Thursday, October 27: Halloween Open House!

Come out to the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center's special Halloween Open House on Thursday, Oct. 27, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.! 

Stop by to see spooky treasures from our collection - including witch trials, murder trials, a macabre torture manual, and other sensational works - and pick up snacks, drinks, and Halloween candy!

Come out in costume - we're happy to post pics on our Tumblr site!

When: Thursday, Oct. 27th, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Center
What: Rare books, snacks, drinks, candy (and costumes)!


(The Center is in N30, on the subplaza past Student Orgs. in N20.)

 

 

 

Wednesday, October 12: Rare Books Open House!

Come out to the Riesenfeld Center's first monthly open house of the year on Wednesday, October 12, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.!

Enjoy snacks and drinks, and see treasures from the library's rare books and special collections.

When: Wednesday, October 12, 12 p.m - 3 p.m.
Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center*
What: Rare books, bagged snacks, cookies, and refreshments!

(*The Riesenfeld Center is in N30, on the subplaza past Student Orgs. in N20.)  

 

 

Thursday, Oct. 13: Book Talk by Professor John Bessler

Join the Human Rights Center and Riesenfeld Rare Books Center for a book talk with Professor John Bessler (U. Baltimore). Bessler will discuss his new book, Private Prosecution in America: Its Origins, History, and Unconstitutionality in the Twenty-First Century (2022), the first comprehensive and historical examination of a practice that dates to the colonial era. In Private Prosecution in America, Bessler shows how private prosecutors—acting on their own behalf, as next of kin, or through retained counsel—have initiated and handled prosecutions and sought the punishment of offenders, including in capital cases.

Private prosecution is still with us today. After reviewing current state laws and locales that continue to allow private prosecutions by interested parties, Bessler makes the case that such prosecutions violate defendants' constitutional rights and should be outlawed. This talk will give an overview of the arguments and stimulate discussion on an important and ongoing issue relating to the due process rights of defendants.

        

"What Process Is Due? The History and Use of Private Prosecutions in American States, and an Exploration of Constitutional Rights and the Contours of Due Process"

Thursday, October 13
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Mondale Hall, Ballard Spahr Conference Room (3rd floor)

Professor John Bessler has taught at the University of Baltimore School of Law since 2009, becoming a tenured faculty member in 2014. He has also taught at the University of Minnesota Law School, the George Washington University Law School, the Georgetown University Law Center, Rutgers School of Law, and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He has written or edited eleven books, ranging from the history of capital punishment, to an intellectual biography of Cesare Beccaria, to the craft of writing. His books have received numerous awards, including the Scribes Book Award for The Birth of American Law: An Italian Philosopher and the American Revolution (Carolina Academic Press, 2014).

1 standard CLE Credit has been requested

A reception will follow the lecture in the Ballard Spahr Conference Room

If you are unable to attend in-person, a video recording will be available following the event.

Thursday, Oct. 13: Seminar and Discussion with Professor John Bessler

Join us in the Riesenfeld Center for a lunch hour seminar and conversation with Professor John Bessler (U. Baltimore) about the tools and methods of research in legal history, with a discussion of work that he has done on the renowned 18th-century penologist and death penalty reformer, Cesare Beccaria, and other projects. Join a broader conversation following about approaching historical topics of legal research, choosing and reading sources, and bringing these to bear on important legal issues today.

 

Topics and Methods: Doing Legal History Research

Thursday, October 13
12:15 – 1:15 p.m. Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center (N30 on the Subplaza) 

 

Professor John Bessler, a law professor and legal historian at the University of Baltimore School of Law since 2009, has also taught at the University of Minnesota Law School, the George Washington University Law School, the Georgetown University Law Center, Rutgers School of Law, and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He has written and edited eleven books, including extensive work on the history of capital punishment, intellectual biographies of Cesare Beccaria, and the craft of writing. His law review articles have appeared in the American Criminal Law Review, the Arkansas Law Review, the Northeastern University Law Review, and elsewhere, and his books have received numerous awards.

New Exhibits Open House: Law Books and the History of Legal Education

All are invited to an open house for two new Law Library exhibits:

 

"Tools of the Profession: Law Books and the History of Legal Education"

and

"Law Books in Legal Education at Minnesota"

When: Wednesday, September 28, from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center (N30, Subplaza level).

 

Cookies, brownies, bagged snacks and drinks will be available.

 

"Tools of the Profession" explores the history of legal education through the literature that has profoundly shaped it. From statute books to casebooks, and from treatises to dictionaries, legal literature has developed not only to record the law and aid professionals in practice, but to guide students from the earliest stages of study. The exhibit also showcases the reciprocal nature of legal literature and legal education, through a trove of historical books illustrating transformative developments in legal education over several centuries.

  
The accompanying exhibit, “Law Books in Legal Education at Minnesota,” drawn from the Law Library’s rich archives, highlights coursebooks, lectures, exam prep material, and early exams that shed light on the history of legal education at Minnesota. Selections from our growing student notebook collection reveal how students engaged with the law through a rigorous, dynamic education.

The exhibits were curated by Ryan Greenwood, Pat Graybill, and Lily Eisenthal.

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 20: Celebrate Constitution Day!

Come out and celebrate Constitution Day in the Law Library lobby!  

 

Stop by and grab donuts and coffee on September 20, and pick up a crossword puzzle about the US Constitution for prizes. 

 

Don't forget to take a selfie with James Madison!

 

When: Tuesday, September 20, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Where: Law Library Lobby
What: Donuts, Coffee, and Prizes! 

 

 

 

 

New Library Exhibits: Law Books and the History of Legal Education

The Law Library is pleased to announce two new exhibits open in the Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center:

 

"Tools of the Profession: Law Books and the History of Legal Education" 

 

and 

"Law Books in Legal Education at Minnesota"

The history of legal education is known above all through the literature of the law. Imbued by the spirit of practice, the training necessary to help students become successful attorneys has for centuries depended on a diversity of texts. From statute books to casebooks, and from famous treatises to dictionaries, legal literature has developed not only to record the law and aid professionals in practice, but to guide students from their earliest studies. 

In England, students played a role in copying and distributing early collections of pleadings and writs, and keenly studied and annotated case law. Early treatises were based partly on class lectures. Lawyers, particularly from the early modern period onward, authored additional tools aimed at students, from exam prep guides to advice books. In the age of print, an expanding publishing market produced summaries and epitomes of the law for self-directed education.

In nineteenth-century America, professionals created a new literature, distinguished from its English origins, intended for young students as much as practitioners. Even the famed “revolution” in American legal education, still with us today, is first seen in a law book: Christopher Columbus Langdell’s 1871 casebook on contracts imposed an innovative method of instruction on the faculty and students who used it. 

 

An accompanying exhibit, “Law Books in Legal Education at Minnesota,” showcases literature that has trained Law School students from the earliest days of our institution. Based in the Law School’s rich archives, the exhibit centers around historical coursebooks, lectures, exam prep material, student notebooks, and exams, casting light on legal education at Minnesota. Selections from the Law School’s growing student notebook collection, in particular, reveal how students engaged with the law and a dynamic education.

“Tools of the Profession: Law Books and the History of Legal Education,” and “Law Books in Legal Education at Minnesota,”  invites visitors to peruse the history of legal education through a diverse literature that reveals its contours.

 

The exhibits were curated by Ryan Greenwood, Pat Graybill and Lily Eisenthal. For more information or to arrange a tour, please contact Ryan Greenwood (rgreenwo@umn.edu; 612-625-7323).