American Journal of Legal History

Cover of the American Journal of Legal History

The American Journal of Legal History is a peer reviewed, peer edited legal periodical. Beginning in 2016 it will be published by Oxford University Press.[1] It has appeared quarterly since 1957 and acts as a “showcase for outstanding scholarship on all facets of legal history.” It was the first English-language periodical devoted solely to legal history.

Founding

The American Journal of Legal History was founded by Temple University law library director Erwin C. Surrency.[2] The first issue appeared in February 1957.[3] From its inception until 1982, the Journal was the official publication of the American Society for Legal History.[4]

Purpose

According to Professor Surrency, the Journal was created to provide legal historians with a forum for their work and as a means of advancing the "law through a study of its history."[5] As a peer publication, the Journal provides authors with "a more experienced editorial hand [and its] articles often are shorter, filled with less publish-or-perish tenure pieces than with an exchange of ideas between scholars."[6]

The Journal was the first English-language periodical devoted solely to legal history.[7] Since 2010, it has used the tag line, “Combining the professional approach of the historian and the technical knowledge of the lawyer.”[8]

The Journal publishes articles, essays, biographies, bibliographies, and book reviews on all aspects of legal history.[9] Although a popular misconception is that the Journal’s coverage is limited to “American legal history,” the editors make it a point to regularly publish works on non-American legal history.[10]

Personnel

The Journal, which was published from its founding in 1957 through 2015 by the Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had four editors during that time, all of whom were with Temple University’s law school: Professor Surrency (1957–81); Professor Diane C. Maleson (1982-2002); Mr. Lawrence J. Reilly (2008 to 2014), and Professor Harwell Wells (2015).[11] Beginning in 2016 the editors are Stefan Voegenauer and Alfred Brophy.

In addition to the Editor, the Journal has a number of assistant editors as well as an advisory board made up of prominent academicians.[12] From 1957 to 1974, the honorary chair of the advisory board was Earl Warren, the former Chief Justice of the United States.[13]

Since 1974, the Journal has been printed by the George H. Buchanan Company of Logan Township, New Jersey.[14]

Influence

Federal and state judges have cited the Journal in 125 published opinions.[15] Scholars have cited the Journal in more than 3,000 articles and more than 15,000 books.[16]

In their seminal work on the evolution of the growth of American legal history as a field of study, Professors William E. Nelson and John Phillip Reid noted that the Journal is "a publication in which academic historians speak to each other . . . [and] virtually every one of the many articles in the Journal [is] essential reading for those wishing to keep current in the field."[17]

Availability

Hard copies of the Journal can be purchased from W.S. Hein & Co., Inc. Electronic copies of the Journal are available on EBSCO, HeinOnline, JSTOR, LexisNexis, and Westlaw.

References

  1. ↑ Oxford University Press announces the relaunch of American Journal of Legal History http://oxfordjournals.org/en/press/announcements-from-oup/american-journal-of-legal-history.html
  2. ↑ James W. Hilty, Temple University: 125 Years of Service to Philadelphia, the Nation, and the World 240 (2010)
  3. ↑ Joseph C. Kiger, Research Institutions and Learned Societies 111 (1982)
  4. ↑ Michael H. Hoeflich and Steve Sheppard, Disciplinary Evolution and Scholarly Expansion: Legal History in the United States, American Journal of Comparative Law 54:23, 23-24 (2006 Supplement)
  5. ↑ Julius J. Marke, Legal Bibliography and History, Annual Survey of American Law 1957:615, 619 (1958)
  6. ↑ Kent C. Olson, Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It 78 (1999)
  7. ↑ Joel Fishman et al., Bibliography of Legal History Articles Appearing in Law Library Journal, Volumes 1-94 (1908-2002), Law Library Journal 95:217, 221 (2003)
  8. ↑ Lawrence J. Reilly, Editor’s Note, American Journal of Legal History 51:iii, iii-iv (2011)
  9. ↑ Society Seeks Publication Outlets, American Bar Association Journal 60:104, 104 (1974)
  10. ↑ Ronald H. Fritze, Brian E. Coutts, and Louis Andrew Vyhnanek, Reference Sources in History: An Introductory Guide 65 (2004)
  11. ↑ Robert M. Jarvis, A Brief History of the American Journal of Legal History, American Journal of Legal History 51:1, 2 (2011)
  12. ↑ Robert M. Jarvis, A Brief History of the American Journal of Legal History, American Journal of Legal History 51:1, 6-7 (2011)
  13. ↑ Robert M. Jarvis, A Brief History of the American Journal of Legal History, American Journal of Legal History 51:1, 7 (2011)
  14. ↑ Robert M. Jarvis, A Brief History of the American Journal of Legal History, American Journal of Legal History 51:1, 6 (2011)
  15. ↑ Robert M. Jarvis, A Brief History of the American Journal of Legal History, American Journal of Legal History 51:1, 10 (2011)
  16. ↑ Robert M. Jarvis, A Brief History of the American Journal of Legal History, American Journal of Legal History 51:1, 9 (2011)
  17. ↑ William E. Nelson and John Phillip Reid, The Literature of American Legal History 207 (1985)

External links

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