The Fred Parks Law Library is pleased to announce our acquisition of four rare fifteenth century legal works.

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

In honor of our 10th anniversary, the Fred Parks Law Library has purchased four 15th century legal works. These books are important not just because of their rarity and subject matter, but because of their age and condition.

Paul de Castro’s Super primo, Secundo et Tertio Libro Codis... is a Commentary on the Code of Justinian printed in Venice in 1495. The Fred Parks copy is one of only two copies in the Western hemisphere. Jean Barbier’s Viatorium Utriusque Iuris is a legal handbook. printed in Strassburg in 1493. It combines elements of Roman and canon law with the legal customs of southern France. Jodocus of Erfurt’s Vocabularium Iuris Utrius(que) is a work of great authority. This early law dictionary went through more than 70 editions. The Fred Parks copy was printed in Nuremburg in 1481, a mere 29 years after the invention of the printing press, making it the oldest book in the library's collection. Finally, we have a first printed edition of Nicholas Statham’s [Abridgement of Cases], printed in 1490. Covering the reigns of Edward I through Henry VI, it was considered the standard abridgement until the publication of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert's Le Graunde Abridgement in 1514.

Early printed books, dating from 1492, when movable type was invented, to 1500, are called incunabula. Due to their age and the impact of constant warfare in Europe, they are very rare and often incomplete. It is not unusual for incomplete, or alas, even complete works, to be sold leaf by leaf in order to make the most profit.

The process of printing a book developed by Gutenberg in 1452 was much faster than hand copying, but it was still a laborious endeavor. Each letter of each word was hand-placed by a workman, called a compositor, into a small tray. Each line was carefully placed to form to an even margin, and when the tray (called a compositing stick) was full, the workman transferred it to another tray called a galley. The galley was large enough to hold an entire page, and when the page was complete, the workman set the tray aside to begin work on the next one. He did not go leaf by leaf but rather section by section. Large sheets of paper would be printed with multiple pages on each side; they were then folded into what we would recognize today as a section of a book. As a result of this process, not all the type was facing the same direction. On one sheet of paper there could be as many as 24 leaves, or pages, of a book on each side.

Once all the type was laid out correctly and was in the printing press, it would be covered in ink and paper would be pressed onto it. The paper would be removed, more ink would be applied, and another sheet laid on top to be pressed. And so it went until the workman had the total number of sheets needed for the edition he was preparing. Then the letters were returned to their individual bins, and the next section in the book was prepared and printed. The books were then assembled (hopefully in the correct order), and delivered to the binder, who would sew them together and bind them in paper, wood, leather or in a custom design for a specific buyer.

The four works now in our collection are in remarkable condition for their age, and will be on display in the library lobby now through the end of November as we celebrate our 10th anniversary.

Happy 10th Anniversary to us!

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

The Fred Parks Law Library opened in 2001, and in the past 10 years a lot of things have changed. We’ve increased our print collection, gotten a multitude of fantastic databases, added digital collections, and built up our Special Collections. Our Special Collections consist of the library’s rare book collection, manuscript collections, and the college archive. These are closed stacks collections that may be accessed by appointment with the Special Collections Librarian. The preservation and the security of collections are ongoing concerns for the library. Items from Special Collections are not eligible for interlibrary loan and must be used in the Jones Reading Room under the supervision of library staff. Currently, the oldest item in Rare Book Collection dates from 1481 – that’s a mere 29 years after the Printing Revolution began with Gutenberg’s invention of movable type.

The Rare Book Collection consists of items considered too old, rare, valuable or fragile to be housed in the main collection. We focus on Texas legal history, Texana, Houston history, Mexican and Spanish law, and seminal works in legal history, particularly those dealing with Common Law. Items from Special Collections are placed on exhibit 3 to 4 times a year in an effort to promote the collection. Since 2011 is the year of our 10th anniversary, we have purchased some real gems in honor of this milestone. On display now in the library lobby is an exhibition featuring some of our most recent acquisitions, including a Spanish and Catalan edition of the Consolato del Mare, a study on Siete Partidas, a sixteenth century work on legal theory, a Spanish treatise on criminal procedure (which includes a section on the use of torture on both witnesses and the accused), a Spanish naval treatise addressing international law written at the time of the American Revolution, and a volume containing primary sources in Texas legal history. This exhibition will be up through September.


For more information on the Special Collections Department, please contact Heather Kushnerick at hkushnerick@stcl.edu.

Announcing the South Texas College of Law Digital Collection

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

The Fred Parks Law Library would like to announce our first four collections, now available online. Our inaugural collections celebrate the history of South Texas College of Law and the success of our nationally ranked Advocacy Program. We are also proud to feature a collection that brings to light a forgotten race riot and the largest murder trial in American history.

You can now view early South Texas School of Law catalogs, browse the photos of our winning Advocacy teams, examine YMCA postcards, and read through JAG documents on the three courts-martial that stemmed from the Houston Riot of 1917. These four collections are still growing and soon other collections and documents will be added, including a letter written in 1823 by Sir William Adams, “surgeon and oculist-extraordinary to the prince regent,” to the First Lord of the Admiralty, Robert Dundas, Lord Melville, supporting British recognition of Latin American countries newly independent from Spain. This is the beginning of an effort to bring materials from the South Texas College of Law Archives, Manuscript Collection, and Rare Book Collection to the attention of the South Texas community and allow greater access to materials that, due to their condition and age, must be kept in a closed stack, climate controlled environment.

You can go to http://libguides.stcl.edu/DigitalCollections to learn more about each collection or browse them directly at http://digitalcollections.stcl.edu/ .

Taming Poseidon: The Law of the Sea goes on display in the library lobby.

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of the sea in the development of civilization. If there is an oldest profession, it may well be that of sailor. There were sailors before there were farmers and boats before there were cities. While written evidence is scarce, artifacts found at archaeological sites tell the story of maritime trade between the earliest civilizations. The Sumerians traded with the people of the Indus Valley Civilization, and goods from Crete, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan all found their way to Egypt thanks to early international trade. “The whole period between the Late Bronze Age and the founding of the Hellenic states saw extensive maritime activity in the Mediterranean area” (Gold 3). The growth of cities increased the need for communication and trade, and as civilization moved west that need increased. By the 5th century BC, the entire coast of the Mediterranean was dotted with cities and it was in the Mediterranean where the Law of the Sea began. Because no one nation or people owned the sea, international trade regulations evolved from customs that date back to the earliest times. “Empires rose and fell, states were in one kind of political or legal chaos after another, but the sea law appeared to continue as a growing, maturing body of law throughout these vicissitudes. It did so because no king or chieftain exercised continuous control” (Gold 4).

While early evidence of maritime laws can be found in the Code of Hammurabi, which included rules on collisions, bottomry and reimbursement for leased watercraft, the “first comprehensive maritime code, which not only regulated Greek commerce for a very long time but also supplied the basis for all sea law for the next 1,000 years was complied by the Rhodians…” (Gold 7). Dating from the 3rd or 2nd century BC, its principles were accepted by the Greeks and Romans and it is widely accepted that the “Rhodian code was actually a codification of very ancient legal principles developed over a long period of time… .” (ibid) Romans accepted the Rhodian law most likely out of practicality: they were an agrarian society whose interest in the sea began for defensive reasons during the Punic Wars. Following Rome’s success in the wars, they developed a “very capable maritime legal system covering all aspects of ocean transportation starting with sea as a medium; then the ship as a vehicle with the crew to operate it; the cargo as the purpose of the whole operation; the responsibilities relating to the operation; and finally, the method to settle disputes arising out of it” (Gold 15). By the 13th century competitive world trading centers with large fleets and wealthy cities had developed, and “Roman law and customary maritime rules were no longer adequate; consequently, maritime law was quickly codified and maritime courts sprang up in most of the cities. We witness here the real beginning of modern maritime shipping law” (Gold 18).

For Europe and England, the most important of these cities was Oleron. Oleron is an island off the coast of France, and in the 12th century it became a major trading center used by Crusaders heading to the Holy Land. It was the first non-Mediterranean city to codify maritime law. The code, known as the Rolls of Oleron, included the judgments of the maritime court and eventually became the canon for Europe, and was adopted by England, probably by Richard the Lionheart, in the late 12th century. The office of the Admiral was established in England in the 13th century and the Admiralty Court was established in the 14th century. When England began to colonize North America vice-admiralty courts were established in the main port cities. Following the American Revolution, the vice-admiralty courts were replaced with state courts, under the Articles of Confederation. Finally, Article III section 2 of the Constitution gives original jurisdiction in admiralty matters to the federal court, and the federal courts have jurisdiction over most admiralty and maritime claims.

On display now in the library lobby is Taming Poseidon: Select Admiralty and Maritime Sources from Special Collections. This exhibit includes works by Hugo Grotius, John Selden, and Charles Molloy. These materials will be on display August 18 through December 3, 2010.


Sources: Gold, Edgar. Maritime Transport: The Evolution of International Marine Policy and Shipping Law. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books, 1981.

Runyan, Timothy. “The Rolls of Oleron and the Admiralty Court in Fourteenth Century England.” 19 Am. J. Legal Hist. 95 1975

Castro, William. “The Origins of Federal Admiralty Jurisdiction in an Age of Privateers, Smugglers, and Pirates.” 37 Am. J. Legal Hist. 117 1993.

Houston's Legal History

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

The city of Houston was founded in 1836 and was so named in an attempt to convince the Texas Congress to designate it the capital of the Republic. As of January 1, 1837, the town boasted a population of 12. By the time the first legislature of the newly formed Republic of Texas met in the capital ‘city’ of Houston on May 1, 1837, there were over 1500 residents, including 15 to 20 lawyers. (Handbook of Texas Online, “Houston, Texas”; and Chapman, Betty T. “Lawyers created bar association to clean up professional image.” Houston Business Journal 31 Mar. 2000: 32A) One such lawyer was George C. Childress, author of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Perhaps because Houston was the first capital of the Republic, area lawyers have been instrumental in the development of legal proceedings in Texas. Peter W. Gray, the first president of the Houston Bar Association, was in the Texas House of Representatives in the First Legislature and the Senate in the Fourth Legislature. He authored the first bill regulating Texas court proceedings (Chapman, 2000: 32A). Gray formed a partnership with his cousin Walter Browne Botts in 1865, and their firm survives today as Baker & Botts.

Lawyers have been instrumental in the development of the city: Frank Andrews, founder of Andrews & Kurth, was one of the developers of the Houston Ship Channel and Montrose. Two attorneys for Fulbright & Jaworski were trustees of the MD Anderson Foundation and helped establish the Texas Medical Center. Area lawyers and judges have also been instrumental in the development and promulgation of legal education in Houston. The growth of the oil industry in the 1920s created a need for lawyers trained in Texas law to handle all aspect of the oil business (Anglim, Chris. “South Texas College of Law: Houston’s Gateway to Opportunity in Law.” 369 S. Tex. L. Rev 922.). To answer this need and to further legal education in general, several prominent lawyers and judges joined with the YMCA in 1923 to open the finest law school in Texas, known today as South Texas College of Law.

On display now in the lobby of the Fred Parks Law Library is Exhibit A: Houston’s legal history. Containing materials from the Special Collections Department, this exhibit will be up through August 13th.

Library acquires rare sixteenth-century treatise on Arbitration

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian


The Special Collections Department is proud to announce the recent acquisition of a first edition Tractatus de compromissis, in quo omnia ad arbitrorum, by Camillo Borrello. Published in 1597, it is a treatise on arbitration and award in canon and Neapolitan feudal law. South Texas College of Law is one of four institutions in the United State to have a copy of this work. UC-Berkeley Law School, Princeton and Harvard Law also have copies, though Princeton and Harvard have the 1600 edition.

The library also recently acquired Sir Thomas Smith’s De republica Anglorum libri tres. Quibus accesserunt chorographica illius descriptio aliiq[ue] politici tractatus.. Described as "the most important description of the constitution and government of England written in the Tudor age”, it went through eleven editions between 1584 and 1691. The library’s 1641 edition is the fifth and final Latin edition. Published in miniature format by Elzevier, it measures 2½ inches by 4½ inches.

For photographs of these “new” old books, visit our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Houston-TX/South-Texas-College-of-Law-The-Fred-Parks-Law-Library/294526053119?ref=ts

Civility and the Practice of Law

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Texas Lawyer’s Creed, materials from the Special Collections Department of The Fred Parks Law Library on legal ethics and professional responsibility will be on display in the library lobby until the end of April, 2010. Items on display include works by Jeremy Bentham, Immanuel Kant, and Frederick Pollock. The Texas Lawyer’s Creed was promulgated by the Texas State Supreme Court in 1989. It is an authoritative statement on professional standards for all Texas lawyers. To read the text of the Texas Lawyers creed, please go to the State Bar of Texas website.

Spotlight on Texas

By Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

Texan’s are just a little different than other folks. That difference is reflected in our legal history. From our roots as a Spanish colony to our time as an independent Republic, we have adopted what works and dismissed what does not. While our legal system is largely based on English Common Law, we kept pieces of the Spanish legal system and adopted part of the Civil Code of Louisiana. A selection of early Texas legal materials is on display in the library lobby until December, 2009

Digitization of rare material means better access for you

Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

This year marked two big anniversaries: the fortieth anniversary of the moon landing and the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Both of these events are awe inspiring – not only because they succeeded, but because the bravery of the participants. Thanks to what was then cutting edge technology we can watch footage of WWII and relive, or see for the first time, man's first steps on the moon. What did we do before we had cameras to preserve these historic events? People kept copious notes and wrote very detailed, descriptive books. Unfortunately, these manuscripts and books are now so old and fragile that they are kept in locked, climate controlled rooms forgotten by the public. However, thanks to technology more and more of these books and documents are being digitized. Here at South Texas, we have the Making of Modern Law Database, which contains over 21,000 treatises on British and American law dating from 1800 to 1926 as well as an ongoing project digitizing the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure starting from 1941. New projects digitizing the South Texas College of Law Newspaper, Annotations, and South Texas CLEs have just begun. You can find dozens of digitial collections on the Internet. A database that just recently came online is The Solider in Later Medieval England. This joint project between the Arts & Humanities Research Council, the University of Reading and the University of Southampton has produced a free to use, fully searchable database of tens of thousands military records dating from 1369 to 1453, from The National Archives (read the BBC article about the project here). If you prefer antiquity to the Hundred Years' War, check out the Perseus Digital Library, hosted by Tufts University, where you can read the works of Aeschylus, Aristotle, Livy and Homer, among others. They have the works of Marlowe and Shakespeare as well as a very nice collection of 19th century American historical material. One of the biggest and perhaps the most well known digital collections is Project Gutenberg. With nearly 30,000 available books you can find something on almost anything (I recommend everything by Desiderius Erasmus.) A great feature of this site is that you can search by Library of Congress Classification system – check out the KFs to find works by John Jay, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. When you have some free time try doing a search for digital collections - you might be surprised by what you can find.

Touching the Future - Jim Alfini steps down as Dean and President

by Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian

As we look forward to Dean Donald Guter joining the South Texas family, one can’t help but think that we are losing a great advocate and friend in Dean Alfini. (Ok, so we aren’t really losing him, he’s just relocating to the sixth floor.) While we look forward to the future with our new Dean and President, let’s take a moment to look back at Dean Alfini's contributions to legal education.

James Alfini became the ninth dean and president of South Texas College of Law on August 1, 2003. Prior to joining the South Texas, he served as Dean of Northern Illinois University College of Law, and taught at NIU, Florida State University College of Law, Chicago-Kent School of Law, Hamline University School of Law and Santa Clara University School of Law. He has expertise in judicial ethics and dispute resolution. He served as the Director of Education and Research of the Florida Dispute Resolution Center and was a member of the Florida Supreme Court Arbitration and Mediation Rules Committee. He has served as the chair of the ABA Dispute Resolution Section and the Chair of the AALS Alternative Dispute Resolution Section. Under his deanship, South Texas created the Centers of Excellence and stressed the importance of pro bono work. He has published numerous books and articles, a selection of which is on display in the Library lobby along with photos and other items from the Archives until the end of the summer.

Jim Alfini will step down as Dean this summer and join the faculty full-time. While we know he will still be an advocate for the school and the students, we will miss his leadership. Enjoy your "retirement," Dean Alfini!

Defining the Law: 400 Years of Legal Dictionaries

Language evolves. The English used by Chaucer is drastically different than that used by Shakespeare which in turn doesn’t much resemble that used by Stephen King. The argument can be made that were it not for television and modern communication technology American English and British English would inevitably diverge from each other, resulting in two distinct languages. As is, the different pronunciation and slang terms can make it difficult for native speakers from both sides of the pond to understand each other. It is through dictionaries that we can trace the origins and evolution of words. The oldest known dictionary dates from around 2300 BC. It is a bilingual wordlist in Sumerian and Akkadian on a cuneiform tablet. Determining when the first law dictionary was published is difficult, as our knowledge is limited to surviving copies and notations in the historical record. It is not unreasonable to suggest that a legal dictionary in some form existed during the time that Justinian codified Roman law in the 6th century or even when Hammurabi wrote his Code in 1760 BC. Regardless of when the first law dictionary was written, please enjoy this sample of dictionaries from the Special Collections Department. This exhibition will be up through May 31, 2009.

We the People: a new exhibit on Constitutional Law is up in the Library lobby.

In May 1787, a Convention was held in Philadelphia to amend the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first constitution of the United States of America. A month into the Convention it became clear that that the Articles were going to be rewritten. Based largely on the Virginia Plan, written by James Madison, the new Constitution of the United States was adopted by the Constitutional Convention September 17, 1787, and went into effect after 9 of the 13 states ratified it in March of 1789. The Constitution defines the three branches of government, outlines the powers of each branch, and reserves rights for the individual states. The Constitution defines who is eligible to run for federal office, who is eligible to vote, and how officials are elected. Given the excitement that surrounded the historic 2008 Presidential election, perhaps its time we look at where we started and where we are going. Please enjoy this selection of Constitutional materials from the Special Collections Department of your Fred Parks Law Library.
If you have any questions on this exhibit, would like more information about Special Collections, or would like to know how to donate materials to the Special Collections Department please contact Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian, at 713-646-1720 or hkushnerick@stcl.edu.

Religion and the Law: The Establishment Clause and New Religious Movements

The genesis of this exhibition was an unsolicited gift from Bridge publishers, a publishing company owned and operated by the Church of Scientology, who sent libraries around the country two complete sets of the scientology books written by L. Ron Hubbard. (These books do not fit in with our acquisitions policy and thus will not be added to the library collection.) About two weeks later, news outlets began reporting on the raid of a Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saint’s (FLDS) compound called Yearning for Zion in El Dorado, Texas, by Child Protective Services. Lawyers from around Texas including some from STCL went to San Angelo to represent the children removed from the compound. These two unrelated events got me thinking about what Sociologists call New Religious Movements (NRMs) and the law. Examples of NRMs include Scientology, New Age religions such as Wicca, the Unification Church, Jehovah Witnesses, Krishna Consciousness, and extreme elements of Christian fundamentalist and Pentecostal movements (Dawson 1998, p. 580). Many NRMs are recognized religions in the United States; however there are some that are deemed cults or are splinter groups of other recognized religions. There are several areas of law in which you may encounter NRMs: as defense attorneys, prosecutors, civil rights and family practice attorneys, and even in tax law. In Cantwell v. Connecticut (310 U.S. 296), the Supreme Court stated that the Free Exercise Clause “embraces two concepts – the freedom to believe and the freedom to act. The first is absolute, but in the nature of things, the second cannot be.” (Gedicks 2005 p. 1187) The role of lawyers and the courts therefore, is not to determine if the belief is valid, but if how those beliefs are practiced is lawful. Put very simply you can believe anything you want, you just can’t do anything you want. This exhibit showcases works in the Fred Parks Law Library’s collection that discuss religious freedom and the law as well as some historical material and cases from the Special Collections holdings. It also contains loaned materials.
This exhibition is not exhaustive nor does it contain any material relating to mainstream religion (i.e. Christianity, Judaism and Islam). Please direct all questions regarding this exhibit to the Special Collections Librarian, Heather Kushnerick, at hkushnerick@stcl.edu.



Dawson, Lorne L. “The Cultural Significance of New Religious movements and Globalization: A Theoretical Prolegomenon.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 37(4) (1998): 580-595.

Gedicks, Frederick Mark “The Permissible Scope of Legal Limitation on the Freedom of Religion or Belief in the United States.” Emory International Law Review 19 (2005): 1187-1275.

Little old law books on exhibit in library

Miniature books from the library’s Special Collections Department are on display in front of the Patron Services desk on the 2nd floor. These books, published in the 16th and 17th centuries, were most likely printed for law students. Their small size (most are under 4 inches tall) meant the books were less expensive to produce and thus less expensive to buy. Prior to the mechanization of the book industry all books were printed and bound by hand, a time consuming and expensive process. By making miniature books printers and publishers could save money on paper and pass those savings on to their customers.
These miniatures will be on display until the end of June, at which time they will disappear back into the Rare Book vault – don’t miss them!

Rare Books and all items in Special Collections are available for use by students, faculty, staff, and outside researchers from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday by appointment. To make an appointment contact Heather Kushnerick, Special Collections Librarian, at 713-646-1720, or by email at hkushnerick@stcl.edu.