UHLC Nota Bene

In this week's episode, a look back at a comment on the desirability of the Supreme Court's responsiveness to public reaction to its decisions. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this week's exciting installment of "Which Justice Said That?". And, without further ado, let's get right to this week's quote: During the hearings on his nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, this nominee declared, I do not think the Supreme Court lives in a vacuum. It reads the newspapers. I suppose it is influenced by the reaction of a society to its decisions; at least I hope it is. I think it should be. Now: Which . . . Justice . . . Said That?! Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. Stephen G. Breyer Anthony M. Kennedy John G. Roberts, Jr. Antonin Scalia Clarence Thomas Feel free to put your guess in the Comments section below. Come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion to this episode of "Which Justice Said That?" !!

This week Fred Shapiro, associate law librarian at Yale Law School and editor of the Yale Book of Quotations , unveiled his annual list of the most notable quotes of the year.   Given that many of us were focused on politics for much of the year, it’s not surprising that this ten quote list is dominated by quotes on the topic.   Included are quotes from Mitt Romney regarding the “47 percent” and President Obama on “horses and bayonets.”   On a the entertainment side, the list also includes a reference to the Gangnam Style craze.   If you would like to see the entire top ten list, it can be viewed here .   And the Yale Book of Quotations can be found in the library reference collection at PN6081.Y35.  If you are interested in more quotation resources, others such as the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations can also be found in the law library reference collection.   Or try one of the free online quote resources such as Bartleby.com or Quotelan...

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”-- Henry VI, part 2 This line is one of the most famous lines in Shakespeare’s canon, and probably the one line of Shakespeare most people know. This expression is certainly one of the most famous lawyer jokes ever; the implication being that by killing all the lawyers society would be improved. Understanding by whom and when the infamous statement is spoken, however, changes its meaning. The line is spoken by the character Dick the Butcher, an associate of Jack Cade. The real Jack Cade, as well as the character in Shakespeare’s play, led a revolt during the reign of Henry VI. Although Cade initially succeeded in assuming power over London, Cade’s rebellion eventually was defeated by London’s establishment, with Cade and his followers driven out of the city. Dick the Butcher is thus one of the play’s villains, and his statement about killing the lawyers represents one of the rebels’ top ambitions. By putting the line into the mo...