Minimum Competence

This Day in Legal History: Vermont Abolishes Slavery for Men On July 8, 1777, the Vermont Republic adopted a constitution that became the first in what would eventually become the United States to formally abolish slavery. At the time, Vermont was not yet a state—it was an independent republic formed after declaring independence from both New York and British colonial rule. The new constitution, i...

This Day in Legal History: Newlands Resolution On July 7, 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, formally annexing the Hawaiian Islands into the United States. Unlike traditional territorial expansion through treaties, this annexation occurred via a joint resolution of Congress—an unusual and legally contested mechanism. The resolution was named after Representative Franc...

This Day in Legal History: George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words On July 3, 1978, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark First Amendment decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation , ruling 5-4 that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could reprimand a radio station for airing George Carlin’s infamous “Seven Dirty Words” comedy routine. The case arose after WBAI, a New York radio station...

This Day in Legal History: Night of the Long Knives Ends On July 2, 1934, the Night of the Long Knives officially ended, marking one of the most chilling examples of how legal systems can be manipulated to legitimize authoritarian violence. Over the course of several days, Adolf Hitler ordered a purge within his own Nazi Party, targeting the Sturmabteilung (SA) and its leader Ernst Röhm, whom he s...

This Day in Legal History: Abraham Lincoln Passes First Income Tax On July 1, 1862, amid the mounting costs of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the nation's first true federal income tax under the Tax Act of 1862. This legislation imposed a 3% tax on annual incomes over $600 and a 5% tax on incomes exceeding $10,000—significant thresholds at the time. The tax was part of a...

This Day in Legal History: 26th Amendment On June 30, 1971, the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. This change was largely driven by the political and social pressures of the Vietnam War era, when young Americans were being drafted to fight at 18 but could not vote. The rallying cry “old enough to fight, old enough to vote”...

This Day in Legal History: Federal Housing Administration On June 27, 1934, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was created through the National Housing Act, marking a major shift in the federal government’s role in the housing market. The FHA was designed to address the housing crisis of the Great Depression, when foreclosures were rampant and private lenders were reluctant to issue long-ter...

This Day in Legal History: United States v. Virginia On this day in legal history, June 26, 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in United States v. Virginia , striking down the Virginia Military Institute’s (VMI) male-only admissions policy. The 7–1 ruling held that the exclusion of women violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Writing for the majori...

This Day in Legal History: Alien Act On June 25, 1798, the United States Congress passed the Alien Act, one of the four laws collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts. Signed into law by President John Adams, the Alien Act authorized the president to order the deportation of any non-citizen deemed "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States." This law emerged during a time of h...

This Day in Legal History: Military Selective Service Act On June 24, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Military Selective Service Act into law, establishing a peacetime draft system in the United States. The legislation came amid rising tensions with the Soviet Union, as the early Cold War stoked fears about the need for a ready and scalable military force. This marked the first time the...

This Day in Legal History: Taft-Hartley Act On June 23, 1947, the Labor-Management Relations Act—better known as the Taft-Hartley Act—became law after Congress overrode President Harry S. Truman’s veto. Sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred Hartley, the act was passed in response to growing concerns about union power and post-World War II labor strikes that disrupted the economy...

This Day in Legal History: Atkins v. Virginia On June 20, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling in Atkins v. Virginia , holding that the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The case centered on Daryl Renard Atkins, who was convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder in...

This Day in Legal History: Juneteenth On this day in legal history, June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, announcing that all enslaved people in Texas were free. This day, now known as Juneteenth, marked the effective end of slavery in the United States—coming more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Ema...

This Day in Legal History: Georgia v. McCollum On June 18, 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Georgia v. McCollum , 505 U.S. 42 (1992), holding that criminal defendants cannot use peremptory challenges to exclude jurors on the basis of race. This decision extended the logic of Batson v. Kentucky —which barred prosecutors from racially discriminatory jury strikes—to defense...

This Day in Legal History: Abington School District v. Schempp On this day in legal history, June 17, 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Abington School District v. Schempp , a landmark case concerning the constitutional boundaries between church and state. The case arose when Edward Schempp, a Unitarian from Pennsylvania, challenged a state law that required public schools to begin each day wit...

This Day in Legal History: Glass-Steagall Signed On June 16, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Banking Act of 1933 into law—a pivotal piece of Depression-era legislation better known by the names of its congressional architects: Senator Carter Glass and Representative Henry Steagall. The law’s timing was not accidental; it came just months after the catastrophic banking failures tha...

This Day in Legal History:  Miranda v. Arizona On June 13, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona , fundamentally reshaping American criminal procedure. The case centered on Ernesto Miranda, who had confessed to kidnapping and rape during a police interrogation without being informed of his constitutional rights. In a narrow 5–4 ruling, the Court held that...

This Day in Legal History: Loving v. Virginia  On June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Loving v. Virginia , striking down state laws that banned interracial marriage. The case arose when Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Loving, a Black and Indigenous woman, were sentenced to a year in prison for marrying each other in Washington, D.C., then returning to the...

This Day in Legal History: People v. Ruggles and the Transposition of a “Common Law Crime” On June 11, 1811, the New York Supreme Court of Judicature decided People v. Ruggles , a seminal case in early American constitutional law and one of the rare recorded convictions for blasphemy in U.S. history. John Ruggles was convicted for publicly declaring in a tavern that “Jesus Christ was a b*****d and...

This Day in Legal History: Colegrove v. Green On June 10, 1946, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Colegrove v. Green , upholding an Illinois congressional districting scheme that created dramatically uneven district populations. The plaintiffs argued the map diluted votes by packing more people into some districts than others, violating principles of equal representation. However, the Court, in a plu...

This Day in Legal History: “Have You No Sense of Decency, Sir?” On June 9, 1954, one of the most pivotal moments in American legal and political history unfolded during the Army–McCarthy hearings. The hearings were part of a broader investigation into allegations that Senator Joseph McCarthy and his staff had pressured the U.S. Army for preferential treatment of a former aide. By this time, McCart...

This Day in Legal History: SEC Established On this day in legal history, June 6, 1934, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established as part of the sweeping reforms of the New Deal. The SEC was created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in response to the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression, which exposed widespread fraud, manipulation, and...

This Day in Legal History: Henderson v. United States Decided On June 5, 1950, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Henderson v. United States , 339 U.S. 816 (1950) , a significant civil rights ruling concerning racial segregation in interstate transportation. Elmer W. Henderson, an African American passenger, had been denied equal dining services on a train operated by the South...

This Day in Legal History: 19th Amendment Passed in Senate On June 4, 1919, the U.S. Congress passed the 19th Amendment, marking a turning point in American constitutional and civil rights history. The amendment stated simply that the right to vote "shall not be denied or abridged... on account of sex," legally enfranchising millions of women. The road to this moment was long and contentious, span...

This Day in Legal History: National Defense Act On June 3, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Defense Act into law, marking a major shift in American military and legal policy. Passed amid growing tensions related to World War I, the Act dramatically expanded the U.S. Army and strengthened the National Guard, officially integrating it as the Army’s primary reserve force. It increas...