The Ninth Judicial Circuit
Historical Society (NJCHS)
preserves and educates about the vibrant legal history of the West,
and about the vital importance of an independent judiciary.
What’s next
at the NJCHS?
05 October Breaking the Glass Bar: Trailblazing Women in the Northern District REGISTER HERE! Presented by the Northern District of California Historical Society, the Northern District… View Details Current issueWATER
The Guest Editor of this edition, Rhett Larson, is widely recognized as one of America’s best informed and knowledgeable water experts. He is no stranger to the thirst of arid lands for water, having cut his working teeth in the deserts of Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel where he helped develop solar powered wells in the midst of sectarian conflict. Rhett has assembled a wide and talented group of individuals immersed in Western water issues to provide a description of the various competitors for the limited supply of its lifeblood and so much more about Water in the West.
Water Sharing In The WestWestern water law, based on prior appropriation, is not associated with a sharing mentality. Instead, it’s first in time, first in right, and the devil take the hindmost.
Water Law In The Colorado River BasinThe 40 million people living in the Colorado River Basin face a persistent water shortage. This panel discussed the legal history of the Colorado River Basin, how that history shows both failures and successes in advancing water equity, the relationship between that history and the present shortage, and what reforms might secure a more sustainable and equitable water future for all who call the Colorado River Basin home.
Water Law: Hawai’iHear our distinguished panel address threats to our precious water resources: including stony coral tissue loss disease; climate change; the interplay of federal and state law; and community-led protections of water resources.
On American Soil: How Justice Became A Casualty of World War IIDuring WWII, the death of an Italian POW. The longest Army court-martial of the war. Three Black enlisted men convicted of murder. Years later alarming information in previously-classified documents is uncovered leading the Army to set aside the convictions.
The Port Chicago 50: Racism and ReviewA cataclysmic explosion at a munitions loading port during WWII killed 320 enlisted men, 2/3 of them African American. When 50 refused to continue the dangerous work, they were convicted of mutiny and sentenced in ways that would change their lives.
War Crimes: From the 1945 San Francisco U.N. Conference to TodayDo politics and diplomacy factor into our definition of war crimes? How are war crimes dealt with currently, compared to the past? The NJCHS and fellow historical societies invite you to hear our esteemed panelists speak on this topic.
The Bill Edlund Award for Professionalism in the LawThe Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society and the Northern District Historical Society will honor the memory of Bill Edlund by presenting this year’s Bill Edlund Award for Professionalism in the Law to John W. Keker, Esq. of Keker, Van Nest & Peters.
NJCHS Gala 2022Don’t miss this moving and inspiring presentation by Judges Bea, Nguyen, and Benitez, in conversation with Judge Michael Daly Hawkins about having fled their homelands to come to the United States.
Read more about these Judges’ stories, and those of Judges Tashima and Du, in our recent issue of Western Legal History.
The Demonization of (Im)migrants: Dust Bowl Refugees, the Supreme Court, and the Right to TravelJoin us for an engaging presentation by lawyer, legal scholar, and historian John S. Caragozian. In 1941, in Edwards v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of California’s anti-Okie law, which, like Washington’s and other states’ laws, made it illegal to knowingly assist a pauper in entering the state.
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