Yale Law School Blogs

Early Italian Statutes: Montebuono

Mike Widener — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:11:00 GMT

The Flowering of Civil Law: Early Italian City Statutes in the Yale Law Library

Montebuono (Italy). Statuti communis et hominum terre Montis Boni (manuscript, Montebuono, middle or late 15th century). Acquired with the John A. Hoober Fund, May 1946.

(View Montebuono on a map.)

The statutes from the town of Montebuono (about thirty miles north of Rome) were collected and revised by the notary Eusebius Angeli of Narni as part of a reform program in 1437. The manuscript you see here was copied out by a scribe named Maximus Vincentius several years later. The statutes are organized into four sections: the first deals with city government; the second with damages to property; the third with civil, social, and legal matters; and the fourth with violent crimes and perjury. Luckily, one statute prohibited the throwing of dead animals or other filth onto people walking along the public road.

Yale Law School’s rare manuscript is attracting attention in modern-day Montebuono, now a village of about a thousand residents. Renata Ferraro, president of the Fondazione Gabriele Berionne, wrote an article about the Yale manuscript in the August 2008 issue of Montebuono Spazio Comune. The issue is available as a PDF file, at the Montebuono On Line website, and Ferraro's article is on pages 6 and 8. The article is based on a detailed study of the manuscript authored by Yale graduate student Oriana Bleecher.

If you are interested in learning more about the rich history of Montebuono, see Montebuono e il suo territorio: storia, architetture e restauri inizia la ricerca (Mariasanta Valenti, ed.; Rome: Fondazione Gabriele Berionne, 2007), shelved in the Paskus-Danziger Rare Book Reading Room. We thank Renata Ferraro and the Fondazione Gabriele Berionne for the gift of this splendidly illustrated volume.

BENJAMIN YOUSEY-HINDES & MIKE WIDENER
Exhibit Curators

“The Flowering of Civil Law: Early Italian City Statutes in the Yale Law Library” is on display October 2008 through February 2009 in the Rare Book Exhibition Gallery, Level L2, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School.

Early Italian Statutes: Introduction

Mike Widener — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:02:00 GMT

The Flowering of Civil Law: Early Italian City Statutes in the Yale Law Library

Introduction

Beginning in the eleventh century, scholars in what is today northern Italy began to rediscover the Roman legal tradition as expressed in the Emperor Justinian’s sixth-century Corpus iuris civilis. In the centuries that followed, jurists, merchants, clergymen, and civic leaders all across the Italian Peninsula pragmatically integrated Roman law with the long-held customary laws of their own towns and cities. Over time a new and dynamic system of civil law emerged, one which continues to evolve to this day. The works featured in this exhibition are simultaneously examples of—and evidence for—the flourishing of Italian civil law in the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries.

The Yale Law Library’s collection of early Italian city statutes contains codes from over three hundred and eighty municipalities—including major cities such as Milan, Bologna, Rome, and Venice as well as tiny villages like Bellosguardo, Crasciana, and Montebuono. Regardless of their size, all of these municipalities took pride in their laws, and looking at the title pages one can sense the important role that these codes played in defining a municipality and its citizens.

As you explore the exhibition in the posts that follow, note the ways that the books’ owners marked and annotated them; the coexistence of printed and hand-written statutes; and the transition from the Latin of jurists and scholars to the Italian of merchants and politicians.

The Law Library’s Italian statute collection provides a rich resource not only for legal history, but also for the history of reading, print culture, manuscript culture, bookbinding, Italian social history, political history, and much more. In addition, the books are fascinating cultural artifacts. We welcome you to make use of them.

BENJAMIN YOUSEY-HINDES & MIKE WIDENER
Exhibit Curators

Image at right: Sicily (Kingdom). Regni Sicilie constitutiones per excellentissumum j.v.d. do. Andream de Isernia (Naples, 1533).

The Flowering of Civil Law: Early Italian City Statutes in the Yale Law Library

Mike Widener — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:18:00 GMT

Now on exhibit...

Oct. 2008 – Feb. 2009
Rare Book Exhibition Gallery
Level L2, Lillian Goldman Law Library
Yale Law School

An exhibition highlighting the Lillian Goldman Law Library's outstanding collection of early Italian city statutes inaugurates the Law Library's new, state-of-the-art exhibition gallery. The exhibition, "The Flowering of Civil Law: Early Italian City Statutes in the Yale Law Library," debuts during the Yale Law School's annual Alumni Weekend, Oct. 3-4, 2008.

The Law Library's collection of Italian "statuta" is rivaled by few other U.S. libraries and surpassed by none. These municipal codes governed the dozens of Italian city-states that arose in the Middle Ages and persisted until the reunification of Italy in the late 19th century. The collection contains over 900 volumes of printed books and 60 bound manuscripts, dating from the 14th to 20th centuries, and representing over 380 municipalities and jurisdictions. In their mixing of Roman law, local law, and pragmatic innovations, the Italian municipal statutes became the prototype of European civil law.

The new Rare Books Exhibition Gallery is located in the lower level of the Lillian Goldman Law Library (Level L2), directly in front of the Paskus-Danziger Rare Book Reading Room. The exhibition cases are climate-controlled and protect the exhibit items from damage by ultra-violet light.

The exhibition was curated by Benjamin Yousey-Hindes, doctoral candidate in medieval history at Stanford University, and Mike Widener, Rare Book Librarian.

For those unable to visit the exhibit in person, the exhibit will appear in installments here on the Yale Law Library Rare Books Blog.

For more information, phone me at (203) 432-4494 or email me at <mike.widener[at]yale.edu>.

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian

United Nations Treaty Collection

Teresa Miguel — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:49:00 GMT

The new and improved United Nations Treaty Collection database is up and running. In this fabulous open-access database, you can find the complete run of the United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS), League of Nations Treaty Series (LoN), Multilateral treaties deposited with the UN, Status of Treaties (MTDSG), Certified True Copies (CTCs) of treaties (pdfs), and Depositary Notifications (CNs). There is a UN legal research guide, cumulative index, and more. The database has been further refined to offer a variety of advanced search features including Popular Name search, Title search, and Participant search.

UNTS is also available in print in the tunnel between L1 and the UES. You can find all of Yale's subscription-based and some open-access international law databases and resources on our Foreign and International Law Resources page.

New exhibit cases!

Mike Widener — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:06:00 GMT

The new exhibit cases for the Yale Law Library's Rare Book Collection arrived on Thursday, September 25. The two state-of-the-art exhibit cases measure slightly over 8 feet wide and 3 feet deep. They were built by SmallCorp of Greenfield, MA, the same company that recently built new exhibit cases for the Yale University Art Gallery. Humidity levels are controlled by silica gel tiles, and the plexiglass tops filter out harmful ultraviolet light.

The cases are located at the entrance to the Paskus-Danziger Rare Books Reading Room, on Level L2 of the Lillian Goldman Law Library.

Thanks go out to all the folks who helped: Joseph Chadwick (Project Manager, Yale University Facilities), Femi Cadmus (Associate Librarian for Adminsitration, Lillian Goldman Law Library), Bonnie Collier (former Associate Librarian for Adminsitration, Lillian Goldman Law Library), Clark Crolius (Installations Manager, Yale University Art Gallery), Professor Blair Kauffman (Director, Lillian Goldman Law Library), Kevin Rose (Building Manager, Yale Law School), Van Wood (SmallCorp), Maria Zawadzki (H2Z Design), Paula Zyats (Assistant Chief Conservator, Yale University Libraries).

The inaugural exhibition is now being installed, and will debut during Yale Law School's Alumni Weekend. Stay tuned for the announcement!

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian

Kevin Rose, Joe Chadwick and the Physical Plant crew install the new exhibit cases.

Margot Curran (Exhibits Conservator, Yale University Libraries) installs
the new exhibit with (far left) Benjamin Yousey-Hindes, Rare Books intern
and guest exhibit curator.

A Newcomer to the Dining Scene…

Tracey — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:35:00 GMT

Thali Too, Vegetarian Cuisine of India

65 Broadway; http://www.thalitoo.com

Thali Too is one of New Haven's newest restaurants. Open since this summer, it is located only a block from the Law School. A sister restaurant of Thali (to be found in the Ninth Square area of New Haven, as well as New Canaan and Ridgefield) this vegetarian spot has quickly become a favorite lunch stop for the Law School community. Its tasty food offerings have caught the attention even of those who are not vegetarians.

Since Thali Too opened its doors this summer I have been drawn to dining outdoors in its large, comfortable patio just behind the Yale bookstore and have often stopped here for a quick lunch bowl off the "rice bar" menu. Start with a bowl of noodles or rice, add your choice of toppings such as shiitake mushrooms, cauliflower and spinach, or pineapple, paneer, almonds and raisins and finish off with a sauce like chili garlic or hot black bean. For $7 these offer a filling, affordable and quick Pan-Asian meal. After sampling a few of the options, the rice bowl topped with cauliflower and spinach cooked in a chili garlic sauce quickly became my favorite for a light yet flavorful lunch. I have not found all of the rice bar options to be as flavorful or interesting, so apart from being a great location for lunch near the Law School, I was not sure that Thali Too would draw me back once the chill of late fall set in and the patio lost is charm.

That was until Friday night when I tried the regular menu -- which I must admit I had merely glanced at during my summer lunchtime visits, opting for what I assumed would be the lighter options from the rice bar. It deserved more consideration!

Thankfully, this weekend I was hosting a guest who is a vegetarian, and after some deliberation, Thali Too came to mind. I don't immediately think of Broadway as a place to head for a dinner out, so I was surprised to find the place was packed! After passing by an intriguing assortment of spices in the entryway we found ourselves in the modern interior of the restaurant. The long tables in the main room, where diners sat elbow to elbow with their neighbors, reminded me of some of my favorite spots in New York. We were seated at a surprisingly comfortable long high booth opposite the door.

In additional to some of the vegetarian entrees and basmati rice options I am accustomed to seeing on menus at Indian restaurants, Thali Too also offers a "tiffin menu" with all day snacks or light meals and a "chat and other" assortment, described as Bombay and Delhi vendor style snacks. I love trying new foods, especially casual street style snacks, so picking one option off of the menu proved to be difficult! Why hadn't I taken a closer look at this menu before? Nothing on the menu is over $10 and many of the tiffin and chat options are only $5. This would be a great place to come with a group ready to try an assortment of the snacks and light meals.

Our group of three ordered family style. We began with the Veggie Uthapam, a rice and lentil pancake cooked with peas and cilantro and served with an assortment of chutneys. The texture of the pancake made it perfect for dipping and each sauce offered a wonderfully contrasting taste. There was a chili dipping sauce that added a kick to each of the other flavors. All in all it made a perfect treat for sharing before our meal and with the three of us tasting each new set of sauce combinations, the pancake was gone within minutes.

For our meal we shared the Baigan Bhurtha, a dish of charcoal smoked, smashed eggplant and the Avial, a curry of yam, carrots, eggplant and raw banana. Both dishes were delicious. The Baigan Bhurtha, which is one of my usual favorites, had a nice smoky flavor. The Avial was new to me. The sauce was delicate and flavorful, not overly sweet as I might have thought. The vegetables were a perfect complement to the texture of the eggplant dish. Finally, we added a side of Raita, which brought a lightness to the whole meal.

I suppose it goes without saying that none of us - even the two carnivores - thought twice about the absence of meat options on the menu! I'm looking forward to returning to sample a variety of new flavor combinations. I'll have to come up with another excuse soon!

Sticker Shock

asha — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:51:00 GMT

Dear Asha,

I'm a senior at a state university (a great school). I made the decision to attend a state school for financial reasons. My parents are middle-class and I learned that I was not going to receive any financial aid from the Ivies. Four years later, I have had a great educational experience and think I made the right choice.

I am now applying for law school and find myself back in the same quandary. My parents are still middle-class, so I think it is unlikely I will receive any need-based financial aid at Yale and the idea of taking out 64K a year in loans really scares me. This brings me to my two questions: Is Yale worth paying for over a state law school and how do students pay for it?

Sincerely,

M.N.

Dear M.N.,

I'm sure many law students, like you, are cringing at the cost of tution for law school, so the questions you ask are good ones. Here are my thoughts:

While Yale is a fabulous law school, there are reasons why it may not be the best fit for everyone. State law schools, in particular, often offer a great value, money-wise, for in-state residents, and many of them are, to boot, ranked along with the "top" private law schools in the country (not that we pay attention to rankings). Depending on the curriculum, you may also have more courses in that state's particular body of law, and for students who are looking to practice within the state or perhaps go into politics, going to a state school can offer a good professional network.

With that said, I think that in a lot of other ways, Yale is definitely worth the extra cost. First, Yale offers several unmatched resources. For example, we have the leading faculty in just about every area of law, from constitutional to corporate to environmental law. Our faculty-student ratio is 7-1, so you'll have a tremendous amount of access to these professors, and it's not uncommon for students here to work closely enough with faculty members to coauthor articles or spearhead projects together. Yale's approach is one that focuses on how to think about the law, rather than memorizing specific rules or statutes that could be obsolete in a few years -- which means that you'll have the tools to pursue careers in policy, public interest, business, journalism, or a number of other non-traditional paths. Finally, our alumni network is national and international, so you can find mentors and connections no matter where you go.

In addition, if you want to follow a particular career path -- like becoming a law professor -- Yale is hands-down the place to go (and I'd be surprised if the law professors in your state school didn't give you the same advice). In fact, it can be extremely difficult to get onto this career path if you don't go to Yale or a handful of other schools. Other types of experiences may be harder to come by at a state school, particularly if it is a large one. For example, Yale offers a variety of clinics (courses where you do hands-on work on real legal cases) and with few exceptions, any student can begin participating in a clinic starting in their first year of law school. At most schools, you cannot participate in a clinic until your second year, and sometimes even then it is difficult to get in. Similarly, roughly half of Yale Law graduates clerk for a judge after graduation, which gives them an amazing experience, an opportunity for mentorship, and a valuable professional credential in their careers. Clerkship opportunities at other schools may be limited to the top 5-15% of graduates or even, depending on the school, to the top one or two people in the class. So whether Yale Law School is "worth it" in terms of your professional career really depends on what types of opportunities you want in law school and beyond. In the legal world, where you go to law school can matter -- it's not that you can't do the same things at or from another school, but it may just be a little harder to accomplish.

The one area where I think no school can compare to Yale -- and to me is worth the cost -- is the actual experience of law school itself. Unlike the competitve grind that most law schools are reputed to be (and are), Yale is... fun. Part of it is the lack of class rank and grades, which of course does a lot to bring the stress level down a notch or two. But most of it is the combination of Yale's small class size and the amazing student body (yes, I'm patting myself on the back here), which is what most students love about going to school here. Coming to law school at Yale is really like joining a family -- I know this sounds corny but once you drink the Kool Aid, you'll agree.

So, how do you pay for it? Well, Yale offers need-based aid, so you have to apply for financial aid. Keep in mind that we use a different formula to calculate need than most undergraduate institutions, so you should apply for financial aid even if you did not qualify for it as an undergraduate. Each year we have students who are surprised by the amount of aid they are eligible to receive for law school. Part of your financial aid will include loans, and I understand the psychological burden of taking on debt. However, the great thing about Yale is that our loan repayment program, COAP, will ensure that you can pursue any career you want by helping to pay your loans if you go into a lower-paying job (more on this in a future post). And, if you choose to work for a white-shoe firm in New York, well, given where salaries are these days, you should be able to pay off your loans fairly quickly provided you don't get trapped in the "golden handcuffs" (i.e. having the lifestyle of a New York corporate lawyer when you have $100K in debt!).

In short, I think that debt is a valid consideration when thinking about where to go to law school generally, but given the resources and experiences you'll have at Yale, combined with the financial assistance you can continue to receive when you graduate, I don't think it should be a deciding factor in choosing whether to come here!

Asha

Please email questions to 203blog@yale.edu.

African-American History in our American Trials Collection, #5

Mike Widener — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:33:00 GMT

The sesquicentennial of the infamous Dred Scott decision was marked in 2007. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and not citizens; they could not bring suit in federal court; and because slaves were private property, the federal government could not revoke a slave owner's right to own a slave based on where he lived. The decision threatened to open U.S. territories to slavery, and was one of the preludes to the Civil War.

The decision itself was published in several editions, and is widely accessible. It generated a large amount of pamphlet literature, which is not so accessible. An example from the Yale Law Library's Rare Book Collection is A Legal Review of the Case of Dred Scott, by John Lowell and Horace Gray. (In 1881 Gray became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice and in 1898 authored a decision that a child born in United States to foreign parents is automatically a citizen of the United States.)

Our copy is inscribed, "Hon. Roger S. Baldwin with the authors' compliments." Roger Sherman Baldwin (Yale 1845) served Connecticut as governor and U.S. Senator, and was one of the attorneys who defended the African captives in the Amistad case. It was one of thousands of volumes donated to the Yale Law Library by his son, Simeon E. Baldwin (Yale 1861), one of the most outstanding professors in the history of the Yale Law School. The inscription illustrates how pamphlets like this one were part of the information networks among anti-slavery lawyers and activists.

For more information, see the Wikipedia articles on Roger Sherman Baldwin and Simeon E. Baldwin, and the accompanying links. There are a number of excellent websites on the Dred Scott decision. An excellent starting place is the Library of Congress Web Guide on Dred Scott v. Sandford.

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian

The beginning of fall...

craigj — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:28:00 GMT

I can't believe that I'm once again writing a blog entry about the beginning of the school year. It seems like only a few short months ago I welcomed the Class of 2010 and now, here I am, writing about the arrival of the Class of 2011.

The school year began in traditional fashion with several days of orientation activities for incoming students. Included on the schedule were a series of lectures designed to introduce the new class to Yale Law School, the study of law, and to the legal profession. There were also many opportunities for new students to connect with their classmates: a cocktail reception at the Yale Center for British Art, a community picnic, theatre in the park, and a hike with Dean Koh in Sleeping Giant State Park. Of course, many members of the incoming class had already met; well over half of the incoming class attended the Admitted Students Program in April.

Dean Koh delivered his convocation on the first day of orientation. During his welcome he shared some interesting trivia about the incoming class. The Class of 2011:

is the 197th class to begin its study of law at Yale;
speaks over 30 languages;
has lived or worked in 77 countries; and
counts amongst its members 5 mountain climbers, 4 black belts, 3 radio talk show hosts, 2 competitive sky divers, and a five-time Emmy award winner.

Reminding them of their educational fortunes, Dean Koh encouraged the newly minted law students to explore new areas, broaden their perspectives, ask how they can serve the public interest, and grapple with the question of how to live their lives as lawyers. In addition to challenging the class to think more globally, Dean Koh announced some new sustainability initiatives at the Law School and the University (more on that in a future entry).

The 1Ls aren't the only group making the adjustment back to lives as full-time students. The 2Ls and 3Ls are busy shopping for classes, applying to judicial clerkships, and preparing for the School's Fall Interview Program, during which hundreds of employers from the public and private sectors travel to New Haven to interview Yale Law students. To help students make the best first impression and guide them in the myriad choices available to them, the Career Development Office (CDO) conducts a series of workshops on topics ranging from résumé and cover letter creation to successful networking techniques. CDO also conducts mock interviews to help prepare students for what they will experience in the coming weeks. The assistance the Law School offers to students isn't limited to workshops and individual counseling. New this past spring and held again last week, CDO sponsored a program at a nearby clothing retailer entitled "What Not To Wear!" (alas, without Stacy or Clinton). Students received tips on buying an interview suit and received a discount on their purchases. The School even helps students buy their suits by offering a suit allowance to the student budget for those students who need it.

With the students back at school the building is once again abuzz with activity. My inbox is filled on a daily basis with advertisements for events and activities and the YLS events calendar is already filling up. This fall promises to be an exciting one, so check back here at 203 for the details.

Oct. 2nd: Prof. Paul Kahn book talk at Labyrinth Books

Tom Boone — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:44:00 GMT

On Thursday, October 2nd at 5:30pm, Labyrinth Books on York Street in New Haven will host a conversation between YLS professors Paul Kahn and Robert Post about political violence and Prof. Kahn's latest book, Sacred Violence: Torture, Terror, and Sovereignty. Labyrinth provides the following summary of the book:

In Sacred Violence, the distinguished political and legal theorist Paul W. Kahn investigates the reasons for the resort to violence characteristic of premodern states. In a startling argument, he contends that law will never offer an adequate account of political violence. Instead, we must turn to political theology, which reveals that torture and terror are, essentially, forms of sacrifice. Kahn forces us to acknowledge what we don't want to see: that we remain deeply committed to a violent politics beyond law.

The Yale Law Library is a co-sponsor of this event.

For more information, visit the Labyrinth Books website.

New Law Library acquisitions for August 2008

Tom Boone — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:55:00 GMT

The Law Library's list of new acquisitions for August 2008 are now available:

Or, as always, you can visit the library's new acquisitions web page: http://www.law.yale.edu/library/acquisitions.asp.

New Questions

asha — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:55:00 GMT

Dear Asha,

I noticed that there are two new questions on the application that ask whether I took an LSAT preparation course or had any assistance in preparing my application. Will it hurt my chances of being admitted if I took an LSAT prep course? Is it still okay to have an admissions consultant give me guidance on my application?

Thanks,

T.K.

Dear T.K.,

I have a feeling that your questions are on a lot of applicants' minds, so I'm glad you asked! Let me address the LSAT and application assistance questions separately.

For the LSAT, it's become the norm to take some type of preparation course (this is a change from one or two decades ago, when a relatively smaller portion of the applicant pool took such courses). Taking a course -- which helps students understand the test, gives guidance and practice on the different kinds of questions, and gives test-takers a psychological confidence boost -- can significantly help one's score. Of course, applicants who have a lot of self-discipline and organizational skills can self-study with the same (and sometimes better) benefits. But my guess is that most people aren't always as organized or disciplined, and generally take a course if they can -- for which they won't be penalized. These courses, however, are pretty pricey, and not all applicants have access to one. So, if I am looking at an application where a student self-studied, to me it's another piece of data in reviewing the application. That's not to say that a student who doesn't take a course and gets a lower score will get a "pass," or will have a lower standard applied to him or her, but it does allow me and other file readers to consider the resources that were or were not available to the applicant in preparing for the LSAT and weigh that along with the strengths and weaknesses of the other parts of the application.

With respect to the assistance received in preparing your application, I want to make sure that all applicants are evaluated on a level playing field. Most students take the time to prepare their application on their own, and will probably reach out to friends and family or the prelaw advisor at their college or university for guidance on essay ideas or proofreading. That's fine, and we hope and expect that you'll use these resources (though you should still disclose it on your application). However, some applicants go much further. For example, some students pay a lot of money for professional consultants -- some of whom are former admissions officials -- to help package their applications, which usually involves significant help on their personal statements. Others may get a similar level of feedback and editing from people they know. Now, a student who receives assistance on his or her application won't be automatically penalized or rejected. But I would like to know if a student received any help and to what extent: after all, I'm interested in evaluating the ideas and writing of the applicant, not those of the people who helped him or her. Most importantly, I want students who don't get a lot of assistance, or choose not to spend $500 or $5,000 dollars on a professional packaging service, to feel confident that their application -- even if it is not as slick and polished as some others -- will still get due, and fair, consideration

If you are considering getting an admissions consultant, think about why you need one. There's no blueprint for a law school application, and the most important thing about a personal statement, in my opinion, is authenticity. The only way to achieve that is to write your personal statement yourself, in your own voice. Honestly, there's not a lot of feedback about your personal statement that a "professional" consultant can give that someone who knows you well -- a friend, family member, or a trusted professor or college advisor -- couldn't give as well. Moreover, your PS is not necessarily the most important part of your application. The other aspects of your application, including your academic record, and your recommendations, tell admissions committees volumes about you, and no consultant can change or package those. Finally, remember that whatever type of assistance you receive, you must certify that your essays are your *original* work, which means that no one should be redrafting or rewording your essays except for you. My advice? Save your money for law school -- you're going to need it.

Asha

Email questions to 203blog@yale.edu.

The end of summer...

Tracey — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:14:00 GMT

Hey everyone. As Asha mentioned in her post, I'm the new Director of Recruitment at the law school. I'm excited to be back here at the Law School in the admissions office for the new school year!

Even though I'm sad to see the summer end, I'm happy that it's the first week of September - what can I say, I was always one of those kids who loved the beginning of school! Maybe it's the crispness in the air, the sight of new faces, or the building coming to life after a quiet summer in New Haven, but it's definitely one of my favorite weeks of the year.

When I was a student at the Law School (back in the early years of this decade) one of the places I loved to visit in New Haven was East Rock Park. It's just a short drive from the Law School or a great walk from the East Rock neighborhood. (http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/eastrock.asp) It was a beautiful day for a stroll, but since I have a lot of ground to cover in the first few weeks of the academic year, I thought I would take a quick drive up there - not before grabbing a sandwich at Atticus, of course. The park has amazing views of New Haven and the Long Island Sound. Anyone who thinks New Haven isn't pretty, needs to make this trip! On a clear day, you can even see across the sound to Long Island. As my lunch hour ticked away, I enjoyed the view and took in the sights and sounds of a family picnic nearby. I remember my classmates used to escape the rigors of the Law School on sunny days by hiking to the top of the park to barbecue, toss a Frisbee or just to get away. This time it was simply a beautiful place to enjoy a quiet, end-of-summer afternoon.

I finished my tomato panino (I do recommend, by the way) and drove back down the hill to the law school, ready to meet the new faces and share with new students why New Haven and Yale are a great place to be in school.

"A library alone isn't enough..."

Mike Widener — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:12:00 GMT

A recent addition to our collection of illustrated law books is Johann Werle's Album Juridicum (Augusburg, 1733), a collection of legal maxims arranged by topic. The frontispiece depicts the author seated in his library as a latter-day St. Jerome. He points to a diagram outlining the book's contents.

At the top of the diagram is the Latin maxim, "Bibliotheca sola non sufficit; unde disce piger", which, roughly translated, means "A library alone is not enough; learn, you lazy man!" Words to live by.

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian

Weee're Baaack

asha — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:05:00 GMT

So I realize the title of this post is a reference to a movie most of you have probably never seen (but is a classic). But I needed to acknowledge the fact that we did -- let's face it -- fall off the wagon last spring, and for that we apologize to those of you who have tuned in from time to time to see no recent updates. But, now that the Class of 2011 is on campus and ready to start class, we're looking ahead to the coming admissions season and are back in blogging action. We have a couple of new things in store this year. First, our new Director of Recruitment, Tracey Parr, will be taking over as our New Haven guru, and will be reviewing restaurants, special events, and the general NH scene in her column, "Tracey on the Town." In addition, we'll be opening up our posts for comments to get your feedback. I'll start answering questions again starting next week, so please send queries to 203blog@yale.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!

John Cowell's blind alley

Mike Widener — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:10:00 GMT

John Cowell's The Interpeter, or Booke Containing the Signification of Words was the most respected English law dictionary of the 17th century, despite the controversy that greeted its appearance in 1607. It went through eight editions between 1607 and 1727, testimony to its popularity and usefulness.

However, the early editions have an interesting quirk. The entry for "Testament (testamentum)" directs the reader to "See Will", but when you turn to the W's, there is no entry for "Will"! Cowell has sent his readers down a blind alley, or what librarians and indexers call a "blind reference."

This is a particularly surprising error given the author. John Cowell (1554-1611) was a doctor of civil law, or a "civilian" in the nomenclature of English law, in contrast to the practitioners of the English common law who practiced in the common law courts. Civilians practiced in the ecclesiastical courts of England, and thus wills and estates were part of the bread-and-butter of their practice. For a civilian like Cowell to completely omit any coverage of testaments and wills is odd, to say the least.

Even odder is that for decades no one bothered to fix the error. The 1637 and 1658 editions of The Interpeter were basically reprints of the 1607 edition. Finally, in 1672, Thomas Manley of the Middle Temple published an enlarged edition with a half-column definition for "Testament" and a brief paragraph for "Will."

Thanks to my friend Mr. Harold I. Boucher of San Francisco for calling to my attention the case of Cowell's missing "will." Mr. Boucher, a retired attorney, has himself published both on Cowell (King James's Suppression of The Interpreter and Denouncement of Dr. Cowell, 1998) and on the history of wills (California Living Trusts and Wills: What You Must Know Before You Make a Will, 1994; How to Live and Die with California Probate, 1970).

The image of the title page from the 1607 edition of The Interpreter comes from the John Cowell page in the Law Dictionary Collection website provided by Rare Books & Special Collections, Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas at Austin. It appears here with their permission and with my thanks to Elizabeth Haluska-Rauch, Head of Special Collections.

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian

Messi conflict in Barcelona v. FIFA

Teresa Miguel — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:01:00 GMT

Lionel Messi, one of the world's greatest football (i.e. soccer) players at the moment, is caught in the middle of a conflict. His national squad, Argentina, has called him to play in the Olympics this month. His club team, Barcelona, who pays his multi-million euro salary, does not want him to go because of Champion's League obligations. Barcelona has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for a ruling. Here is the court's summary of the dispute:

The CAS has registered an appeal from FC Barcelona against the decision made by the Single Judge of the FIFA Players' Status Committee regarding the release of players for the Olympic Games. This appeal will be handled together with the appeals filed by FC Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen against the same FIFA decision. The CAS will deliver its final ruling on or before 6 August 2008.

FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the governing body of football, has long contended that players should be released to play with their national teams. A single judge from the FIFA Players' Status Committee ruled on July 30, 2008 that the clubs must release their players to the national teams. This ruling was appealed by the clubs to the CAS.

AUGUST 6 UPDATE: According to Reuters, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has shockingly ruled that club teams may recall their players from their national teams! Regardless, both FIFA President Sepp Blatter and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge are calling on the clubs to allow their players to remain in China to compete in the Olympics.

Photo of Lionel Messi in his Argentina kit from the Guardian: CAS steps in to stop players heading to Beijing.

The Yale Law Library has quite a few resources pertaining to the Court of Arbitration for sport such as:

The proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport - 2006 Conference - K3702 .P36 2007
The Court of Arbitration for Sport, 1984 - 2006 - K3702 .C686 2006
Arbitraje deportivo - K3702 .G66 2006

We also have other titles dealing with various aspects of sports law:

The regulation of sport in the European Union - KJE6063 .R44X 2007
Equal play: Title IX and social change - KF4166 .E68X 2007
The strict liability principle and the human rights of athletes in doping cases - K3702 .S64 2007

There are many sports law journals, too (do a subject heading search in Morris, for example: Sports - law and legislation - united states - periodicals):

Seton Hall journal of sports and entertainment law - K23 .E83 and Hein Online
The sports lawyers' journal - K23 .P67 and Hein Online

New Law Library Acquisitions for July 2008

Tom Boone — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:28:00 GMT

The Law Library's list of new acquisitions for July 2008 are now available:

Or, as always, you can just go to the new acquisitions web page: http://www.law.yale.edu/library/acquisitions.asp.

Yale Law Library adds IM and text messaging reference service

Tom Boone — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:38:00 GMT

You probably know that you can get help from a reference librarian at the reference desk. And you may be aware that you can call (432-1606) or email (lawref@pantheon.yale.edu) us for help, too. But what you probably don't know is that you can now ask questions via instant message (IM) or text message (from your cell phone).

The reference desk now has accounts on AIM (ylslibrary), Yahoo! Messenger (ylslibrary) and Google Talk (ylslibrary@gmail.com), so when you need research help, just send us an IM. Or if you have your cell phone handy, you can send a text message to 265-010. When sending a text message, be sure to type "ylslibrary" first, then your question (as illustrated in this cell phone screenshot).

Don't have an IM account or a cell phone? No problem. Just visit our Research or Reference Department web pages and use the chat box to IM a reference librarian directly from your web browser.

For best results, be sure to include your "yale.edu" email address in your message so that if we can't answer your question immediately we can still contact you later. This is particularly helpful if you send a message during non-service hours.

These new services are available to all YLS students, faculty and staff. Generally speaking, IM and text messaging reference service should be available during most regular reference service hours (see the Reference Department page for the complete schedule), but as we ramp up these services coverage may not be comprehensive.

If you have questions about these new services, please contact Tom Boone, Reference Librarian for Electronic Services.

Yale Law Library on Facebook and Twitter

Tom Boone — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:04:00 GMT

This summer Yale Law School's Lillian Goldman Law Library took the plunge into the social web, joining both Facebook and Twitter.

If you're a member of Facebook, check out the library's page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Haven-CT/Lillian-Goldman-Law-Library-Yale-Law-School/14518877231. The page includes library information, blog posts, research links, and catalog searching. Show your support by becoming a fan.

For those of you using Twitter, you can begin following the library's updates at: http://twitter.com/yalelawlibrary. Updates will include new services and features at the library, as well as notifications every time there's an update to the library blogs.

If you have any questions about these new tools, please contact Tom Boone, Reference Librarian for Electronic Services.

Guantanamo Bay Cases

Teresa Miguel — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:00:00 GMT

The U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia has created a webpage of public information on the Guantanamo Bay cases. Find the court schedule, court orders and opinions, and press releases and notices.

Meanwhile, back at the camp, the trial of Osama Bin Laden's driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, began about 10 days ago, as reported on NPR. In 2006, Yale law students worked closely with Mr. Hamdan's lawyer, Neal Katyal, a YLS grad, in his challenge of the use of military commissions; they were victorious. As a result, Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006.

Another Guantanamo prisoner, Omar Khadr, has been in the news recently as a result of the release of a videotaped interrogation conducted on the island. The video was released by Mr. Khadar's defense team, as explained in this story on NPR. An interesting history of Mr. Khadar's life and eventual detention at Guantanamo can be read in a 2006 article in Rolling Stone; a summary of his legal history can be found on Human Rights First.

The U.S. Dept. of Defense, Military Commissions, has a website with court filings and documents pertaining to Mr. Khadr's and Mr. Hamdan's cases, as well as other Guantanamo Bay detainees facing trial. The Military Commissions Act and Military Commissions Manual can also be found here.

The Yale Law Library has several recently published book on the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Guantanamo detainees:

Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials by Kyndra Miller Rotunda (2008)
Bush, the Detainees, and the Constitution: The Battle over Presidential Power in the War on Terror by Howard Ball (2007)
Beyond the Law: The Bush Administration's Unlawful Responses in the "War" on Terror by Jordan J. Paust (2007)

We also have interesting historical works on military commissions in the U.S.:

Constitutional Limitation on Trials by Military Commissions by Harold Loeb (1943) (microfiche)
Military Commissions for the Trial of Citizens: A Letter to the Attorney General of the United States by John H. James, Jr. (1860) (microfiche and MOML)
An Argument to Establish the Illegality of Military Commissions in the United States, and Especially of the One Organized for the Trial of the Parties Charged with Conspiring to Assassinate the Late President, and Others, Presented to that Commission, on Monday, the 19th of June, 1865 by Reverdy Johnson, one of the counsel of Mrs. Surratt (1865)

There are several online, free research guides pertaining to the Military Commissions Act of 2006:

Paraguayan President Granted Holy Dispensation

Teresa Miguel — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:41:00 GMT

In an unprecedented decision the Vatican has granted Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo dispensation of "all obligations as a priest, as a bishop and as a religious man of the Divine Word" (my translation). The dispensation by Pope Benedict XVI was formally announced today in Paraguay by Orlando Antonini, Apostalic Nuncio of the Vatican. Antonini also stated that this decision was reached after several years of research and analysis into Canon Law.

President-elect Lugo resigned from the priesthood in 2006 when he decided to run for president. His victory in April 2008 ended the 61-year rule of the Partido Colorado in Paraguay. He will officially take office on August 15, 2008. At the time of his 2006 resignation, he was advised that he might be excommunicated for violating the Vatican's rule against clerical involvement in politics. Read more...

Yale has a fantastic Canon Law collection located on the LES (Lower East Side) of the library, with current and historical texts in many languages, such as:

The Canon Law (2002) (a handbook of Catholic Theology)
Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des Canonischen Rechts (1875) (The History of the Sources and Literature of Canon Law (my translation) - a bibliography).

There are also several law reviews dedicated to Canon Law, such as:

There are several excellent, free, online research guides to assist with Canon Law research:

There is even a blog dedicated to Canon Law by Prof. Edward N. Peters, J.D., J.C.D., Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, MI:

In Light of the Law

Recueil de Cours - online! Part II

Teresa Miguel — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:06:00 GMT

Recently I wrote that The Hague Academy of International Law's Recueil des Cours de l'Academie de la Haye was online with free browsing but at the time the Yale Law Library had not yet purchased a subscription to the full-text.

Today I am happy to write that we have subscribed and you can now browse, search and access all the full-text articles.

"The Academy is a prestigious international institution for the study and teaching of Public and Private International Law and related subjects. The work of the Hague Academy receives the support and recognition of the UN. Its purpose is to encourage a thorough and impartial examination of the problems arising from international relations in the field of law. The courses deal with the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject, including legislation and case law. All courses at the Academy are, in principle, published in the language in which they were delivered in the Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law.

You can also access our complete print collection in the Yale Law Library on L1, Call No. KZ 3092 .R43.

Legal history on the web

Mike Widener — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 17:09:00 GMT

A quick round-up of new sources for legal history on the web...

From Prof. Robert C. Palmer, University of Houston: "The Anglo-American Legal Tradition website now has available the acquisitions from Spring 2008. The site contains about 2.1 million frames of documents from the U.K. National Archives from the years 1218 to 1650. If you have not used the site in the last few months, you will find it much more user-friendly ... The main document series on the site are CP40 (court of common pleas plea rolls), KB27 (court of king's bench plea rolls), KB26 (king's bench and common pleas plea rolls from Henry III), E159 and E368 (exchequer memoranda rolls), C33 (chancery orders and decrees), CP25(1) (feet of fines), DL5 (duchy decrees and orders), and REQ1 (court of requests orders and decrees) ... The AALT website runs through the O'Quinn Law Library at the University of Houston under a non-commercial license from the U.K. National Archives."

http://aalt.law.uh.edu

Legislación Mexicana, offered by the Biblioteca Daniel Cosio Villegas of the Colegio de México, is a project to digitize the contents of an essential work for the legal history of 19th-century Mexico, Legislación mexicana: ó, Coleccion completa de las disposiciónes legislativas expedidas desdé la independencia de la República [1821-1906] / ordenada por Manuel Dublán y José María Lozano (42 vols.; México, 1876-1912). Thanks to the Philobiblos blog for the heads-up.

http://www.biblioweb.dgsca.unam.mx/dublanylozano/

The 1582 edition of the Corpus Juris Canonici has been put online by UCLA's Charles E. Young Research Library. This edition is known as the "Correctores Romani" edition, because it was prepared by a Vatican-appointed panel of editors charged with ridding the text and gloss of corruptions that had crept in over the centuries. The site also features corrected, expanded and searchable versions of indexes to the Liber Extra and its gloss.

http://digidev.library.ucla.edu/canonlaw-dev/

From Vicenç Feliú, Paul M. Hebert Law Center Library, Louisiana State University: "On the occasion of the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Digest of 1808, the Paul M. Hebert Law Center’s Center for Civil Law Studies has published an electronic version of the Digest of the Civil Laws now in Force in the Territory of Orleans (enacted on March 31, 1808) on its Civil Law Online website ... The original French and the English translation can be viewed separately or together on the same screen ... In addition, the manuscript notes of 1814, attributed to Louis Moreau-Lislet who, with James Brown, drafted the Digest, are available on this website. These notes are extracted from the De la Vergne Volume, a copy of the Digest bound in 1808 with interleaves between the English text on the left and the French text on the right. The manuscript notes on the interleaves give reference mainly to Roman and Spanish laws, but also mention French sources, such as Domat and Pothier ... This volume belonged to the de la Vergne family for generations, and is presently in possession of Mr. Louis V. de la Vergne." I add my congratulations to my good friend Louis de la Vergne for helping make this project possible.

http://www.law.lsu.edu/index.cfm?geaux=civillawonline.mainclohome

From the University of Georgia: "The Civil Rights Digital Library promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale. The CRDL features a collection of unedited news film from the WSB (Atlanta) and WALB (Albany, Ga.) television archives held by the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia Libraries. The CRDL provides educator resources and contextual materials, including Freedom on Film, relating instructive stories and discussion questions from the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia, delivering engaging online articles and multimedia."

http://publish.crdl.usg.edu/voci/go/crdl/home/

English Medieval Legal Documents AD 600 - AD 1535: A Compilation of Published Sources. Prepared by Hazel D. Lord, Senior Law Librarian, University of Southern California School of Law: "The goal of this project is to create a collaborative database on the published sources of English medieval legal documents, and to provide links to the growing number of online sources currently being developed."

http://emld.usc.edu/tiki-index.php

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian

African-American History in our American Trials Collection, #4

Mike Widener — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:55:00 GMT

Among the most uncommon and interesting of our trial pamphlets is Isaiah Lanson's Statement and Inquiry, Concerning the Trial of William Lanson, Before the New Haven County Court, November Session, 1845, probably printed in New Haven in 1846. Ours is the only copy recorded in the online library dabase, WorldCat.

William Lanson was an African American and a successful New Haven construction engineer. He extended Long Wharf in 1810, built the East Haven Bridge, and helped develop Wooster Square. He also owned the Liberian Hotel. He was arrested repeatedly for allegedly illegal activities at the hotel, and put on trial for operating a house of ill repute.

In this pamphlet, Lanson's son Isaiah comes to his father's defense. He asserts that "If Mr. L. had been a white man, he would have had at least some advantages which he has not had. Some evidence of his would have been taken as good. We have no hesitation in saying that the jury were in a measure prejudiced." Isaiah Lanson sets out an impassioned but also well-documented defense of his father's conduct and reputation.

The pamphlet provides considerable information on the operation of a boarding house, and life in New Haven's African American community in the early 19th century. It also provides evidence that African Americans in New Haven were not only literate but also sophisticated in their employment of print media.

MIKE WIDENER
Rare Book Librarian