June is Constitutional Law Resource Month

The Harris County Law Library is highlighting Constitutional Law Resources during the month of June. Currently on view in the Law Library lobby are three exhibits:

• Brown at 65: Explore the history of this important U.S. Supreme Court case which was decided 65 years ago on May 17, 1954.

• LGBT Legal Resources: Learn about significant federal legislation and landmark Supreme Court cases that have shaped the legal landscape for LGBT Americans in recent years.

• Magna Carta: View the Law Library’s 1763 copy of Magna Carta, the foundational document on which the United States Constitution is based.

Brown at 65

On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), in which the Court declared the doctrine of “separate, but equal” to be “inherently unequal” when applied to public schools. In honor of the 65th anniversary of the landmark case, the Law Library has created an exhibit that brings the precedent front and center for all to experience through an immersive presentation.

Walking through informative markers placed at the relevant reporters provides visitors with a vivid, undeniable sense of the pace at which school desegregation cases wended their way through the courts. For example, while many people know Brown began in Kansas in 1951 (the first opinion can be found at 98 F.Supp. 797 (Kan. 1951)), fewer realize the final opinion wasn’t penned until 1999 (the final opinion can be found at 56 F.Supp.2d 1212 (Kan. 1999)).

Visit the law library today to explore this special exhibit in person!

LGBT Legal Resources

Learn more about the following civil rights achievements for LGBT Americans:

• Lawrence v. Texas; 539 U.S. 558 (2003);123 S. Ct. 2472; 156 L. Ed. 2d508; 71 U.S.L.W. 4574

• Obergefell v. Hodges; 576 U.S. ___  (2015); 135 S. Ct. 2584; 192 L. Ed. 2d 609; 83 U.S.L.W. 4592

• Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010; Pub. L. 111–321, Dec. 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 3515

View selected resources from the Law Library's print collection including:

• Transgender Persons and the Law 

• Sexual Orientation and the Law

• Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples

• The Impact of Marriage equality on Texas Law (State Bar of Texas CLE)

Additional LGBT legal resources are available via our electronic databases. In particular, the HeinOnline Law Journal Library contains a number of scholarly legal publications, including the Dukeminier Awards Journal, which recognizes the best sexual orientation and gender Identity law review articles of each year, dating back to 2001. A full archive of back issues is available on HeinOnline and on the journal's website at the University of California Los Angeles Law School.

Magna Carta

This month, we are also highlighting the history of Magna Carta. To commemorate the historic agreement made June 15, 1215, and memorialized by the iconic document, the Law Library has placed on display its 1763 copy of Magna Carta alongside American and Texas legal materials that show the connection between The Great Charter and the constitutional freedoms we enjoy today. Visit our downtown Houston location to view the colonial-era manuscript through the month of June and visit our digital exhibit for even more about Magna Carta.