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Archive: 2017 (215 Posts)

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The First Form 1040

Posted by: Jim Martin

Today is the deadline for filing returns for personal income taxes for 2016. The current federal income tax can be traced back to the Revenue Act of 1913, which was passed after the ratification, by the states, of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. The act provided that taxes on individual taxpayers would be imposed beginning …

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150-Year Anniversary of the Adoption of the Constitution of the North German Confederation

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

The North German Confederation (Norddeutscher Bund) is generally considered the first modern German Federation. Before that time, there were 39 different sovereign states, varying in size, that were loosely associated in the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund). The North German Federation came into existence with the adoption of the Constitution of the North German Confederation by the German Reichstag …

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The Myriopticon, A Historical Panorama of the Rebellion

Posted by: Robert Brammer

This post is coauthored by Nathan Dorn, rare book curator, and Robert Brammer, senior legal information specialist. Our latest video comes to you from the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room of the Library of Congress. To help us commemorate the Appomattox Campaign that took place 152 years ago and concluded on April 9, 1865 with Robert E. Lee’s …

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2017 Law Day Event: Justice Through the Perspective of an Eyewitness Artist

Posted by: Margaret Wood

On Thursday, April 27, 2017 the Law Library of Congress will celebrate Law Day with a panel discussion about courtroom illustration, “Justice Through the Perspective of an Eyewitness Artist.”  Law Librarian Jane Sanchez will introduce courtroom artists Marilyn Church, Pat Lopez and Bill Robles along with Library of Congress Prints & Photographs curator Sara W. …

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Wikipedia Congressional Committees Edit-a-thon Event Recap

Posted by: Robert Brammer

On April 7th, the Law Library of Congress, the National Archives, Wikimedia D.C., the Senate, and the Smithsonian cohosted a Wikipedia Congressional Hearings Committee Edit-a-thon in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress. The purpose of the event  was to improve articles in Wikipedia that describe U.S. Congressional Committees. We kicked off the day …

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(Extramarital) Love and Taxes

Posted by: Jenny Gesley

Tax season is upon us, and most people will not start filing their tax return until the very last moment. Statistics show that the majority of people file in April or even the week of April 15, the usual filing deadline. Sound familiar? In such a case, it helps to be organized and have all …

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Pic of the Week: Interns Spend Spring Break in D.C.

Posted by: Jennifer González

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of welcoming three interns from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to Washington, D.C. on their spring break.  They are graduate students pursuing a master of science degree in library and information science. These future librarians have been volunteering remotely on several different metadata projects of the Law Library …

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Law and LGM (Little Green Men), Part 1.

Posted by: Jim Martin

In this column, regarding literature, and in a later one also discussing film and television, I propose to “explore strange new worlds…” by looking at how law and lawyers have been treated in science fiction and fantasy.  It may seem that law and lawyers are not often covered in these genres, and it is true …

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Many Adoptions in Japan are Not About Raising Children

Posted by: Kelly Buchanan

This post is by Sayuri Umeda, a foreign law specialist who covers Japan and various other East Asian and Southeast Asian countries. She has previously written posts for In Custodia Legis on various topics, including testing of older drivers in Japan, English translations of post-World War II South Korean laws, laws and regulations passed in the aftermath …