President Thomas Jefferson signed an Act of Congress approving Ohio’s statehood in 1803, making it the 17th state. Congress had never passed a resolution formally admitting it as a state, however. While this has no real constitutional significance, this oversight was … Continue reading
Tag Archives: ian c. pilarczyk
William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913), remains the only president to also serve on the Supreme Court. He served as the tenth Chief Justice, from 1921-1930.
The only crime defined in the Constitution is ‘treason‘, which is found in Article III s. 3. A response to the misuse of this crime by the British Crown, it was limited to waging war against the U.S. or giving … Continue reading
The Law Library of Congress is the world’s largest law library, with nearly 3 million books, including one of the world’s foremost rare law book collections and the most complete collection of foreign legal periodicals in the United States.
The longest period in U.S. history during which there were no amendments to the Constitution was the 61 year gap between the ratification of the 12th Amendment modifying the Electoral College (in 1804), and the ratification of the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery (in 1865).
While Mondays might be the most unpopular, statistics over the past decade show that homicides are much more likely to occur on Thursdays than any other day of the week; Tuesdays are the “safest” with the lowest rate of homicides.
Under ancient Anglo-Saxon law a plaintiff who suffered injuries was allowed to seek personal revenge, known as a “blood feud”. This eventually was replaced by payments referred to as “blood fines”. As tort law developed, these payments were divided into … Continue reading
A citizen’s arrest — an arrest by a non-law enforcement officer — is statutorily provided for in 49 states (North Carolina is the exception) where a citizen observes a felony being committed, or when a citizen is asked by a … Continue reading
Only two justices of the Supreme Court have appeared on U.S. Currency. John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice, appeared on the $500 bill; while Salmon P. Chase (the sixth Chief Justice) appeared on the $10,000 bill. Neither denomination is still in circulation.
The practice of jury sequestration predates the Declaration of Independence, as its first recorded use in the U.S. was in the 1770 Boston Massacre trial in which the jury was sequestered for a week. The longest recorded sequestration was eight and … Continue reading
The word “arrest” is Anglo-Norman in origin, related to the French word “arrêt” meaning “to stop” or “to stay”. In the U.S., the most common slang expression to signify arrest is “collared” (similar to the French slang, incidentally!), while in … Continue reading
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which sought to guarantee equal rights for women, was originally introduced in Congress in 1923 but not submitted for ratification until 1972. It was ultimately ratified by 35 states (although some of these later rescinded … Continue reading