Legal History

Could SCOTUS leaker be charged with crime? Espionage Act wouldn’t apply, but other laws might

Could the person who leaked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft abortion opinion be charged with a crime? It’s possible, even though the Espionage Act wouldn’t apply, according to experts.

May 12, 2022 1:46 PM CDT

Wiretapping’s origins might surprise you

On the cover of author Brian Hochman’s book is a martini cocktail complete with a skewered olive. Hochman shares the real story that inspired the cover in this new podcast episode.

May 11, 2022 8:37 AM CDT

Rare but not unprecedented Supreme Court leak considered ‘staggering’

The leak of a draft majority opinion in a pending case is “staggering,” says law professor Jonathan Peters. “It’s the most significant leak in the Supreme Court’s history, not only because of the draft’s release but also because of the current political moment (charged as it is) and the personal and social consequences of the decision itself.”

May 5, 2022 2:56 PM CDT

Is Alito right about the ‘unbroken tradition of prohibiting abortion’? Scholars disagree on the history

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft abortion opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade says the 1973 decision “either ignored or misstated” the history of abortion laws.

May 5, 2022 2:04 PM CDT

Legal experts fear loss of abortion right could usher in end of same-sex marriage, other rights

In the two days since Politico published a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that seems to strike down Roe v. Wade, several legal experts have expressed concerns that the same reasoning that eliminates the right to abortion could also put other constitutional rights at risk.

May 4, 2022 4:06 PM CDT

What does the original Roe v. Wade really say?

The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to strike down Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision from 1973 that established a woman’s constitutional right to abortion. Norma McCorvey, a single, pregnant woman in Texas, brought a federal lawsuit in 1970 against district attorney Henry Wade, alleging that Texas criminal abortion statutes that originated in 1854 were unconstitutional.

May 3, 2022 2:23 PM CDT

How is ‘amicus’ pronounced? Justice Breyer and Judge Jackson disagree with each other and the majority view

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was once a law clerk for the justice she will replace, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, but she didn’t adopt his pronunciation of “amicus.”

Apr 28, 2022 1:43 PM CDT

How and why Kazakhstan gave up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons

When the Soviet Union dissolved and Kazakhstan became a sovereign state, it now had a conundrum: Should the country retain the nuclear weapons and become the world’s fourth largest nuclear power or relinquish them in return for international commitments?

Apr 20, 2022 8:35 AM CDT

GOP opposition blocks bill to name federal courthouse after Black judge, a ‘legal legend’

A measure to name a federal courthouse after the first Black judge on the Florida Supreme Court was recently blocked in the U.S. House of Representatives after one lawmaker found a news clip on a prayer ruling.

Apr 13, 2022 10:50 AM CDT

‘I am the dream and the hope of the slave’: Ketanji Brown Jackson sees promise in historic confirmation

Speaking with emotion during a White House event, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson credited pathbreaking leaders and generations of persevering Americans for her historic confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Apr 8, 2022 1:22 PM CDT

Law that keeps racist covenants in separate public record helps preserve history, top state court says

The Washington Supreme Court has said a new state law strikes a balance between removing racial covenants from a home’s title while keeping them part of the public record.

Apr 4, 2022 10:29 AM CDT

Join ABA Day 2022: Celebrating 25 years of advocacy on the Hill

This year, we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of this event during the week of April 4. The ongoing pandemic has restricted our ability to meet face-to-face in Washington, but we have adjusted our advocacy strategy and techniques. As in 2020 and 2021, ABA Day 2022 will be held virtually.

Apr 1, 2022 12:20 AM CDT

April 17, 1905: New York’s bakeshop labor law overturned

In October 1901, Joseph Lochner, who owned a bakery on South Street in Utica, New York, was indicted and subsequently convicted on two criminal counts of working his employees beyond the hourly limits of the Bakeshop Act, a relatively new state law that limited the working hours of bakery employees to 10 hours per day and 60 hours per week.

Apr 1, 2022 12:10 AM CDT

Lawyers react to federal anti-lynching law named after Emmett Till

President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Tuesday making lynching a federal hate crime—a move that drew praise from legal groups and lawyers.

Mar 30, 2022 3:05 PM CDT

When ‘Loof Lirpa’ goes awry, enter the lawyers

First day of April tomfoolery sometimes goes awry. Enter the lawyers—and then it’s no laughing matter.

Mar 30, 2022 12:04 PM CDT