Constitution Day (officially observed this year on September 18) commemorates the formation and signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787.  On this date, after fewer than one hundred working days, thirty-nine of the Philadelphia Convention’s delegates signed the Constitution, the longest surviving written charter of government. Of the three delegates from New York, only […]

This amazing new online collection from HeinOnline brings together for the first time “all essential legal materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world . . . , includ[ing] every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases […]

For a summary of the key Supreme Court cases decided this term check out this week’s Lawyer 2 Lawyer Podcast, hosted by Robert Ambrogi and featuring two Supreme Court experts.  Click here for more details.

On November 2, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Foster v. Chatman, No. 14-8349, revisiting the issue once thought settled by the 1986 decision in Batson v. Kentucky, which held it unconstitutional to strike potential jurors based on race.  A transcript of the oral argument in Foster is available here.  The Court will post […]

Twenty-five years ago, on July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 101 Pub. L. No. 336, 104 Stat. 327.  The ADA is one of America’s most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation and its impact on American society has been undeniable.  It prohibits discrimination against people with […]

Check out this new comprehensive guide that analyzes same-sex relationship laws around the world.  Created by the global law firm Jones Day, it outlines the law of same-sex relationships in all U.N. recognized countries as well as each U.S. state.  For each jurisdiction, the guide provides the status of legal recognition along with additional insights.  […]

Governor Andrew Cuomo has nominated Justice Leslie Stein to replace Judge Victoria Graffeo on the New York Court of Appeals. A Democrat, Justice Stein currently sits in the Appellate Division’s Third Department, where she had been appointed by former Governor Eliot Spitzer in 2008. Cuomo’s decision to replace Graffeo, a Republican, has the potential to […]

In observance of the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, the U.S. Government Printing Office has made the official, digital version of the Warren Commission Report available on FDsys, the Federal Digital System housing electronic government documents. The Warren Commission was created by President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the […]

SCOTUSblog, a popular blog providing comprehensive coverage of the United States Supreme Court, recently announced the availability of a FREE iOS app. The new app provides mobile access to the content available on SCOTUSblog, access to its Twitter feed, and notifications alerting users to breaking Supreme Court news.  It will also “be rolling out new […]

To celebrate Constitution Day (September 17th), the Library of Congress has released a free app containing the official, annotated version of the United States Constitution.  This is a mobile version of its U.S. Constitution: Analysis and Interpretation work, a comprehensive analytical treatise prepared by attorneys of the Congressional Research Service.  “We the People . . […]