Holocaust, international law intersect in Lviv, Ukraine

In East West Street, London barrister Philippe Sands weaves intertwining true stories against the backdrop of the Holocaust and the Nuremberg trials.

Sep 1, 2017 12:15 AM CDT

Thurgood Marshall’s courage and passion celebrated by former law clerks, author

On the cusp of the 50th anniversary of Thurgood Marshall's confirmation as the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice, three of his former law clerks gathered to speak about his legacy.

Aug 11, 2017 6:25 PM CDT

Trailblazers honored with award named for first female lawyer in America

This year, five lawyers were selected to receive the award. “We are honored to recognize this spectacular group of women,” says Michele Coleman Mayes, chair of the women’s commission, in a statement. “We applaud their achievements, knowing that their efforts will inspire a new generation of women lawyers.”

Aug 1, 2017 12:40 AM CDT

Aug. 14, 1935: The Woman Behind America’s Social Safety Net

No reporters were present as Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act of 1935. But there were plenty of cameras. And there were plenty of men: New Deal luminaries who had familiar names, such as Barkley, Wagner, Dingell and La Follette—even Kentucky legislator Fred Vinson, who later became chief justice of the United States.

But when he handed the first ceremonial pen to Frances Perkins, it wasn’t an act of chivalry. She was Roosevelt’s secretary of labor and the major force behind the act.

Aug 1, 2017 12:30 AM CDT

Resistance Redux: Civil rights lawyers from the 1960s have lessons for today’s social activists

With political and social strife at the highest they’ve been in generations, several movement lawyers from the 1960s and ’70s believe they can use their life experience to educate and inspire today’s social activist lawyers and demonstrators.

Aug 1, 2017 12:05 AM CDT

How the radical movements of the 1960s changed the law and challenged the status quo (podcast)

In this episode of Asked and Answered, the ABA Journal’s Victor Li speaks with attorney and activist Paul Harris about his work stretching back to the 1960s. Harris, one of the radical “movement lawyers” featured in the cover story for the August issue of the ABA Journal, talks about his work defending high-profile clients like Huey Newton, Leonard McNeil and others.

Jul 24, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Some misconstrue Declaration of Independence tweets by NPR

One Twitter user thought National Public Radio was calling for revolution. Some thought NPR’s tweets referencing “absolute tyranny” and a “tyrant” were referring to President Donald Trump. They were wrong. NPR was tweeting the Declaration of Independence in 113 consecutive posts, the Washington Post reports. BuzzFeed and the Associated Press…

Jul 5, 2017 2:43 PM CDT

Book Review: ‘Tom & Lucky (And George & Cokey Flo)’

In time for the 80th anniversary of one of the most sensational trials in U.S. history, The People v. Charles Luciano, comes a novel so deeply rooted in fact its own present historical value is undeniable. Centered around the trial of New York mob boss Charles “Lucky” Luciano, the book…

Jul 1, 2017 10:33 AM CDT

Lawyers demonstrate patriotism through helping others and expanding access to justice

As America celebrates its 241st anniversary, we, as lawyers, should reflect on the vital role our profession has played in the building, governance, and preservation of our democracy.

Jul 1, 2017 12:35 AM CDT

July 31, 1942: Putting the Enemy on Trial

In early July 1942, about seven months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued two proclamations related to the handling of enemy saboteurs. The first, in effect, made these enemy combatants subject to military justice. The second set up a military commission to try those accused of attacks on any part of America’s vast industrial infrastructure.

Jul 1, 2017 12:35 AM CDT

Fake news has long held a role in American history

Fake news has a long history in America. Benjamin Franklin intentionally published stories alleging that the British paid Native Americans to scalp men, women and children in the rebellious colonies. During the contentious election of 1800, Federalist newspapers tried to keep people from voting for Thomas Jefferson by running fake stories of his death.

In the early days of the republic, however, people’s expectations for news stories were quite different from today.

Jul 1, 2017 12:10 AM CDT

How government actions, not personal choices, created segregated neighborhoods (podcast)

Richard Rothstein spent years studying why schools remained de facto segregated after Brown v. Board of Education. He came to believe that the problem of segregated schools could not be solved until the problem of segregated neighborhoods was addressed—and that neighborhoods were de jure segregated, not de facto.

Jun 21, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Al Capone legal document to be auctioned; was it swiped from court file?

A nearly 90-year-old legal document signed by Al Capone is scheduled to be auctioned this week–raising questions about why it’s not in the Florida court file. In the special demurrer dated April 26, 1930, Capone claims allegations that he sold liquor in Miami were “scandalous” and “impertinent,” the Miami Herald…

Jun 15, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

David Grann uncovers conspiracy behind 1920s murders of members of oil-rich Osage Nation (podcast)

Although the Osage Nation had been forced from their ancestral lands by the U.S. government, through shrewd and careful bargaining, they retained the mineral rights to one of the richest oil fields in the world: Osage County, Oklahoma.

But the wealth of the Osage Nation, instead of insuring the prosperity and safety of the tribe, made its members targets for what was later known as the Reign of Terror. The task of solving dozens of murders fell in the 1920s to the newly formed FBI and its young director, J. Edgar Hoover.

Jun 7, 2017 9:21 AM CDT

How a Chinese-American family challenged school segregation in 1920s Mississippi (podcast)

Almost 30 years before Linda Brown and her parents took on the Topeka Board of Education in Brown v. Board of Education, Martha Lum’s parents Jeu Gong and Katherine sued to try to stop Rosedale, Mississippi, from barring their Chinese-American children from the local “white” school. Their case, Gong Lum…

May 17, 2017 8:41 AM CDT