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Equal
Justice Library moves to Georgetown University Law Center
from American University Law School.
On September 5, 2006, the Equal
Justice Library found a new home at Georgetown University
Law Center's
Edward Bennett Williams Law Library Georgetown has
acquired the books, papers, oral histories, and other
materials of the
National Equal Justice Library, the nation’s first
institution established to commemorate the legal
profession’s history of providing counsel to those unable to
afford it.
Created nearly two decades ago,
the Library honors those who have worked throughout the
nation’s history to provide equal justice for all. Its
collection includes a sixteenth century book believed to be
the first compilation of English statutes, including one
enacted in 1495 which created a right to counsel in civil
cases for the indigent, and a 1993 interview with members of
the pro bono team that represented Clarence Gideon in the
1963 landmark Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright,
which upheld the constitutional right to counsel in criminal
cases.
“The Georgetown Law
Center, located only a few blocks from the Congress, the
U.S. Supreme Court, and the D.C. Courts, is an ideal place
for policy makers and organizations interested in legal aid
and public defenders to make use of the Library,” said Jack
Londen, President of the National Equal Justice Library.
“Students of comparative and international law will find a
large collection of materials about access to justice in
many other countries,” said Justice Earl Johnson, Jr. of the
California 2nd District Court of Appeals and a
former President of the Library.
“Georgetown Law was a
pioneer in providing access to justice, through its clinical
programs, fellowships, and
Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS),
as well as itsearly association with bar leaders committed
to this cause,” noted Georgetown
Law Librarian Robert Oakley. “We are a natural home for
these historic documents; they will be put to good use by
our faculty, who continue in the founding traditions of the
civil rights and access to justice movements.”
“Our hope is that the collection
and the scholarship it will foster will inspire future
generations of Georgetown lawyers to consider serving their
communities through public interest and pro bono work,”
added Georgetown Law Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff.
Reginald
Heber Smith Award
Named for Reginald Heber Smith in recognition
of his influential 1919 book, Justice and the Poor,
which is often credited with starting the national legal
aid movement in the United States.
Co-authors Austin
Sarat William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence
and Political Science at Amherst College and Stuart
Scheingold Professor Emeritus at the University
of Washington were awarded the Smith award for their book
Cause Lawyering: Political Commitments / Professional
Responsibilities
Recent Donations and Acquisitions
The National Equal Justice Library recently
received a large donation from the Morrison & Foerster
Foundation and another from the Community Foundation
of Texas. Many generous individuals, including former "Reggie"
fellows have also supported the Library through financial
donations.
In recent months we have received several
donations of materials. Philip Lewis donated books
and archival materials, including international and foreign
language books and articles. Following up on previous donations,
Carol Ruth Silver donated a large box of case dockets
dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s, and Nancy
J. Kleeman donated a collection of Minnesota Legal Services
Coalition Newsletters. View the complete list of materials
donors > >.
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