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Archive: 2012 (245 Posts)

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What is your Favorite Case? Part 1

Posted by: Robert Brammer

It seems that nearly every person who works with the law will, at some point in their career, come across a memorable case that stays with them.  The circumstances could be inspiring, outrageous, or in my case, humorous.  I have already written about my favorite case, Nickerson v. Hodges, 146 La. 735, 84 So. 37 (La. …

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Mwalimu Julius Kambrage Nyerere – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Margaret Wood

A friend’s son, who lived in Tanzania for a year, gave me this lovely cloth which hangs in my office.  The centerpiece is a picture of Julius Kambrage Nyerere who is considered the father of modern Tanzania.  Mwalimu is the Swahili term for teacher which was President Nyerere’s first profession before he entered politics.

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John Witte Presentation: Faith-Based Family Laws in Liberal Democracies

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

At the start of this month I (along with several of my Global Legal Research Center colleagues) attended a very engaging and thought-provoking presentation by Professor John Witte, Jr. titled “Sharia in the West? What Place for Faith-Based Family Laws in Liberal Democracies?”  Professor Witte recently completed his term as the Cary and Ann Maguire …

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The November Update to Congress.gov

Posted by: Andrew Weber

We are continuing to push forward on Congress.gov! We are working hard to refine the beta.  Can you believe the launch was already two months ago? As with the first iterative update to Congress.gov, Jeanine has updated the About Congress.gov page: November 2012 Highlights of minor updates include: Member profiles search order tuning; Clarification of “Party history” for Members …

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Happy Belated Birthday, Title IX

Posted by: Margaret Wood

This is a guest post by Pamela Barnes Craig, Instruction/Reference Librarian at the Law Library of Congress. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Pub. L. 92-318, 86 Stat. 235, 373 turned 40 years old on June 23, 2012.  Its birthday passed much like it became law—quietly and unassumingly.  Its impact, however, has been …

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Executive Orders: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted by: Barbara Bavis

Although they are not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, Executive Orders have been considered one of the President’s powers since George Washington’s administration.  Executive Orders are exactly what they sound like—orders produced by the President, as head of the executive branch, that are “generally directed to, and govern actions by, Government officials and agencies.”[1]  …

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Transparency – Pic of the Week

Posted by: Donna Sokol

We’ve had an update to the Law Library of Congress physical spaces.  The front doors to our main office were recently replaced with glass doors.  We often talk about transparency in government, and the doors are our small symbolic contribution to making our inner workings “see-through.”   The glass also lets visitors see into the …

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An Interview with Nana Ghvaladze, Legislative Fellow

Posted by: Hanibal Goitom

This interview is with Nana Ghvaladze, a parliamentary staffer from the Republic of Georgia who spent four weeks in October and November at the Law Library of Congress as a participant of the Legislative Fellows Program supported by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the American Councils for International Education, . Describe your …