Legal News

Remembering President Jimmy Carter

NYLS joins the nation in mourning the loss of President Jimmy Carter.

In October 1985, President Carter delivered the inaugural Mario Biaggi Lecture on Human Rights at New York Law School. He was then awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

For more details about President Carter’s remarks and to view photos from the event, see the Winter 1985 issue of New York Law School In Brief. Additional photos are available here and here.

A student review of the lecture can also be found in the New York Law School Reporter.

First Monday in October

The new Supreme Court term will begin Monday October 3, 2022, and the Court will again be open to the public. The Court has an active term ahead, particularly with two controversial affirmative action cases on the docket, both to be argued on October 31st.  The Harvard College case and the University of North Carolina case will look at whether these institutions may use race as a factor in admissions and whether their efforts at racial balancing violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

You can find detailed information (including case summaries) for the upcoming Supreme Court term at the SCOTUS Blog . You can also view the case briefs at the Supreme Court’s website (under CASE DOCUMENTS click the link for Docket Search and enter the docket number of the case you are interested in).

The Court will again be making available to the public live audio of the arguments.  Check for the link on the Supreme Court’s web site on the day of argument.

Anniversary of the Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

This Sunday, September 18, 2022, marks the two-year anniversary of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to serve as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.  She left behind an enormous legacy – one that includes not only her signature lace-collar but the transformation of women’s rights in the United States. “The Notorius RBG” visited NYLS a few times in her long and illustrious career.  In 2018, she gave the Sidney Shainwald Public Interest Lecture.  At the lecture, she was interviewed by NYLS Professor Nadine Strossen.  In 1999, Justice Ginsburg spoke at the NYLS Law Review Dinner.  Visit our NYLS Digital Commons repository to find more information and pictures.

Celebrate Constitution Day

September 17 marks Constitution Day, commemorating the 1787 date on which thirty-nine of the Philadelphia Convention’s delegates signed the new Constitution.

Stop at the Reference Desk in the Mendik Library to pick up a free pocket-size constitution (while supplies last!).

ConstitutionFacts.com has put together a variety of fun ways to test/expand your Constitutional knowledge.

Which Founding Father are you?

“Expert” level quiz.  Harder than you think!  This librarian only scored 43 out of 50.

Crossword puzzles.

Real or fake?

Famous quotes.

If you are interested in further reading:

The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era by Akhil Reed Amar.

Tracking the Impeachment Inquiry

GovTrack.us offers the impeachment.guide, an online guide tracking the impeachment inquiry of President Trump.  It contains a complete chronology, beginning in 2018 and ending with last week’s public hearings.  It also provides links to key documents, identifies possible charges the President may face and offers background on how the impeachment and removal process works. The guide will be updated on an ongoing basis.

More on First Monday in October

Over on the SCOTUSblog, Prof. Stephen Wermiel offers a quick review of the debate dividing the justices about when to overrule constitutional precedent and when to follow it.  It’s a debate he describes as certain to continue when the Court begins its new term on Monday.  Read the post here.

First Monday in October 2019

The new Supreme Court term is set to begin this year on Monday October 7, 2019.

For previews of arguments scheduled for this term, visit the SCOTUSblog. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII) also offers a comprehensive preview of the upcoming term.

You can listen to oral arguments at the Supreme Court’s Oral Arguments link, where the audio is posted at the end of each argument week. You can access the parties’ briefs at the Supreme Court’s web site. (Under Case Documents click the link for Docket Search.)

First Monday in October 2018

The new Supreme Court term is set to begin this year on Monday October 1, 2018.

For previews of arguments scheduled for this term, visit the SCOTUSblog. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute (LII) offers a comprehensive preview of the upcoming term. You can also find summaries of and links to all cases scheduled thus far for argument at Oyez. The First Mondays podcast, hosted by law professors Dan Epps and Ian Samuel, is a self-described “entertaining podcast about the Supreme Court.” The most recent episode (recorded September 24, 2018) provides a birds-eye view of the coming term. You can listen to oral arguments at the Supreme Court’s Oral Arguments link, where the audio is posted at the end of each argument week. You can access the parties’ briefs at the Supreme Court’s web site. (Under Case Documents click the link for Docket Search.)

Happy Constitution Day!

Constitution Day is observed each year on September 17 to commemorate the date on which thirty-nine delegates to the Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, signed the United States Constitution in 1787.  The Convention was convened as a result of dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States.  For deeper coverage on the world’s longest surviving written charter of government, download the Library of Congress’s free app containing the official, annotated version of the United State Constitution, U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation.

The original Constitution is held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. but you can pick up your own pocket-copy at the library’s reference desk!

The Kavanaugh Nomination Hearing

September 4 marks the first day of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. President Donald Trump nominated the D.C. Circuit Court judge to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. Check out the SCOTUSblog for live blogging of the hearing. For articles, books, congressional materials, and web resources by and about the Supreme Court nominee, visit the Law Library of Congress’ Brett M. Kavanaugh page. To track the public statements made by United States senators about how they plan to vote, visit SCOTUS Watch.