Delaware Supreme Court Justice Randy J. Holland will speak at the Delaware Public Archives on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6:30 p.m., on the topic of the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, the so-called Great Charter of 1215 that serves as the foundation for both the British and American systems of government. Holland is the editor of the book “Magna Carta, Muse and Mentor,” published in 2014 by the Library of Congress and Thomson Reuters to commemorate its anniversary.
Among the book’s authors are Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and other eminent British and American jurists and legal scholars. As Justice Roberts noted in his foreword to the book, “Whether King John and the barons knew it or not, the events at Runnymede 800 years ago marked the commencement of a social transformation. Magna Carta laid a foundation for the ascent of liberty and the rule of law.” Holland was first appointed to the Delaware Supreme Court in 1986. Recently reappointed to an unprecedented third 12-year term, he is now Delaware’s longest-serving justice.
A past national president of the American Inns of Court, he was elected to be an honorary master of the bench by Lincoln’s Inn Court in London. He has written, co-authored, or edited nine books, including “State Constitutional Law, the Modern Experience” in 2010 and “Middle Temple Lawyers and the American Revolution.” Copies of “Magna Carta, Muse & Mentor” be available for purchase at the event and he will sign copies. The one-hour program is free to the public. It will be the final event in a day of activities that mark the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the Delaware Public Archives. For more information, call 744-5047 or e-mail thomas.summers@state.de.us.
