Legal History Commons^™

Interpretation And Re-Interpretation Of A Clause: Magna Carta And The Widow’S Quarantine, Janet Loengard

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Great Charter Turned 800: Remembering Its 700th Birthday, Karl Shoemaker

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Magna Carta In The Fourteenth Century: From Law To Symbol?: Reflections On The “Six Statutes”, Charles Donahue Jr.

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Forest Law Through The Looking Glass: Distortions Of The Forest Charter In The Outlaw Fiction Of Late Medieval England, Sarah Harlan-Haughey

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Forest Eyre Justices In The Reign Of Henry Iii (1216–1272), Ryan Rowberry

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Magna Carta In The Late Middle Ages: Over-Mighty Subjects, Under-Mighty Kings, And A Turn Away From Trial By Jury, David J. Seipp

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Legacy Of Magna Carta: Law And Justice In The Fourteenth Century, Anthony Musson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Salvation By Statute: Magna Carta, Legislation, And The King’S Soul, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

The Corpus Juris Civilis: A Guide To Its History And Use, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

The Corpus Juris Civilis is indispensable for Roman law research. It is a vital pillar of modern law in many European nations, and influential in other countries. Scholars and lawyers still refer to it today. This valuable publication, however, may seem impenetrable at first, and references to it can be hard to decipher or detect. This guide provides a history of the Corpus Juris Civilis and the forms it has taken, states why it is still an important resource today, and offers some tips and tools for research using it.

The Senate Has No Constitutional Obligation To Consider Nominees, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

[After Justice Antonin Scalia's death in 2016 and i]n response to the Senate Republican leadership's stated intention to refuse to consider any nominee to replace Justice Scalia, some began to argue that the Senate has a constitutional obligation to act on a Supreme Court nomination.

The argument that the Senate has a constitutional obligation to act on a Supreme Court nomination is anything but "clear." This claim finds no support in the relevant constitutional text, constitutional structure, or the history of judicial nominations. While there are strong policy and prudential arguments that the Senate should promptly consider any and all …

The Corpus Juris Civilis, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

Byzantine Emperor Justinian I ordered the creation of the Corpus Juris Civilis, a compilation of the laws in force at the time, which would become a vital foundation for both the civil law and common law traditions. Important figures in the development of the United States' law used principles listed the Corpus as a guide, and to this day legal scholars and historians still refer to it. Despite its importance, the Corpus can seem impenetrable to researchers, citations to the Corpus enigmatic. This program will give a history of the Corpus, describe its components, and give participants tools for researching …

Creating A Literature For The King’S Courts In The Later Thirteenth Century: Hengham Magna, Fet Asaver, And Bracton, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Faculty Publications

The early common law produced a rich literature. This article examines two of the most popular legal treatises of the second half of the thirteenth century, Hengham Magna and Fet Asaver. It has long been recognized that these two treatises bear some relationship to each other. This article will attempt to establish that relationship, arguing that Hengham Magna and Fet Asaver were written by different people; that Fet Asaver borrows from Hengham Magna; and that the authors of both texts had independent access to the Bracton treatise. The article concludes by suggesting a new way to think about the legal …

Law Reform In The Ancient World: Did The Emperor Augustus Succeed Or Fail In His Morals Legislation?, Charles J. Reid Jr.

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This is an Article with a dual purpose. First, it is concerned with the process of law reform: how do we judge a given reform’s success or failure? Do we adopt strictly linear metrics? Or do we look at nonlinear impacts? For example, in the campaign against tobacco, do we judge it a success because it has reduced cigarette smoking? Or because it reduced the political power of the tobacco companies?

Secondly, in this Article, I apply this complex means of analyzing law reform to the Emperor Augustus’s morals legislation. Legal historians have typically regarded Augustus’s morals legislation as having …

Book Review Of The Oxford History Of The Laws Of England, Volume Ii, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Corpus Juris Civilis, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

The Corpus Juris Civilis, created by order of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I to compile the laws in force at the time, would become a vital foundation for both the civil law and common law traditions. Important figures in the development of the United States’ law used principles listed in the Corpus as a guide, and to this day legal scholars and historians still refer to it. As a system of law based on principles, not case law, the Corpus provided the framework upon which France built the Code Napoleon. The Corpus' influence can be seen in the legal systems …

"Shouting 'Fire' In A Theater": The Life And Times Of Constitutional Law's Most Enduring Analogy, Carlton F.W. Larson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In 1919, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes introduced the specter of a man falsely shouting “fire” in a theater into First Amendment law. Nearly one hundred years later, this remains the most enduring analogy in constitutional law. It has been relied on in hundreds of constitutional cases, and it has permeated popular discourse on the scope of individual rights.

This Article examines both the origins and the later life of Holmes’s theater analogy. Part I is a detective story, seeking to solve the mystery of how Holmes came up with this particular example. This story takes us to the forgotten world …

"As If Uttered By Our Own Inspired Mouth": Researching The Corpus Juris Civilis, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Third Pillar Of Jurisprudence: Social Legal Theory, Brian Z. Tamanaha

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Happy 790th, Magna Carta!, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

The Significance Of The Corpus Juris Civilis: Matilda Of Canossa And The Revival Of Roman Law, Thomas J. Mcsweeney, Michéle K. Spike

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Magna Carta And The Right To Trial By Jury, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

America’S Legal History Started In Williamsburg, Paul Hellyer

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Magna Carta, Civil Law, And Canon Law, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Theory Of Civil Liability, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Forensic Bibliography: Reconstructing The Library Of George Wythe, Linda K. Tesar

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Surprising Role Of Racial Hierarchy In The Civil Rights Jurisprudence Of The First Justice John Marshall Harlan, Davison M. Douglas

Faculty Publications

The first Justice John Marshall Harlan’s status as one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices in American history rests largely upon his civil rights jurisprudence. The literature exploring the nuances of Harlan’s civil rights jurisprudence is vast. Far less attention has been paid to the reasons for Harlan’s strong civil rights views. Developing a rich sense of Harlan’s thinking has been difficult because Harlan did not leave behind a large trove of non-judicial writings. There is, however, a remarkable source of Harlan’s thought that has been largely overlooked by scholars: Harlan’s constitutional law lectures at George Washington Law School of …

Forensic Bibliography: Reconstructing The Library Of George Wythe, Linda K. Tesar

Library Staff Publications

The Wolf Law Library at the College of William and Mary initiated a project to re-create the library of George Wythe, the founding father of American legal education. A relatively small number of Wythe’s books are still extant today; for some volumes, there is strong documentary evidence to prove conclusively he owned specific editions of particular titles. Additionally, four bibliographies with varying levels of substantiating information provide insight into the contents of Wythe’s library. Examination of these sources launched an excursion into bibliographic history and rare book collecting that illuminates the difficulties in attempting to establish the exact editions contained …

Between England And France: A Cross-Channel Legal Culture In The Late Thirteenth Century, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

From Oxford To Williamsburg: The Evolution Of Legal Education And Law Libraries Across The Pond, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Restoring "Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness" In Our Constitutional Jurisprudence: An Exercise In Legal History, Patrick J. Charles

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.