hard to question his instincts. Even…

May 1, 2007 7:39 PM CDT

May 25, 1925

Evolution Teacher John Scopes Indicted

May 1, 2007 11:16 AM CDT

Today in Legal History: Parliament Passes Tea Act, Ehrlichman Released

On this day in 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act. Enormously unpopular in America, where colonials considered its grant of a virtual tea monopoly to the East India Company a form of taxation tyranny, the legislation sparked the so-called Boston Tea Party led by radical Patriot Samuel Adams…

Apr 27, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

Today in Legal History: Guillotine First Used, Vt. Civil Unions First in U.S.

On this day in 1792, the guillotine reportedly was first used in France to execute a highwayman, Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier. At the time, despite its subsequent notoriety as a means of killing some 15,000 during the French Revolution, the guillotine was considered a swift, certain and more humane way of putting…

Apr 26, 2007 5:08 PM CDT

Today in Legal History: U.S. Declares War on Spain, NY Mandates Car Plates, ‘Dixie’ Flag Retired

On this day in 1898, the U.S. declared war against Spain, involving America in Cuba’s struggle for independence. For details, see this Library of Congress Web page. On this day in 1901, New York became the first state to require car owners to register and get license plates for their…

Apr 25, 2007 5:14 PM CDT

Today in Legal History: Library of Congress, War Prisoner Code, Forensic Evidence Misused

On this day in 1800, President John Adams approved a then-hefty $5,000 appropriation to establish the Library of Congress, 20 percent of which went for law books (mainly on British and international subjects). Today the largest library in the world, with a collection of well over 100 million items, the…

Apr 24, 2007 5:21 PM CDT

Author Dead in Crash, Wrote ‘Best & Brightest’

David Halberstam, a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist whose well-known book, The Best and the Brightest, was a fascinating window for many on the elite lawyers and others wielding political power in Washington, D.C., in the Vietnam War era, died today in an auto accident in California. He was 73. The San Jose…

Apr 24, 2007 12:53 AM CDT

DNA Evidence Frees 200th Innocent Person

It’s official—DNA evidence today has cleared a 200th wrongfully convicted person, according to The Innocence Project, a New York City-based advocacy group. The 200th person to be released, Jerry Miller, was imprisoned for 25 years for a rape in a Chicago parking lot that he didn’t commit, the AP reports.…

Apr 23, 2007 11:43 PM CDT

First African-American Federal Judge in Ark. Dies

Putting an end to a long career of “firsts,” Arkansas federal judge George Howard Jr. died April 21. He was 82. The first African-American judge to sit on a federal court bench in the state, Howard was also the first African-American to do so on the state supreme and appellate…

Apr 23, 2007 10:37 PM CDT