Legacies of Lincoln

legacies-of-lincolnThis year marks both the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the sesquicentennial of his visit to Milwaukee to speak at the Wisconsin State Fair. (Lincoln’s Milwaukee speech, delivered September 30, 1859, is available here.) To commemorate these events, Marquette University Law School, together with the Department of History, will host a conference entitled “Legacies of Lincoln.” This conference, occurring on October 1 & 2, promises to be a very fine event.

First, on Thursday, October 1, at the Alumni Memorial Union, the History Department’s annual Klement Lecture will be delivered by Allen C. Guelzo, Professor of Civil War Era Studies and Professor of History at Gettysburg College. Professor Guelzo’s Klement Lecture will address “Colonel Utley’s Emancipation: The Strange Case of President Lincoln and His Bid to Become a Slaveowner.” The lecture will start at 7 p.m., preceded by a reception beginning at 6 p.m.

Second, on Friday, October 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Law School, the conference will feature three panels variously addressing aspects of Lincoln’s career and legacy:

  • “Lincoln and Politics”: Heather Cox Richardson, University of Massachusetts–Amherst, will be joined on the panel by Alison Clark Efford and James Marten, both of Marquette University.
  • “Lincoln and the Constitution”: Michael Les Benedict, The Ohio State University, will participate in a panel that will include Stephen Kantrowitz, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Kate Masur, Northwestern University.
  • “Lincoln as Lawyer”: Mark E. Steiner, South Texas College of Law and author of An Honest Calling: Lincoln’s Law Practice, will speak, along with Joseph A. Ranney, DeWitt Ross & Stevens, and Thomas L. Shriner, Jr., Foley & Lardner, both of whom are adjunct faculty at the Law School.

Advance registration is required for the conference, which is free except for lawyers seeking 4.5 hours of CLE credit ($40). Conference information and a link to the registration page are available here. Particular thanks to Professor Dan Blinka for his work in helping to organize this conference and to Professor Jim Marten, chair of the History Department, for making common cause with the Law School in leading the conference. I hope that many of you will register and join us.

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Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: What Is a Crime of Violence?

seventh circuit

The Armed Career Criminal Act and § 4B1.1 of the federal sentencing guidelines both provide for lengthened prison terms for certain defendants with three or more prior convictions for crimes of violence.  It’s clear that certain prior convictions qualify (e.g., rape and armed robbery), but there are a surprisingly large number of offenses in the gray area between violent and nonviolent. 

As I discussed in an earlier post, the Supreme Court recently developed a new definition for “crime of violence” in Begay v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 1581 (2008), in which the Court held that prior DUI convictions do not trigger ACCA’s fifteen-year mandatory minimum.  Begay cast a lot of circuit-court precedent into doubt, and the Seventh Circuit has been struggling ever since to develop a consistent, coherent approach to identifying what types of offenses count as “violent.”  (See, for example, this post.)  Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has also remained active in this area.  Last term, for instance, the Court held that failure to report to prison and walkaway escapes are not crimes of violence in Chambers v. United States, 129 S. Ct. 687 (2009).  And the Court recently granted cert in Johnson v. United States to decide whether a battery offense counts as violent.

Reflecting the turbulence in this area of the law, the Seventh Circuit had three — count ’em, three — notable new opinions dealing with the “crime of violence” question last week. 

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Summer Reading List

booksIn his remarks at the hooding ceremony this spring, Dean Kearney encouraged our law graduates to remain active readers.  And during a recent presentation to the Marquette law faculty, Professor Julie Oseid asked us how many books we have on our nightstands.   

That question left me with another: what books are folks reading over the summer for pleasure?  Reading is one of the great joys in life.  Choosing the next good read is almost as satisfying.  We would love to know what books others are reading or have already read this summer to add to our own nightstand collections.  After all, we still have a few weeks to fit in some reading before classes start.   

This summer, I especially enjoyed reading— 

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova:  a Dracula tale, with a literary tour of Central and Eastern Europe.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2008, Jerome Groopman and Tim Folger, editors:  a compilation of beautifully written articles from magazines like The New Yorker.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris:  I read a third of the book before even leaving the bookstore.      

List yours to add to another nightstand.

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