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Manuscript Division Archive of Organizational Web Sites Collection

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http://www.dcchs.org/

Archived: 07/26/2006 at 23:28:55

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 E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room 4826
Washington, DC  20001-2866

US District Court, DC Circuit
US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit

Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit
 


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Founded in 1990, the Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit began its work by commissioning Professor Jeffrey Brandon Morris to write a history of the 200-year life of the D.C. Circuit courts: Calmly to Poise the Scales of Justice: A History of the Courts of the District of Columbia Circuit, a book completed in time for distribution at the Circuit’s Bicentennial Celebration in March 2001.

In 1991, the Society began to record and transcribe the oral histories of judges, attorneys, and others who have played key roles in the Circuit’s history. To date, 46 oral histories have been completed, and most are available in the Library of Congress, in the Library of the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, and in the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Some of the oral histories can be accessed from this website.

Society Programs:

  • Upcoming Program: The Art of Cross-Examination on July 26.
  • As part of its series of panel discussions of historic cases heard in the D.C. Circuit, the Society sponsored "The Landmark AT&T Divestiture Case and its Economic Repercussions" on May 4. (See flyer) Other Society programs included "Iran Contra: A Historical Perspective," and "Reflections on Watergate."
  • The Society began another series of programs in 2004 – conversations with judges about historic cases. The first program featured a dialogue between Judge William B. Bryant and Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer about Mallory v. United States, a case Judge Bryant argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1957 when he was in private practice.
  • Another Society “first” – two programs designed with summer associates and other attorneys in mind. The first program focused on the ways federal trial judges have handled high-profile civil and criminal cases and the special problems judges face in hearing such cases. In the second program, appellate judges and experienced oral advocates talked about how to present effective oral arguments and the ways in which oral advocacy before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit has changed over time.
  • Moot court competitions for high school youth are sponsored by the Society. Over 80 District students recently argued their cases before eight federal judges.

To learn how to become a member of the Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit and help us increase public awareness of the Circuit’s rich history and the contribution the Courts have made to the jurisprudence and life of the nation, read our new brochure.




The Historical Society of the D.C. Circuit is a
501 (c) (3) non-profit organization independent of the Courts.