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American Law Institute Committee records, 1922-2004 (inclusive)

Extent:
15 cubic feet
Abstract:
The American Law Institute (ALI) was founded in 1923 in response to a perceived uncertainty and complexity in American law. Former Penn Law Dean William Draper Lewis was the Institute's first director, running the organization's operations out of his campus office. The ALI was conceived as a representative gathering of the American Bar (including Judges, Lawyers, and Law Professors) for the stated mission "to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice and to encourage and carry on scholarly and scientific legal work." The collection, 1922-2004, includes minutes, correspondence, reports, and related records regarding the activity of the American Law Institute's Executive Committee, Finance and Development Committee, Investment Committee, and Membership Committee.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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American Law Institute Future of the Institute records, 1929-1968 (inclusive) 1929-1948 (bulk)

Extent:
1.5 linear feet
Abstract:
Following the publication of the First Restatement of the Law, in 1936 the American Law Institute (ALI) held a series of meetings and published a series of reports that considered what additional areas of the law might be selected for future restatement projects. Work on the project continued into the mid-1940s. Many fields were considered, but only a few were actually selected for inclusion in future restatement projects. The collection, 1929-1968 and undated (bulk: 1929-1948), includes correspondence, reports, memoranda, and other records related to areas of the law up for consideration for future restatement projects, including business associations, industrial relations, and monopolies.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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American Law Institute Criminal Justice Youth Committee records, 1935-1959 (inclusive)

Extent:
4 linear feet
Abstract:
In 1938, the American Law Institute (ALI) formed the Criminal Justice--Youth Committee to review the findings of a New York City study of criminal behavior among young people called "Youth in the Toils." The culmination of the committee's work was the Model Youth Correction Authority Act, a model act that favored the integration of a number of youth treatment processes already employed by various states. The committee also proposed the creation of a Youth Authority, a state-wide panel that would handle sentencing guidelines, with an emphasis on treatment and not punishment, for all underage criminal offenders. Following the Model Youth Corrections Authority Act's promulgation in 1940, the ALI appointed a special adviser, John R. Ellingston, to help states adopt Youth Authority legislation. This outreach effort was known as the Youth Authority Program. The Youth Authority Program lasted until 1951. The collection, 1935-1959, includes background information, correspondence, meeting...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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American Law Institute Executive Office records, 1923-1999 (inclusive)

Extent:
55.25 linear feet
Abstract:
The Executive Office of the American Law Institute (ALI) performs the organization's major administrative functions, including fundraising, negotiating publication of ALI materials, and coordinating ALI projects. With most of the Reporters located at institutions all over the world, the office also serves as the central depository for the collection of records related to ALI projects. The collection, 1923-1999, primarily includes letters written by and received from staff in the ALI's Executive Office, including the Director and Deputy Director. For more detailed information about the scope and content of this collection, please consult the individual series.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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American Law Institute First Restatement of the Law records, 1923-1965 (inclusive)

Extent:
45.5 linear feet (43 boxes)
Abstract:
The American Law Institute (ALI) was founded in 1923 in response to a perceived uncertainty and complexity in American law. Former Penn Law Dean William Draper Lewis was the Institute's first director, running the organization's operations out of his campus office. The ALI was conceived as a representative gathering of the American Bar (including Judges, Lawyers, and Law Professors) for the stated mission "to promote the clarification and simplification of the law and its better adaptation to social needs, to secure the better administration of justice and to encourage and carry on scholarly and scientific legal work." The ALI worked on the First Restatement of the Law from 1923-1944. The project attempted to clarify nine broad subject areas of law: Agency, Conflict of Laws, Contracts, Judgments, Property, Restitution, Security, Torts, and Trusts. Two other subject areas, Business Associations and Sales of Land, were explored but never officially adopted by the ALI. The final draft...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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American Law Institute Statement of Essential Human Rights Project records, 1924-2008 (inclusive)

Extent:
4.5 linear feet
Abstract:
In the midst of World War II, the American Law Institute convened a committee in 1941 to study the international community's position regarding human rights law. The committee's charge was to develop a Statement of Essential Human Rights. William Draper Lewis, then Director of the American Law Institute, was chair of the committee and the project's most outspoken advocate, touring the world to deliver speeches on the importance of a code of basic human rights. International in scope and in participation, the committee included representatives from Britain, Canada, China, France, pre-Nazi Germany, Italy, India, Latin America, Poland, Soviet Russia, Spain, and Syria. A version of the Statement of Essential Human Rights was finalized in 1945. The collection, 1929-1987 and undated, includes research material, constitutions, letters, conference and meeting material, drafts, publications, the writings of William Draper Lewis, and other records related to the drafting of the Statement of...(see more)

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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Model Code of Evidence records, 1939-1954 (inclusive)

Extent:
2.25 linear feet
Abstract:
In the course of establishing what would become the First Restatement of the Law, the American Law Institute (ALI) considered including a clarification of the Law of Evidence. However, due to perceived deficiencies in the law, the American Law Institute resolved to begin a project that would provide a thorough reworking of the existing law of evidence. In 1939, the ALI secured funding to develop such a project. Edmund M. Morgan served as Reporter, and John H. Wigmore served as Chief Consultant. The resulting body of law was the Model Code of Evidence, adopted by the ALI in May 1942. The collection, 1939-1954, includes correspondence, meeting minutes, drafts, memoranda, commentary, outside publications, and related material concerning the drafting and adoption of the Model Code of Evidence, an effort to standardize common-law evidence rules.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]

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American Law Institute Uniform Property Act records, 1936-1938 (inclusive)

Extent:
1 linear_foot
Abstract:
In 1935, the American Law Institute (ALI) partnered with the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law to create an act that would complement the ALI's earlier Restatement of the Law of Property. At the time, the NCCUSL had already begun work on a Uniform Property Act. Richard Powell served as the reporter on the project representing the ALI. The resulting document, the Uniform Property Act, was adopted by the ALI in December 1958. The collection, 1936-1938, includes drafts, memoranda, and related records created in the course of drafting the Uniform Property Act.

Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Biddle Law Library [Contact Us]