The following is an article written by Mark Hartsell, writer-editor for The Gazette, the Library of Congress staff newsletter. The legacy of Magna Carta, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer said, sometimes can be seen in the things that don’t happen. The court’s decision in Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), brought […]
One of the keepsakes given at the Library of Congress’s pre-inaugural black-tie gala for the ongoing Magna Carta exhibition was the commemorative coin depicted below. The coin’s obverse shows the name of the exhibition, Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor. Its reverse shows a reproduction of a medallion that appears on the title page of a 1774 imprint of […]
The following is guest post by Constance Johnson, a senior legal information analyst at the Law Library of Congress. Connie is chair of the Law Library’s planning committee for Human Rights Day and has previously written or co-written a number of posts for In Custodia Legis. Today is the world’s Human Rights Day, a day proclaimed by the […]
When you visit the Library of Congress you are likely to hear or read about the loss of collections to fires, first in 1814 during the War of 1812 and then later, on Christmas Eve 1851. Unfortunately, a number of other countries have also suffered losses of parliamentary or national library buildings and important materials […]
On Wednesday, I gave a gallery talk for the Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor Exhibition. I focused the talk around King John and his rapacious habits as a ruler: demanding extraordinary fees from his feudal vassals, seizing hostages, and losing battles. I also included some information on the Constitutions of Clarendon (more on that in […]
The following is a guest post by Graciela Rodriguez-Ferrand, senior foreign law specialist for Argentina and several other Spanish-speaking jurisdictions. Argentina has a federal republic form of government and a democratic political system. The Argentine Constitution, enacted in 1853 and last amended in 1994, provides for three branches of government: an executive branch headed by […]
This week’s interview is with Gabe Horchler, section head of the Law Section of Library Services’ Acquisitions & Bibliographic Access Directorate, U.S. Programs, Law & Literature Division. Gabe is in charge of cataloging all new law titles. He and his staff have also been instrumental in helping with our reclassification project for which we are […]
Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers will discuss how Magna Carta’s political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at a symposium on Dec. 9, 2014. The symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, is being held in conjunction with the Library’s exhibition,”Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor.” The afternoon program, “Contemporary […]
The Library of Congress is commemorating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta with an exhibition – Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor, a symposium, and a series of talks starting this year. Through January 19, 2015, the Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta, one of four remaining originals from 1215 is on display along with other rare materials from the Library’s rich […]
Black Friday! A day of shopping and a day off for me. It didn’t used to be such. When I worked in a D.C. law firm, we all worked Black Friday (as well as most Saturdays, Monday holidays, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and, during tax season, quite a few Sundays). As my friends were […]