JURIST - This Day at Law

Thursday, March 11, 2010

On March 11, 1861, seven former US states adopted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which closely followed the language, if not necessarily the purport, of the original US Constitution.

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Gorbachev becomes USSR leader

On March 11, 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, following the death of Konstantin Chernenko. He soon announced that he would hold arms-reduction negotiations in Geneva with the United States. Gorbachev also used his tenure to liberalize the economy and social structure of the USSR, eventually leading to the abatement of the Soviet Union. In 1990, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Read documents and interviews from the 1990 USA-USSR Summit.

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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Gandhi arrested for sedition

On March 10, 1922, Mahatma Gandhi was arrested and charged with sedition for leading a campaign of mass civil disobedience against the British in India. He was then convicted and sentenced to six years in prison. After his release, Gandhi continued to build Indian unity and use civil disobedience and non-cooperation to oppose British rule in his country, culminating in the Salt March of 1930 and eventual Indian independence in 1947.

Learn more about Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian Freedom Struggle from the archives of the government of India.

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James Earl Ray sentenced for the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr.

On March 10, 1969, James Earl Ray was sentenced to 99 years in prison for the murder of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.. Ray died in 1998, still seeking a retrial of his case.

On December 9th, 1999, a Memphis jury handed down a verdict agreeing with the King family that the 1968 assassination of the civil rights leader was a conspiracy rather than the act of a lone gunman. Learn more about the trial and the assassination from The King Center in Atlanta.

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Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Amistad slave ship case decided

On March 9, 1841, the US Supreme Court ruled in The Amistad case that a group of slaves who took over their ship were free.

Learn more about The Amistad in JURIST's Famous Trials series.

Northern Ireland votes to remain in UK

On March 9, 1973, residents of Northern Ireland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom. 98% voted in favor of the referendum, but only 57% of the population participated. Catholic voters overwhelmingly boycotted the vote and civil war, known as "The Troubles", continued in Northern Ireland until the Good Friday Agreement, which provides for recognition of Northern Ireland's union with the United Kingdom until a majority of its population votes otherwise.

Read a history of the conflict in Northern Ireland from the University of Ulster.

Monday, March 08, 2010

International Women's Rights Day

March 8 is International Women's Rights and International Peace day, better known as International Women's Day [UN factsheet].

US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was born on March 8, 1841. Learn more about Justice Holmes and pay a virtual visit to his gravesite at Arlington National Cemetary.

Listen to a rare recording of Justice Holmes speaking on NBC Radio on the occasion of his 90th birthday in 1931.