…all the way through their education, that is. A pure focus on the law, says Lord Sumption, makes for too narrowly-focused lawyers. These comments of Lord Sumption’s in a recent Counsel magazine article have resulted in some interesting discussion on the topic. From the Telegraph: “I think that it is best…
Christianity as the State Religion in 529 CE
On this day in 529, the first draft of of Corpus Juris Civilis was issued by Justinian I, the Emperor of Eastern Roman Empire. This was Latin compilation of all the imperial civil laws dating back to the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. Some of the more interesting provisions provided for Christianity as…
An All-Female Supreme Court in 1925
This post does not really have to do with religion, although the case cited caught my eye because it involved women in the legal field, and my studies in religion have dealt with women’s roles in the religious field. (See my book, Prayers of Jewish Women, dealing with the prayers…
Books that Attorneys and Law Students Should Read
Thirty attorneys were commissioned by the American Bar Association; each was asked to name one book they thought all attorneys and law students should read. Here is the list (minus duplicates). My Life in Court by Louis Nizer Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century by Michael Hiltzik 1861:…
Topic Survey: Crime Control and Due Process models
This is a brief survey I did as an orientation to the subject for a project I am working on. The “Crime Control” and “Due Process” models of criminal justice were first articulated by the American scholar Herbert Packer, in an article entitled “Two Models of the Criminal Process.”[1] Packer did not…
Religion, the Slave Trade Act 1807 and the 13th Amendment
Slavery in the British and American countries was an issue that found religious people arguing both sides. Biblical texts were used to argue both for and against; this usually means that the biblical texts are being misused. The modern social and cultural contexts are so radically different. Even in the Roman Empire,…
The Magna Carta
There is a brief article in the Guardian here about legacy of the Magna Carta and the five-year celebrations planned as the 800-year anniversary approaches in 2015. Here is a link to a video interview with UK Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke on the relevance of the Magna Carta today. The Magna Carta connects a number of…
Interracial Marriage in the UK and the US
Marriage is both a religious and a legal act in most cases, whether we are speaking of a civil ceremony, a religious ceremony, a common-law marriage, or so on. While there have been laws at various times and places throughout history preventing interracial marriages, these normally seemed to have derived from social…
US Supreme Court decisions that reference foreign law
Justice Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States recently made comments about the use of decisions of foreign law courts in U.S Court decisions. You can read an article about her comments here in a posting on the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, along with debate pro and con. I…
Legal Research, Analysis, and Writing (book review)
I have found this book quite helpful in translating my scholarly research and writing skills into legal research and writing skills. Though intended as a textbook for courses, I have also found it a nice resource in my part-time job as a law clerk at a firm. The authors have…
Pursuing a Law Degree: some introductory books
I have decided to pursue a law degree in addition to my PhD in theology. I was encouraged by many of our attorney friends to do so—they say my research and writing skills will be a natural fit, and my desire to write to a larger audience will benefit from…
A Research Law Degree
Having laboured as a part-time professor, researcher, writer, and editor for about ten years, I have decided to pursue a law degree. I had been discussing options with many friends, many of whom are attorneys. They suggested my skills as a researcher and a writer would make be a natural.…
“Is Capitol Punishment Ethical?” (Westmont Horizon article)
A colleague and I were asked to write pro and con articles for the Horizon ThinkTank. We enjoyed the process and the assignment. I was given the “pro” side, with which I went about supporting theologically and biblically (though I question the use of the word “ethical” in task). I was happy…