Musicians Fought the Law, and the Law Won—Sometimes
De La Soul are known for the effect their use of samples had on their music sales and availability on streaming sites. They’re finally streaming. Why now?
The Lost History of No-Fault Divorces
The regulation of divorce has changed a lot in the twentieth century. The National Association of Women Lawyers was instrumental in making that change happen.
Origins of Child Protection
Legend has it that the campaign to save abused children in New York was driven by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The truth is more complicated.
Wreckonomics: “Finders Keepers” in Maritime Law
Finding valuable treasure underwater is more complicated than “finders keepers, losers weepers.” Competing maritime laws govern the recovered riches.
Proposition 6 (The Briggs Initiative): Annotated
Proposition 6, better known as the Briggs Initiative, was the first attempt to restrict the rights of lesbian and gay Americans by popular referendum.
Search Warrants and Case Law, a Prison Primer
The laws around search and seizure as they apply to average people, explained by Rafael Torres, an incarcerated Inmate Counsel Substitute in Louisiana.
Body Double
Long before the imposture of Anna Delvey, the Tichborne Claimaint swept a nation’s imagination.
Court Trials: The Plot Drives the “Story”
Trials create narratives that are "plot-driven." When judges attempt to see them as "character-driven," real people can be denied justice.
Fact-Based Courts, but What Facts?
US courts operate as "informationally disabled" institutions that may lack (or intentionally exclude) important facts when making complex legal decisions.
White Shoes, WASPs and Law Firms
Law firms founded on Protestant identity necessitated the creation of firms that would hire those shut out by WASP gatekeeping.