Civil Liberties Day of Remembrance in Washington State

Today, February 19th, is Civil Liberties Day of Remembrance in Washington State.

The Washington State Legislature created Civil Liberties Day of Remembrance in recognition of the atrocities suffered by Japanese Americans during World War II. It stands as an acknowledgment that "in the name of 'military necessity,' Japanese Americans were deprived of their fundamental constitutional rights and civil liberties."

Civilian Exclusion Order for King County - Densho Archive

It is important that we not forget the Japanese Americans' incarceration and relocation nor the racial animus that initiated it. HistoryLink, a website dedicated to Washington State's history, has an article about Japanese American incarceration in Seattle and King County with pictures of those affected. The National Archives has a digital version of Executive Order 9066, the order that authorized Japanese American incarceration. Additionally, the recent documentary, And Then They Came for Us, by Abby Ginzberg, includes interviews with incarcerated individuals and the daughter of Fred Korematsu, who famously fought his incarceration and relocation during the War.

Gallagher Law Library also has several books in its Good Reads section about Japanese American incarceration:

• Gordon K. Hirabayashi, A Principled Stand: The Story of Hirabayashi v. United States (2013) (also available as an ebook)
  
  
• Laura Atkins, Fred Korematsu Speaks Up (2017) (sign up for a free account to borrow it from the Internet Archive)
  
  
• Lorraine K. Bannnai, Enduring Conviction: Fred Korematsu and His Quest for Justice (2015) (also available as an ebook)

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Make sure to stop by and check out the Law Library's resources as part of your Civil Liberties Day celebration. 

February 19, 2021: That invitation to stop by the Law Library doesn't work during Covid restrictions, so we've updated the post to include links to ebook versions of the books we highlighted. One day you'll be able to browse our print Good Reads collection again. For now, if you prefer print, you can request the books via the University Libraries' No Contact Pick-Up Service.

#WorldlPangolinDay

Today is the ninth World Pangolin Day, and some of you might not even be quite sure what a pangolin is. (I only learned a few months ago.) Is it a pasta dish or a musical instrument? Nope, it's a small mammal, similar to an anteater, covered with scales made of keratin (like our fingernails and hair). And it may be the most trafficked mammal in the world.

Pangolins are illegally captured transported internationally. Their scales are used in some traditional medicine (despite a lack of evidence of a benefit) and pangolins are also eaten.

The UW's Center for Conservation Biology is on the front line in the fight to save pangolins. It won a USAID Tech Challenge for its project to pinpoint the sources of trafficked pangolins using DNA analysis. The team augments its sophisticated science with specially trained conservation canines who can sniff out the pangolin poo that's needed to construct genetic maps of each group's range and enable law enforcement to pinpoint the source of a seized shipment. This video describes the project:





If you're interested in wildlife law, a great place to start is Wildlife Law: A Primer (2d ed. 2019), by Eric T. Freyfogle, Dale D. Goble, and Todd A. Wildermuth.

To follow new developments, see this library guide. 

Impeachment Resources at Gallagher

Over the last few weeks, you may have heard a thing or two about impeachment, because the United States Senate recently acquitted President Donald J. Trump of the impeach charges brought by the House of Representatives. If you are interested in the matter, Gallagher Library has a variety of resources.

 The Law Library serves as a depository in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). FDLP’s mission is to “ provide free, ready, and permanent public access to Federal Government information, now and for future generations.” The Law Library has been a part of the FDLP since 1969. Its collection includes congressional materials, administrative regulations, administrative decisions, and presidential papers. More information on Gallagher’s history and offerings can be found in our United States Publications research guide.

Three recent reports are available online:

H. Permanent Select Comm. on Intelligence, The Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report, H. Rep. No. 116-335 (2019) [Gallagher Catalog Record]; and

H. Judiciary Comm., Impeachment of Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, H. Rep. No. 116-346 (2019) [Gallagher Catalog Record]; and

Impeachment Trial of President Donald John Trump, S. Doc. No. 116-12 (2020) [Gallagher Catalog Record].

For print copies of the House reports, go to the Reference Area, call number J66 U577 and look up the document you want by its report number. If you prefer electronic versions, you are in luck. There are several ways for you to access the reports online.

You can access the reports via the links above, which will take you to PDF versions from govinfo.gov.

HeinOnline has gathered impeachment materials from all four presidential impeachment proceedings. In order to access HeinOnline, you will need to login using your UW NetID credentials. You can access a link to Hein via the Library’s homepage. Once you login, find the heading “Browse Databases by Name,” and scroll down until you find “U.S. Presidential Impeachment Library.” By clicking the link, you will access a dropdown menu with several options. You may choose to read more about the library, browse all titles in the library, search related works, scholarly articles, and a bibliography of the library’s collection.

If you click the “Introduction” link, you will find information about the U.S. Presidential Impeachment Library. Additionally, you will be able to browse documents about the four past presidential impeachment proceedings.

This library includes the two reports featured above, the Mueller Report, as well as key documents and scholarly works.

Whether you want to gain more understanding about current events or research a project, Gallagher has you covered.