With law firm’s help, gay-rights advocate collects historical documents reflecting government bias

Today the federal government is banned from firing employees because they are gay. But before 1975, government policy held that being gay was a justification for firing. Seeking to shine a light on the history of bias, gay-rights advocate Charles Francis has used public records requests to collect hundreds of…

May 22, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Kagan dissent is corrected after magazine points out historical error

A dissent by Justice Elena Kagan in the Supreme Court’s town-meeting prayer case has been revised to correct a historical error. Tablet Magazine pointed out the error in identifying the first community of American Jews, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. Kagan’s dissent argued that “chaplain of the month”…

May 20, 2014 12:10 PM CDT

How Brown v. Board of Education shaped Michelle Obama’s life

Michelle Obama will visit Topeka, Kansas, today to meet with students on the eve of the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, a case that shaped her own life. Brown was a consolidation of five cases challenging segregated schools, including one in Topeka. While in Topeka, Michelle Obama…

May 16, 2014 12:44 PM CDT

What are the worst Supreme Court decisions ever?

Every lawyer has his or her least-favorite U.S. Supreme Court decisions—and this may be especially true for Supreme Court justices themselves. Last week, retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens testified at hearings on campaign finance law in the wake of McCutcheon vs. FEC, the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier…

May 7, 2014 7:10 PM CDT

Law students seek license for long-deceased would-be attorney

Seeking to right a 124-year-old wrong, a law student group and two law professors at the University of California-Davis have submitted a bar application on behalf of Hong Yeng Chang. In a well-known case, he was denied a law license in 1890 because he was Chinese, KCRA reports. An 1886…

May 5, 2014 10:55 PM CDT

Law Day 2014 emphasizes the importance of the right to vote

May 1, 2014 10:00 AM CDT

Experts sound off once again on Justice Thomas’ silence

May 1, 2014 8:50 AM CDT

The tortuous tale behind the 10th edition of the most widely cited lawbook in the world

May 1, 2014 8:40 AM CDT

ABA steps up calls for increased Legal Service Corp. funding

May 1, 2014 7:20 AM CDT

May 31, 1921: Race riot erupts in Tulsa

May 1, 2014 7:00 AM CDT

This 18th-century British judge helped SCOTUS decide the fate of Guantanamo detainees (podcast)

ABA Journal Podcast Editor Lee Rawles speaks with Prof. Norman S. Poser about his recent biography, "Lord Mansfield: Justice in the Age of Reason," and how this particular British judge managed to have such a continuing influence on Anglo-American laws. We also discuss Mansfield's Somerset decision, which eventually led to the abolition of slavery in Great Britain.

Apr 30, 2014 10:00 PM CDT

Death of ‘Dueling Banjos’ creator brings litigation anecdote to light

The death last week of an acclaimed crossover musician who wrote and recorded “Dueling Banjos” has brought to light the story of how Arthur Smith won a substantial settlement over the famed bluegrass song’s unauthorized use in a major motion picture. Initially recorded as “Feudin’ Banjos” in 1955, it was…

Apr 10, 2014 8:10 PM CDT

Oops. Rolling Stone cover puts John Hancock signature under Constitution tattoo on star’s bare back

A famed rock ‘n’ roll music magazine is getting a lesson in legal history from its readers. John Hancock, because of his huge signature, is one of the best-known signers of the Declaration of Independence, not the Constitution, readers are pointing out to Rolling Stone. The comments were sparked by…

Apr 9, 2014 7:40 PM CDT

2 books to commemorate 800 years of the Magna Carta

Apr 1, 2014 6:00 AM CDT

April 8, 1895: Income tax ruled unconstitutitional

Apr 1, 2014 5:40 AM CDT