Law Day 2016: Miranda - More Than Words

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona. In recognition of this historic decision, the American Bar Association has dedicated its annual Law Day celebration to the impact of Miranda and its role in safeguarding our personal rights. The theme -- Miranda: More Than Words – will “explore the procedural protections afforded to all of us by the U.S. Constitution, how these rights are safeguarded by the courts, and why the preservation of these principles is essential to our liberty.” (ABA)

To commemorate the Miranda decision, the Harris County Law Library has created an exhibit, which is currently on display in the library lobby. Three prize-winning posters, submitted to the Houston Bar Association’s annual Law Day contest, are also on view, along with a display copy of the contest’s  winning essay. We are grateful to the HBA and local school children for sharing this beautiful selection of artwork and writing with the library and its visitors.

Every week in the month of May, Ex Libris Juris will spotlight some aspect of the Miranda ruling. These “Miranda Monday” blog posts will explore how the case has influenced the administration of justice and the protection of our rights. Until next week, Happy Law Day!

Poetry of the Bench and Bar: Quoth the Raven, In re Love

We at the Harris County Law Library have enjoyed celebrating National Poetry Month. By featuring a new law-related poem every Friday in April, we’ve recognized the vital role of poetry in our lives, culture, history, and in the law, but as Geoffrey Chaucer said in Troilus and Criseyde, “All good things must come to an end.”

Before we conclude our celebration, we’re offering one more poem from the bench and bar, an exquisite illustration of the beauty of language, as well as the cleverness of the court. Written in the theme of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, this legal verse is worth reading in full. It is a truly inspired piece of poetry by one very eloquent judge, the Hon. A. Jay Cristol, chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. The poem is excerpted here from the case In re Love, 61 B.R. 558 (1986),

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary
Over many quaint and curious files of chapter seven lore
While I nodded nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door,
"Tis some debtor" I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door--
Only this and nothing more."

Ah distinctly I recall, it was in the early fall
And the file still was small
The Code provided I could use it
If someone tried to substantially abuse it

No party asked that it be heard.
"Sua sponte" whispered a small black bird.
The bird himself, my only maven,
strongly looked to be a raven.

For more legal poetry, please look back at our Friday blog entries in April, especially The Calf Path or Precedents and Wills in Verse. And finally, for commentary on the role of legal levity, see Bons Mots, Buffoonery, and the Bench: The Role of Humor in Judicial Opinions by Lucas K. Hori, 60 UCLA L. Rev. Disc. 16 (2012)