Legal History

Dec. 31, 1970: McCartney files to dissolve the Beatles

In August 1967, rock promoter Brian Epstein was found in his London apartment dead from an accidental drug overdose. Only 32, Epstein was widely regarded as the man who discovered and nurtured the Beatles to great fame. In his five years as their mentor and manager, the four lads from working class Liverpool had risen to become—individually and collectively—the most dominant force in popular music worldwide.

Dec 1, 2015 12:40 AM CST

This law firm is the world’s oldest

A law firm in the United Kingdom is the world’s oldest operating law firm, according to Guinness World Records. The Kent law firm, Thomson Snell & Passmore, traces its roots to 1570, when a clergyman began work as a “scrivener and drafter of documents,” including wills and property bonds, Kent…

Nov 30, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Did James Madison put his ‘spin’ on constitutional convention notes? Law prof sees manipulation

James Madison likely replaced several sheets of his notes chronicling the constitutional convention to distance himself from his own statements that later became controversial, according to a Boston College law professor who studied the changes. Law professor Mary Sarah Bilder has published her findings in a book that will make…

Nov 23, 2015 6:45 AM CST

Hacktivist group’s ‘Million Mask March’ sparks protests at US federal courthouses

A “Million Mask March” on Thursday organized by the hacktivist group Anonymous on the anniversary of a failed British rebellion in 1605 reportedly created chaos in London. But it also sparked apparently non-violent protests in the U.S. by individuals wearing the white mask associated with Anonymous and would-be assassin Guy…

Nov 6, 2015 12:40 PM CST

Doctor convicted of murder in patient OD deaths; case may be first successful US prosecution

A California physician has been convicted of second-degree murder in the prescription drug overdose deaths of three patients, based on reckless conduct. Prosecutors say the case may be the first time in U.S. history a doctor has been convicted of murder for prescribing medicine used by the patient to overdose,…

Nov 2, 2015 10:00 AM CST

Arbitration clauses effectively eliminate consumer rights for many, New York Times reports

Once virtually unheard-of, clauses requiring individuals to arbitrate consumer and employment disputes are now ubiquitous in documents ranging from applications for cable television service, a credit card or a bed in a nursing home to job-related paperwork. Additionally, many such agreements also bar individuals from bringing class actions. The result…

Nov 2, 2015 9:00 AM CST

How prosecutors brought down Lucky Luciano

The telephone rang at midnight, jolting Samuel Kornbluth from an already-troubled sleep. Maurice Cantor began by apologizing for the unseemly hour. A lawyer best known for his representation of the late Arnold Rothstein, Cantor wanted to know whether Kornbluth was still acting as counsel for Dorothy Russell Calvit, the daughter of stage legend Lillian Russell. Yes, Kornbluth replied—was there something the matter with Dorothy? Nothing of the sort, Cantor assured him. But he had with him a colleague who would very much like to speak with Calvit's lawyer. May he put George Morton Levy on the line?

Nov 1, 2015 4:30 AM CST

Choir of lawyers is a hit at Magna Carta celebration

When the ABA was planning the Opening Session for its London Sessions commemorating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta this summer, it wanted to strike just the right note for musical interludes. But rather than reach out into the ranks of London's professional ensembles, then-ABA President William C. Hubbard decided to stay within the family, so to speak.

Nov 1, 2015 12:50 AM CDT

Nov. 5, 1831: Nat Turner tried for slave rebellion

In 1831, southeastern Virginia was weighted with the economic realities of a slave economy. Crop prices were down. The populations of slaves and free blacks were growing faster than the white population. Gentleman owners of vast plantations were giving way to a new and resentful class of white tenant farmers. Tensions between western and eastern Virginia over the future of slavery were beginning to create the sense that Virginia might become two separate states.

Nov 1, 2015 12:30 AM CDT

Death-row inmate seeking ‘spiritual freedom’ opts for statutory right to electric chair

Wayne Doty was already serving a life prison term for a 1996 murder when he and another man incarcerated at Florida State Prison in Raiford murdered a fellow inmate. That second murder, of a man accused of stealing a package of cigarettes, put Doty, now 42, on death row. After…

Oct 22, 2015 3:10 PM CDT

Law grad seeks to take the bar exam despite conviction for sex-related offenses in 1998

A former Army officer is urging the Ohio Supreme Court to allow him to take the bar exam despite the fact that he was convicted by a military court after trying to set up meetings for sex with underage girls. The court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in the case…

Oct 15, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

John Roberts marks 10 years as chief justice by taking the long view

As the U.S. Supreme Court neared the end of its term in June, liberals and conservatives waited with great anticipation to see how Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. would vote in the two most contentious cases on the docket: the future of the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage.

Roberts, as he has sometimes done during his just-completed first 10 years as chief justice, managed to please and disappoint both sides of the political spectrum with his votes.

Oct 1, 2015 8:48 AM CDT

Ralph Nader opens his American Museum of Tort Law

Scalding-hot coffee, exploding cars and dangerous toys are catnip to plaintiffs lawyers, but do they appeal to regular people, too? Ralph Nader thinks so, and he's out to prove it with the American Museum of Tort Law. Housed in an old bank building in Nader's hometown of Winsted, Connecticut, the museum was scheduled to open in late September.

Oct 1, 2015 8:40 AM CDT

Oct. 29, 1692: Special witch trials dissolved

In May 1692, only nine days after arriving in Boston, the newly appointed governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, William Phips, commissioned a court of oyer and terminer to adjudicate accusations of witchcraft sweeping through Salem Village and other nearby towns. The rash of accusations, not unknown in New England's Puritan villages, had begun in February when two young girls showed signs of what was believed to be demonic possession. But by the time of Phips' arrival, village jails were swelling with men and women arrested on charges of witchcraft.

Oct 1, 2015 6:30 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: 10 lessons from Chief Justice Roberts’ first 10 years

On Monday morning, October 5, the Supreme Court will begin its 11th term with John Roberts as Chief Justice. On Sept. 29, 2005, Roberts became the 17th Chief Justice of the United States. Here are 10 observations about the first decade of the Roberts Court. 1. The court is deciding…

Sep 30, 2015 8:30 AM CDT