- We were very sorry to learn of the death earlier this month of the medievalist James A. Brundage, Ahmanson-Murphy Distinguished Professor of Medieval History Emeritus at the University of Kansas. His books include The Medieval Origins of the Legal Profession: Canonists, Civilians, and Courts (2008); The Practice and Profession of Medieval Canon Law (2004); and Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe (1987). As the condolences here show, he was deeply respected by many legal historians.
- Garland’s Million: The Tragedy and Triumph of Legal History, John Fabian Witt’s plenary address at the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Legal History is now available online. Highly recommended!
- Just in time for Native American Heritage Month, the latest issue of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society Journal has been published here. According to John Browning, a former judge and current Editor-in-Chief, the issue “has a special focus on Native American legal history in Texas,” including articles on “NAGRA, an 1871 trial of Native American combatants in a Texas criminal court, the search for Texas’ first Native American lawyer, a profile of Texas’ first Native American federal judge, and much more.”
- The editors of the Bluebook have adopted Rule 10.7.1(d), which directs that when citing cases in which an enslaved person was a party, authors should include the parenthetical “(enslaved party).” In cases in which an enslaved person was the subject of the dispute but not a named party, authors are to use the parenthetical “(enslaved person at issue)" (CM Law Library Blog). The change is in response to the Citing Slavery Project, headed up by Justin Simard, Michigan State University College of Law. H/t: JLG.
- ICYMI: “The Supreme Court of Georgia will celebrate its 175th anniversary in December with two events to highlight its history and impact on the state" (The Law). "Plessy v. Ferguson aimed to end segregation—but codified it instead" (National Geographic). More on YLS professor Vicki Schultz's seminar on “the early work done by lawyers in the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Employment and Litigation Section” (Yale Daily News). A 53-year-old billionaire outbid a group of crypto-investors and bought a copy of the U.S. Constitution for $43 million (WSJ).
Weekend Roundup is a weekly feature compiled by all the Legal History bloggers.
