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Category: Law Library

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On the Shelf: Fire codes

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

On December 30, 1903, a fire broke out in the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, Illinois when a broken arc light ignited a muslin curtain. The theatre burned to the ground and over 600 theatre occupants, more than two-thirds women and children, died of asphyxiation, burns, or trampling. It remains one of the deadliest fires in …

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On the Shelf: Caribbean Collection Items

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

The Caribbean is a term for the area that comprises nearly twenty-five sovereign territories, overseas departments, and dependencies in the Caribbean Sea basin. The U.N. Statistical Division and the CIA World Factbook recognize the Caribbean as a distinct geographical subregion for statistical and economic purposes. Historically, the Caribbean has not generated much legal material compared …

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Check Out Our Pirattitude

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

Everyone loves pirates. As International Talk Like a Pirate Day approaches, especially this year when it’s falling on a Saturday, there’s a built-in excuse for a party. You get to say “Arrr” quite a bit, fly a Jolly Roger, possibly drink rum or carry a cutlass, although one hopes not at the same time. Pirates …

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Miranda Rights and National Police Week

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

The following information relies on the recollections and opinions of a retired local jurisdiction law enforcement officer. When Betty wrote her “Legalese” post on terms from legal dictionaries, I mentioned that “mirandize” was one of my favorites. My dad had started his law enforcement career just a few years prior to the Supreme Court’s Miranda …

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The Unacknowledged Legislators of the World

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

The following is a guest post by Brandon Fitzgerald, project manager of a Law Library staffing contract, writer and student of poetry and literature. In honor of National Poetry Month, I want to consider the intersections between law and poetry. Each entails persuasion and  precision of language. Word choice and word placement are central to …

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Francis Scott Key: the Lawyer-Poet

Posted by: Jennifer Davis

Both law and poetry require a fluid grasp of language and a critical need for precision and economy with words; possessing these skills can be the key to making one person successful in both endeavors. There are a few times in history when well-known poets started their professional lives in the law (John Donne, Archibald …