Reinheitsgebot - 500 Years of the Law of Beer

Happy International Beer Day! In honor of the day, our blog post features a ancient law from medieval Germany that has influenced how this popular adult beverage has been crafted over the last half millennium!

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Bavarian Dukes Wilhelm and Ludwig, who issued the original German Beer Purity Law in 1516.

Reinheitsgebot - Ancient German beer law that still holds sway

Celebrating its 500th anniversary this year is the Bavarian beer purity law known as Reinheitsgebot. The law was issued by the Dukes Wilhelm and Ludwig of Bavaria in 1516 to ensure that beer was brewed with only three ingredients - barley, hops, and water. Whether it was done to promote public health (yes, beer was a health food in the 1500s) or to drive down the price of wheat to make bread more cheaply, the lasting effects of the law are undeniable. Today, the American brewery Sam Adams proudly reports on its website that it's Boston Lager was the "first American beer sold in Germany" after passing Reinheitsgebot regulations in 1985!

For more on Reinheitsgebot, visit In Custodia Legis, a blog from the Law Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Magazine, from the Smithsonian Institution.

An Important Day in Constitutional History: Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964)

On this day during Constitutional Law Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library, we remember an important Supreme Court decision, Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964). Today marks the 52nd anniversary of the decision and its role in reinforcing our Sixth Amendment rights.

Danny Escobedo was arrested without a warrant on January 20, 1960. As the prime suspect in the shooting death of his brother-in-law, he was held for questioning for more than 18 hours. Escobedo asked repeatedly for his attorney to be present, but repeatedly, his request was denied. It was only after being indicted that Escobedo was granted access to a lawyer, violating his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights to due process and access to counsel. The Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966) decision just two years later implicitly overruled Escobedo, but it was, nonetheless, an important step in the process toward ensuring a constitutional right to counsel for the criminal accused.

In honor of Bloomsday: United States v. One Book Entitled Ulysses by James Joyce

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In recognition of Constitutional Law Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library and our first amendment right to free speech, we are honoring one of modern literature’s finest works, the controversial novel, Ulysses by James Joyce. First published in Paris in 1922 (after being serialized for three years in The Little Review), Ulysses takes place over the course of a single day. This day, June 16th, is recognized annually as Bloomsday, a celebration of Joyce’s life and an homage to his most famous work.

Although it is now universally touted as an innovative and pioneering work of literature, Ulysses was not always looked upon so favorably. The novel we now celebrate was subject to an implicit obscenity ban, which the American publisher, Random House, who had full rights to publish the book in the United States, sought to challenge. In 1933, Random House imported a French edition of the book, expecting it to be seized upon arrival by the U.S. Customs Service, an assumption which proved to be accurate. After seven months of weighing his options, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, who appreciated the work but questioned its decency under the law, decided to take action against it, leading ultimately to a 1934 obscenity trial in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 72 F.2d 705.  At question in the case was not the artistic merit of the book, but whether such a book should be regarded as "obscene" within section 305 (a) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 USCA § 1305a). This landmark case was extremely influential in paving a path for the import and publication of literature deemed inappropriate, coarse, or risqué, and, in effect, it reaffirmed our Constitutional right to free expression. Happy Bloomsday!

Looking Back: June 15 - Anniversary of Magna Carta

Magna Carta, 1297 from the U.S. National Archives Featured Documents Exhibit. Click for more information.

June 15 is the anniversary of the most iconic document in modern democracy - Magna Carta. The document originally served as a peace treaty between King John of England and rebellious barons who threatened civil war. When he attached his seal to the parchment, King John was likely unaware of the significance the document would attain in subsequent centuries as constitutional democracies replaced monarchies throughout the Western World.

The Founding Fathers' Magna Carta

By the time of the American Revolution, the reputation of Magna Carta as the physical embodiment of revolutionary ideas, including limiting government influence in personal affairs, was well established. America's founding fathers turned to the ancient document for inspiration and for justification as they encouraged fellow revolutionaries to form their own government.

Throughout the month of June, you can learn more about Magna Carta's influence on modern American and Texas Law at the Harris County Law Library with exhibits that highlight the link between the iconic document and our modern constitutional rights. You even have the chance to read The Great Charter like a founding father when you visit our downtown Houston location to see the Law Library's 1763 copy of Magna Carta - the same edition owned by founding father John Adams during the American Revolution. For more learning opportunities, visit our digital exhibit - Magna Carta.

Magna Carta to Miranda - The Due Process link between Law Day themes

Don't you just love it when Law Day themes click?! Each year, the American Bar Association establishes a theme for Law Day, which is observed on May 1. This year's theme, which turned our attention to the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, followed the 2015 Law theme celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. So, what do a medieval statute and a Warren Court decision separated by 751 years have in common? Simple - Due process.

The connection is extensively examined in a digital exhibit from the Law Library of Congress' titled Magna Carta: Muse & Mentor - Due Process of Law. Prior to June 15, 1215, Englishmen (and everyone else for that matter) had little protection from kings and noblemen hauling them away without cause or trial. When King John placed his seal on Magna Carta, chapter 39 of the document provided that:

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land.

Subsequent English statutes interpreted the phrase "the law of the land" to include procedural safeguards that protect individual rights. One such statute enacted in 1354 added the phrase "due process of law" to the English legal vernacular to describe this collection of procedural rights. The phrase continued in use and found its way into the U.S. Constitution via the Fifth Amendment. By the time Miranda v. Arizona was decided in 1966, the privilege against self-incrimination was a well-established tenet of American jurisprudence and the Court prohibited use of such statements without a showing of the use of procedural safeguards like the warnings that became known as Miranda Warnings.

For more on the Due Process connection from Magna Carta to Miranda v. Arizona, visit the Law Library of Congress digital exhibit Magna Carta: Muse & Mentor. You can also visit the Harris County Law Library's Law Day digital exhibits Magna Carta and Miranda: More than words to discover more about these landmark legal resources. Be sure to also visit the Law Library's lobby to view our 1763 copy of Magna Carta on display during the month of June.