Whether you’re in the area or away, we have services available for our students.   Visit our “Research4Summer“  guide for links to information about using our databases and how to contact us for help.

For our newly minted alumni, the guide has information about special services available during this summer.  It also includes links to services available to all of our grads, which you can also find under the tab for alumni access of  this blog.

If you’re a research assistant for a GW Law faculty member, find information about our services here and here.  Research Assistants can also sign into the GW Law portal and link to a video of our recent Research Assistants training session on May 15.

May 17 marks the 58th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).  Overturning Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), Brown unanimously held that “separate but equal” was no longer permissible and that schools could no longer be racially segregated.    Brown was a consolidation of five cases involving school segregation; future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was the lead counsel for the plaintiffs in each of the five cases.

Read more about the case, Marshall’s role and the Warren Court in:

• Simple Justice, by Robert Kluger;
• Thurgood Marshall:  His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions, and Reminiscences, edited by Mark V. Tushnett;
• The Warren Court:  A Retrospective, edited by Bernard Schwartz. 

Building of the transcontinental railroad began in 1862, with passage of legislation by Congress and the granting of charters by President Lincoln to the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific.  Congress authorized loans to both on favorable terms, as well as awarding large swaths of public land.  Construction was slowed by the Civil War, but got underway in earnest in 1866.  The Union Pacific laid track west from Omaha, Nebraska, relying on Irish immigrants to lay track across the Plains and into the Rocky Mountains.  The Central Pacific laid track east from Sacramento, employing Chinese immigrants to lay track over the Sierra Nevada mountains into the Rockies.  The transcontinental railroad reduced travel across country from months to less than a week. 

 In 1875, Congress passed the General Right of Way Act, codified at 43 U.S.C. §934 (2008).  For more information on railroad rights of way, use ProQuest Congressional to read a copy of Pamela Baldwin, Cong. Research Serv., RL32140, Federal Railroad Rights of Way (2006).

The amendment was originally proposed in 1789 by James Madison, as part of his list of twelve amendments to the Constitution.  Ten of those were adopted to become the Bill of Rights.  Needing the votes of ten states at the time, the amendment received only six.  It finally passed in 1992, following a letter writing campaign to state legislators by a University of Texas student, Gregory Watson.  Maryland was the first state to ratify the amendment in 1789; Illinois the last in 1992.  The 27th Amendment is the latest amendment to be ratified.

Two notable proposed amendments that failed ratification due to the expiration of the ratification period specified by Congress are the Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1972, and the Washington D.C. Voting Rights Amendment, proposed in 1978.  Click here for an explanation of the ratification process.

See the Burns Brief alumni access page for special services we offer GW Law grads.  GW Law alumni are always welcome to use the library.  We’re a great place for you to study for the bar exam.

For more information, click here for our guide to services.  Ask us for suggestions to help with your research questions:

• 202-994-6647
• ereference@law.gwu.edu
• chat

President Eisenhower first proclaimed Law Day in 1958.  Every President since then has proclaimed May 1 as Law Day.  Visit the Law Library of Congress’ “Law Day:  A Research Guide” for more information about the history of Law Day U.S.A.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts provides support and services for the Third Branch.  The National Center for State Courts works with state courts to find solutions to common problems in the administration of justice, including funding and budgeting issues.

Learn about special library policies for research assistants that can help you work more effectively with your faculty.  Ask questions about research strategies and tools for your assignments.  Find out about resources available both on campus and off.

RSVP by Monday, May 14, to Herb Somers, Foreign/International Law Library, at hsomers@law.gwu.edu.

 Learn more about World Intellectual Property Day:

 WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Day site  includes links to a world map of World IP Day activities and to a message  about World IP Day from WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

 The United States Copyright Office has a page in support of World IP Day, which includes a message from the Register of Copyrights and GW Law graduate Maria A. Pallante (J.D. ’90).

 Visit the Burns Law Library to see our current display, “Copyright and Music,” and celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with us!

State attorneys general opinions are now available through “State Attorney General Reports and Opinions” on HeinOnline.  The database includes all issuing states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.  Coverage varies; California, New York, Wyoming and Washington include full coverage from inception.  The database also includes the Opinions of the Attorneys General of the United States and the Opinions of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice. 

In addition, many state offices of the attorney general maintain web sites that offer copies of published opinions.  Check individual state web sites for information about the scope of opinions, their authority and availability.

April is National Poetry month.  Many lawyers (and judges too) are poets.  April 23, 1564, is also the recognized birth date of William Shakespeare, who referenced  lawyers and the law in many of his plays.

On April 18, at Noon, join the actors of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University for a recitation of Shakespeare’s greatest works.  The event will be held at the Library of Congress, in the Montpelier Room of the James Madison Bldg.  This event is free and open to the public.   Presented in collaboration with the Shakespeare Theatre Company.  Find out more information here.

On Sunday, April 22, celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday Open House at the Folger Library.  The Library will be open to the public from Noon – 4:00pm.  Also take in the exhibit,  “Shakespeare’s Sisters” at the Folger Library; the exhibit will be open until May 20. 

Read more about Shakespeare and his lawyers:

Owning William Shakespeare:  The King’s Men and Their Intellectual Property, by James J. Marino

Shakespeare, Law, and Marriage, by B.J. Sokol and Mary Sokol

Eternal Bonds, True Contracts:  Law and Nature in Shakespeare’s Problem Plays, by A.G. Harmon

Kill All the Lawyers?  Shakespeare’s Legal Appeal, by Daniel J. Kornstein