Top of page
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
The first “gerrymander” was drawn on a map and signed into law on February 11, 1812. Elbridge Gerry, then governor of Massachusetts, signed into law a redistricting plan designed to keep his political party in power in the upcoming election. Upset that the Federalist Party was critical of James Madison’s foreign policy, Gerry signed the …
Posted in: Law Library, Collections
Posted by: Liah Caravalho
On Tuesday, February 21, the Law Library of Congress in collaboration with the Embassy of Italy will host a second program to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Jewish Ghetto of Venice. The first commemorative program that the Law Library hosted on May 24, 2016, La Città degli Ebrei/The City of the Jews: Segregated Space and …
Posted in: Law Library, Event
Posted by: Nathan Dorn
This post was jointly written by Nathan Dorn and Sylvia Albro. In this post, we catch up with Library of Congress employee Sylvia Albro, who is a senior paper conservator in the Library’s Conservation Division. Last fall, Sylvia published a book that presents research she has been conducting on books and manuscripts in various parts …
Posted in: Law Library
Posted by: Jennifer González
This interview is with Daina Andries, a volunteer metadata technician with the Digital Resources Division of the Law Library of Congress. Describe your background. I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. My dad’s family is from Pennsylvania and Michigan. My mom’s family immigrated to Wisconsin from Lithuania after World War II and eventually …
Posted in: Law Library, Interview
Posted by: Jennifer Davis
This post discusses Margaret Brent who is considered the first female attorney and women's suffragist in the colonies.
Posted in: Law Library, Collections, Women's History
Posted by: Robert Brammer
The following is a guest post by Clare Feikert-Ahalt, foreign law specialist for the United Kingdom at the Law Library of Congress. This is a post for all the Star Wars fans and aspiring Jedi out there. The Charity Commission, an independent body established under the Charities Act 2011 that is responsible for regulating and registering …
Posted in: Law Library, Guest Post
Posted by: Barbara Bavis
This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis, instructional librarian, and Robert Brammer, senior legal information specialist One of our most frequent requests from patrons is for assistance with their constitutional research, particularly with regard to state constitutions. While the best resource for information is likely the state library and/or state archives of the state that created the constitution …
Posted in: Law Library, Research Guide
Posted by: Kelly Buchanan
Last week we highlighted the reports on our website that received the most views in 2016. This week, we wrote about the most viewed bills on Congress.gov for the year and the most read Global Legal Monitor articles. Today, I take a look at the In Custodia Legis blog posts that proved particularly popular in 2016. We …
Posted in: Law Library
Posted by: Hanibal Goitom
The beginning of a new year is often a time for looking back and evaluating the work done in the previous one. Here at In Custodia Legis, we like to use this opportunity to highlight some of the Law Library’s popular online products. Andrew wrote about the Law Library reports and bills on Congress.Gov with the …
Posted in: Law Library, Global Law, In the News