Happy Birthday, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

On this day in 1933, Joan Ruth Bader was born in Brooklyn, New York to Russian, Jewish immigrant parents. After marrying Martin Ginsburg in 1954 and taking his name, she attended law school, graduating in 1959. As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she has served on the bench of our nation's highest judicial body for nearly 24 years. During this time, Justice Ginsburg has written several notable opinions but is perhaps better known for her, occasionally, blistering dissents.

In recent years, Justice Ginsburg has become something of a pop culture icon, and today, in honor of her 84th birthday as well as National Women's History Month, we at the Harris County Law Library are celebrating. Many are familiar with the "Notorious RBG" meme that has taken over the Internet and the New York Times bestselling book of the same name, but lesser-known facts about the second woman to ever serve on the United States Supreme Court include her achievements as an athlete, opera emcee, collar collector, and as a namesake to a preying mantis. What's more, she is full of good advice for women, and, after many successful years in the law, has much wisdom to dispense. As a gifted writer (who credits her college professor Vladimir Nabokov with improving her skill) and a sharp, articulate thinker who has been called the Thurgood Marshall of gender equality law, Justice Ginsburg's words are worth heeding. Although she is serious on the bench (and perhaps less funny than her best buddy, Antonin Scalia, according to a tabulation of laughter notations in Supreme Court oral argument transcripts), she is clever and quick with a quip. Justice Ginsburg's brilliance, warmth, virtue, magnanimity, and good humor are qualities to admire. As they say, there is no Truth without Ruth. Happy birthday, RBG!

Rare Find: Signed copy of Wigmore's Panorama of the World's Legal Systems

The Harris County Law Library has been collecting legal publications for more than 100 years and our historical collection is home to many rare and unique works. Once in a while, we find something so singular that we have to share our find. Earlier this month, a library staff member opened a book cover and discovered the signature of one of the most recognizable names in legal bibliography - John Henry Wigmore.

Wigmore was a well-respected law librarian, professor of law, and dean of Northwestern School of Law in the early 20th century who is remembered as one of the legal community's most respected scholars for his work Wigmore on Evidence. Even today, the preeminent treatise on evidence - The New Wigmore - drops the subject in its title in favor of the original author whose name is synonymous with the topic. Find more on this extraordinary scholar in the Fall 2013 issue of LH&RB on the American Association of Law Libraries website.

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The signed book is a 1936 copy of Panorama of the World's Legal Systems. The work first appeared as a 3-volume set that provided a unique comparison of various legal systems, complete with photographs, illustrations, and maps. In 1936, West publishing released the library edition to make the content more widely available. As the "intent was to popularize the study of comparative law," making the format more accessible helped Wigmore's ideas about foreign legal systems travel well beyond academia. The Law Library's copy found its way onto the shelves of a local practicing attorney who represented Texas oil companies in the early 20th century and was donated along with other volumes at the end of his practice.

National African American History Month: Justice Thurgood Marshall Digital Exhibit

In 1925, the historian, Carter G. Woodson, called for a week-long celebration to recognize the contributions of African Americans in the development of our country. Negro History Week was celebrated for the first time 1926 and expanded to a full month in 1976, the year of our nation's sesquicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Many notable African Americans have played a role in shaping the law and achieving civil rights. With this exhibit, we honor perhaps the most influential African American lawyer in U.S. history and the first African American to rise to the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court -- Justice Thurgood Marshall.   

An exhibit commemorating the extraordinary life of Justice Marshall, will be on display in the Law Library lobby throughout the month, and a digital exhibit, the subject of today's Tech Tuesday blog post, is available on the Law Library's website. For additional digital resources celebrating African American history and the remarkable life of Justice Thurgood Marshall, please visit the following sites:

Biography.com -- Thurgood Marshall: A Justice for All (VIDEO)

Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture

Looking Back – Edgar Allan Poe

Photo from the Library of Congress' Photos, Prints, Drawings Collection

Today we celebrate the 208th anniversary of the birth of the “Master of Macabre,” Edgar Allan Poe. Born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, and orphaned at the age of three, Poe led a life of relative poverty, unhappiness, and solitude. Yet, he managed to eke out a living as a writer, publishing short stories and becoming a relentless critic of some of the most celebrated writers of his time, including one Rufus Griswold. Although he realized some literary renown with his short stories and book reviews, Poe achieved perhaps his greatest success with his poem The Raven, first published in 1845.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Poe should indeed be pleased that his most celebrated of works has had such a profound effect on not only those in the literary world, but also those in the realm of jurisprudence. Judge A. Jay Cristol from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida was inspired to draft his own poetic version of The Raven as his opinion in the case of In re Love, 61 B.R. 558 (1986). (This case was also highlighted in one of a series of Ex Libris Juris blog posts dedicated to the Poetry of the Bench & Bar during National Poetry Month in April 2016).

Sadly, four years after The Raven was published, Poe died on October 7, 1849, in Baltimore. Interestingly, his relationship with the law did not end with his death. After his passing, Poe became the victim of a libelous obituary written by none other than Rufus Griswold, one of the writers most severely critiqued by Poe. However, Poe had the last laugh. Despite all of the defamatory statements contained in the obituary and a subsequent memoir, Poe’s legend and popularity only flourished.

For more information about Edgar Allan Poe, visit the website of the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia.

December 29, 1845: Texas Achieves Statehood

On this day in 1845, Texas became the 28th state of the United States of America. Texan voters supported annexation as early as 1836, but opposition in the U.S. was strong. After years of heavy debate, Texas finally achieved statehood.

The Harris County Law Library has been recognizing this important date all month long with an exhibit in the Law Library lobby. A new exhibit will take its place at the start of the new year, but many of the featured items can be viewed online, including sections from Unites States Statutes at Large that document the annexation, as well as an 1844 broadside of the annexation debate, a political cartoon depicting the marriage of Texas and the United States, and an early Texas map. For more information about the events leading up to annexation and eventual statehood, please visit the Texas Almanac online.