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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 …
Posted in: Collections, Law Library
Posted by: Jennifer González
Today’s interview is with Jeremy McCabe, a summer intern working in the Public Services Division of the Law Library of Congress. He is one of two interns working here this summer from the University of Washington Law Librarianship program. Describe your background. I grew up in Hammond, Indiana, which is a suburb of Chicago. I attended …
Posted in: Interview
Posted by: Margaret Wood
In honor of April 1st, April Fools’ Day, and actor Leonard Nimoy who played Mr. Spock in Star Trek, we thought it would be fun to challenge our readers with quotes from cases which cited or referenced Star Trek. Some of these quotes are from real cases and some from cases we concocted. In fairness …
Posted in: Law Library
Posted by: Kelly Buchanan
This week’s interview is with Xiao Yu, who is currently working as a foreign law intern at the Law Library of Congress. Describe your background. I was born in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in South Central China, which has the biggest population of minorities in China. Guangxi is known as “the ocean of folk …
Posted in: Global Law, Interview
Posted by: Margaret Wood
This week’s interview is with Ann Hemmens, a legal reference librarian with the Public Services Division of the Law Library of Congress. Describe your background. I grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. My parents were transplants from Illinois and I inherited their interest in travel and living in different parts of the country. I’ve …
Posted in: Collections, Guest Post, Interview, Law Library
Posted by: Jeanine Cali
The following is a guest post by Elissa C. Lichtenstein, director of the Division for Public Services of the American Bar Association. On August 8, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts, the American Bar Association (ABA) will unveil a unique exhibit celebrating Magna Carta. MAGNA CARTA: ENDURING LEGACY 1215-2015 explores the history of the “Great Charter” and …
Posted in: Event, Guest Post
Posted by: Barbara Bavis
This post is coauthored by Barbara Bavis and Robert Brammer, legal reference specialists. Everyone has a favorite lawyer joke. Robert encountered his favorite in the waiting room of a law office. Sitting on a table was a book titled, “Lawyer’s Book of Ethics.” It was blank. Notwithstanding this perception, the reality is that law is …
Posted in: Law Library, Research Guide
Posted by: Margaret Wood
James (Jim) Martin, Andrew Weber and I were talking about Christmas movies several weeks ago. Jim describes himself as a cynic, who “developed a taste for what I call ‘alternative Christmas,’ films such as The Lion in Winter and Desk Set.” Jim defines alternative Christmas films as “films that take place during the holiday period, but …
Posted in: Education, In the News, Law Library
Posted by: Robert Brammer
The Law Library of Congress houses approximately 60,000 rare items, 25,000 of which are contained in a climate controlled vault. To be classified as rare, an item generally must have been published prior to 1801. One of our interesting rare items is a petition for a writ of process handwritten by a young lawyer named …
Posted in: Collections, Education, Law Library