Minimum Competence

This Day in Legal History:  House of Representatives Passes 19th Amendment On this day in legal history, May 21, 1919, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. The amendment stated simply: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of se...

This Day in Legal History: Blue Jeans Patented On May 20, 1873, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Patent No. 139,121 to Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss for an innovation that would revolutionize American workwear and fashion: the use of copper rivets to reinforce the stress points on men's work pants. Davis, a tailor from Reno, Nevada, originally developed the concept after customers compl...

This Day in Legal History: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Ratified  On May 19, 1848, Mexico formally ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, officially bringing an end to the Mexican-American War. Signed earlier that year on February 2, the treaty had already been ratified by the United States, but it required approval from both nations to take effect. With Mexico's ratification, the war that had b...

This Day in Legal History: SCOTUS Upholds CFPB Funding Structure On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major ruling in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, Ltd. , upholding the constitutionality of the CFPB’s funding structure. In a 7–2 decision, the Court held that the agency’s funding—drawn from the Federal Reserve and not sub...

This Day in Legal History: Standard Oil Breaks Up On May 15, 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States , finding that Standard Oil had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by engaging in monopolistic practices. The Court unanimously ruled that Standard Oil’s dominance over the oil industry—achieved through aggressive acquisitions, pred...

This Day in Legal History: Arrival of Constitutional Delegates On May 14, 1787, delegates from several states began arriving in Philadelphia for what would become the Constitutional Convention, a pivotal moment in American legal history. Originally convened to revise the Articles of Confederation, the gathering quickly evolved into a full-scale effort to draft a new framework of government. Only a...

This Day in Legal History: Brady v. Maryland On May 13, 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Brady v. Maryland , fundamentally reshaping criminal procedure and the obligations of prosecutors. The case involved John Brady, who was convicted of murder in Maryland state court. Although he admitted involvement, he claimed he did not commit the actual killing. During the trial, th...

This Day in Legal History: Harry Blackmun Confirmed to SCOTUS On May 12, 1970, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Judge Harry A. Blackmun to the Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by Justice Abe Fortas. Nominated by President Richard Nixon, Blackmun had previously served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and was considered a moderate, scholarly jurist. His confirmation ma...

This Day in Legal History: House Judiciary Committee Impeachment Hearings on Nixon On May 9, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee officially opened its impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon, marking a critical escalation in the fallout from the Watergate scandal. Chaired by Representative Peter Rodino of New Jersey, the committee convened to determine whether Nixon had committed impe...

This Day in Legal History: Petition of Right On May 8, 1628, the English Parliament formally presented the Petition of Right to King Charles I, marking a key moment in the development of constitutional law and the rule of law in England. This pivotal document emerged in response to growing discontent over the king’s use of extrajudicial practices—most notably, the levying of taxes without Parliame...

This Day in Legal History: Salmon P. Chase Dies On May 7, 1873, Salmon P. Chase —former Chief Justice of the United States and one of the most prominent legal minds of his generation—died at the age of 65. Chase was a towering figure in antebellum legal and political life, best known for his ardent antislavery positions and constitutional rigor. A fierce abolitionist, he earned the nickname “Attor...

This Day in Legal History: Civil Rights Act of 1960 On May 6, 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960 into law, marking a cautious but critical step forward in the long legal battle over voting rights in America. The Act was designed to address the persistent and systemic barriers that prevented African Americans, particularly in the South, from registering to vote...

This Day in Legal History: John T. Scopes Arrested On May 5, 1925, John T. Scopes, a 24-year-old high school science teacher in Dayton, Tennessee, was arrested for violating the state's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of human evolution in public schools. His arrest set in motion one of the most famous trials in American history: the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. The case was a deliberate test...

This Day in Legal History: Louisiana Adopts State Constitution, McCarthy Dies, and Birmingham Campaign On May 2, 1939, Louisiana adopted its current state constitution, known as the Louisiana Constitution of 1921, which at the time marked a significant overhaul of state governance. Though originally adopted in 1921, it underwent critical amendments and re-ratification processes culminating on this...

This Day in Legal History: “Law Day” is Born On this day in 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a proclamation that did more than just slap a new label on the calendar—it attempted to reframe the ideological narrative of the Cold War itself. With Presidential Proclamation 3221, Eisenhower officially designated May 1 as Law Day, a symbolic counterweight to May Day, the international workers...

This Day in Legal History: Louisiana Purchase On this day in legal history, April 30, 1803, the United States signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty with France, dramatically altering the legal and territorial landscape of the country. The treaty, signed in Paris by American envoys Robert Livingston and James Monroe, officially transferred approximately 828,000 square miles of land west of the Missi...

This Day in Legal History: Los Angeles Riots On April 29, 1992, the Los Angeles riots erupted following the acquittal of four LAPD officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King, an African American motorist. The brutal 1991 beating had been captured on video and widely broadcast, leading to public outrage. However, when a largely white jury in suburban Simi Valley found the o...

This Day in Legal History: Mutiny on the Bounty On April 28, 1789, one of the most famous acts of rebellion at sea occurred aboard the HMS Bounty . Captain William Bligh and 18 loyal crew members were forcibly set adrift in the Pacific Ocean by mutineers led by Fletcher Christian. The incident exposed deep tensions over leadership, working conditions, and authority in the Royal Navy. British law a...

This Day in Legal History: United States v. Carolene Products Co. Decided On April 25, 1938, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Carolene Products Co. , 304 U.S. 144, a seemingly mundane case about a federal law banning the interstate shipment of “filled milk.” But beneath its surface lay one of the most consequential footnotes in American constitutional history. The Cou...

This Day in Legal History: Easter Rising On April 24, 1916, the Easter Rising erupted in Dublin as Irish republicans launched a bold and ultimately tragic insurrection against British rule. The event, intended to establish an independent Irish Republic, had enormous legal and constitutional consequences that would ripple through British and Irish law for years. Roughly 1,200 rebels seized key buil...

This Day in Legal History: Sirhan Sirhan Sentenced to Death On April 23, 1969, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was formally sentenced to death for the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a tragedy that shook the United States during a period of intense political and social upheaval. Kennedy had been shot on June 5, 1968, just after declaring victory in the California Democratic primary, and he died...

This Day in Legal History: Maryland Toleration Act Passed On April 21, 1649, the Maryland Assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act, a landmark piece of colonial legislation that granted freedom of worship to all Christians in the colony. Also known as the Act Concerning Religion, it was one of the first legal efforts in the American colonies to protect religious liberty through statutory law. T...

This Day in Legal History: Army-McCarthy Hearings Begin On April 22, 1954, the Army-McCarthy hearings began in Washington, D.C., marking a pivotal moment in American legal and political history. The televised proceedings, which stretched over two months, were convened to investigate conflicting accusations between Senator Joseph McCarthy and the U.S. Army. McCarthy claimed the Army was sheltering...

This Day in Legal History: Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. On April 18, 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. , a significant decision reinforcing the constitutional principle of separation of powers. The case arose after Congress enacted legislation requiring federal courts to reopen certain final judgments in securities fraud cases that had been di...

This Day in Legal History: Lochner On April 17, 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lochner v. New York , a landmark case in American constitutional law that struck down a New York law limiting bakery workers to a 60-hour workweek and 10-hour workday. The Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the law violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause by interfering with the freedom of contract b...