Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's 100th birthday is today, July 2, 2008.

These books are available (some electronically) to help you celebrate:

• Making Civil Rights Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1936-1961 (1994)
• Making Constitutional Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1961-1991 (1997)
• Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey (2008)
• Against the Death Penalty: The Relentless Dissents of Justice Brennan and Marshall (1996)
• Thurgood Marshall: Champion of Civil Rights (1993)
• Dream Makers, Dream Breakers: The World of Justice Thurgood Marshall (1993)
• Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. and Thurgood Marshall on Capital Punishment: Its Constitutionality, Morality, Deterrent Effect, and Interpretation by the Court (1997)
  

NPR is looking for suggestions for its upcoming living legends series.  Submit a name at the  News & Views web site if there is someone you would like to see interviewed or profiled.

According to the SCOTUSblog:

The Court has released the opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), on whether the District's firearms regulations  which bar the possession of handguns and require shotguns and rifles to be kept disassembled or under trigger lock  violate the Second Amendment. The ruling below, which struck down the provisions in question, is affirmed...Quoting the syllabus: The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.

Justice Scalia authored the majority opinion, available via the SCOTUSblog here, and two dissenting opinions were filed, one authored by Justice Stevens (joined by Justices Souter, Ginsberg and Breyer) and one authored by Justice Breyer (joined by Justices Stevens, Souter and Ginsberg).

FictionDB, formerly available as a subscription but now free, offers easy access to concise information about works of fiction and their authors. You can search this database to find authors and lists of their titles. You will also find reviews, synopses, other works in the same series, news of upcoming releases, and ways to buy books from booksellers. Create an account and you can track your own collection and wish list.

Early this morning an NPR commentator marked today as the anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 87 S.Ct. 1817, 18 L.Ed.2d 1010
(U.S.Va. Jun 12, 1967), reversing convictions for violating a state ban on interracial marriage. We are a freer people.
Likewise today the historic ruling in Boumediene v. Bush.
"that the petitioners at GTMO have a constitutional right to petition for habeas corpus and that the DTA/MCA process of D.C. Circuit review from CSRT decisions is not an adequate alternative to habeas."
In addition to this ruling in Boumediene, which is filled with the results of some clarified British legal history research that warms the heart of any curator of historical materials, the court also handed down The Republic of the Philippines v. Pimentel (re to determine ownership of funds allegedly misappropriated by Ferdinand Marcos
during his reign as Philippine president) and Munaf (US Citizens can challenge their detentions in Iraq).
Mark Wojcik called it a "trifecta" on the International Law Prof Blog, but his links go via Cornell and are interposed with a plea for a donation to LII. Most worthwhile, but unless you are a son or daughter of Cornell, today may not be the day you want to pause. All are posted at ScotusBlog, nudge-free.


and there will be an "Insta-Symposium" on Boumediene, as annouced at Opinio Juris.

The New York Times recently featured an article on the new web-based Civics lesson being prepared by the Law Center, in conjunction with former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Arizona State University.

The "Our Courts" Project was created to help those seeking to address the evident crisis in civics education. It will be an interactive,  problem-based Civics curriculum designed for the middle school environment. While not completely interactive as yet, it currently contains numerous links offering key definitions, discussion on the branches of government and structure of the courts.

In the article, Justice O'Connor said that most citizens know very little about their government. "Two-thirds of Americans know at least one of the judges on the Fox TV show American Idol, but less than 1 in 10 can name the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, she said."

Every year, the Washington Post publishes the Post 200 which highlights the largest employers in the DC area. This year, Skadden Arps and Latham & Watkins report almost twice as many employees as any other law firm in the metropolitan area.
 
Check out the complete list of law firms online. Click on the firm name for a brief profile of each entity.

The AM LAW 100 was released by the American Lawyer magazine today showcasing the "noteworthy trends and newsmaking firms" for the year.  Free registration is required to review the material online, but it might behoove you to review the articles and charts if an interview (or new job or internship) is in your future.

Additional resources on interviewing and law firms can be found in our Job Searching Research Guide.

The TaxProf Blog has posted a list of law school commencement speakers for 2008.

Georgetown traditionally announces the speaker a few weeks before the ceremony. See the announcements for 2007 (Nina Totenberg), 2006 (John Roberts) and 2005 (Lee Hamilton).

The Supreme Court and the Second Amendment are analyzed in this recent CRS Report examining District of Columbia v. Heller.