November/December 2002 Question:
Twelve states do not have the death penalty. Can you name them?
Answer:
The twelve states are: Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
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October 2002 Question:
Who were Sacco and Vanzetti and what U.S. Supreme Court Justice wrote the book The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti?
Answer:
Sacco and Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants, were convicted and executed for a murder-robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts in 1920. The case became controversial because many believed that the defendants were convicted because of their anti-democratic political beliefs rather than on the evidence presented at trial.
In 1927, prior to the pair's execution, Felix Frankfurter, a Harvard law professor later to become a Supreme Court Justice, wrote The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti in which he showed the presiding judge's prejudice against the defendants and argued for a new trial based on new evidence that pointed to the possibility of another gang having committed the crime.
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September 2002 Question:
What is the origin of Labor Day?
Answer:
In September 1882, the Central Labor Union held the first Labor Day holiday in New York City to honor the American worker. By 1887 state legislatures had begun passing laws recognizing Labor Day. In 1894 Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September the legal holiday of Labor Day.
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July/August 2002 Question:
In Flood v. Kuhn, a case brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972, what issue was in controversy, and who wrote the majority opinion?
Answer:
In 1972 Curt Flood, a professional baseball player, brought an antitrust suit because he could not make a contract with a major league team of his choosing under baseball's reserve system. Justice Blackman, writing the majority opinion, celebrated the game of baseball in the opening pages and held that the reserve system was a longstanding aberration of antitrust laws and could be remedied by Congress, not the Court.
In 1998 Congress passed the Curt Flood Act, giving major league baseball players rights under the antitrust laws.
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May/June 2002 Question:
What was the method for determining the office of vice president of the United States when our nation was first formed? How and when did it change?
Answer:
Under the original terms of the U.S. Constitution, the candidate receiving the highest number of ballots from the Electoral College became president and the candidate receiving the second highest number, vice president. This method created problems. In 1796, after political parties had formed, the president and vice president came from different political parties. And, in 1800, a tie happened between the presidential candidate, Thomas Jefferson, and his running mate. In 1804, the 12th Amendment changed the method to separate ballots for each office.
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April 2002 Question:
When did Congress enact the ADA and what is the intent of the legislation?
Answer:
Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990 to make American Society more accessible to people with disabilities. The Act itself states that its Purpose is to provide a national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Accommodations must be made in employment, public services, facilities, and telecommunications.
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March 2002 Question:
What is the origin of the word "genocide"?
Answer:
Raphael Lemkin first published the word in 1944, borrowing from the Greek word for group/tribe, "genos", and the Latin word for killing, "cide". Following Lemkin's lead, the United Nations Convention on Genocide in 1948 set forth the definition of genocide as the intent to destroy, in whole or part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group and made genocide a crime under international law.
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February 2002 Question:
Where was the first juvenile court established and why?
Answer:
The first juvenile court in the world was established in Cook County, Illinois with the enactment of the Juvenile Court Act in 1899. Jane Addams and other women from Hull House, the reformers behind the Act, believed that children's personalities were not yet fixed and that children could benefit from rehabilitation rather than punishment.
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January 2002 Question:
What does "ad litem" mean in the legal term guardian ad litem?
Answer:
Ad litem means "for the suit" in Latin. Typically a guardian ad litem is appointed by the court to represent the best interests of a child in a custody or child protection case.
