New Orleans courts prepare to resume trials News
New Orleans courts prepare to resume trials

[JURIST] A New Orleans judge said Tuesday that criminal trials in New Orleans could resume by March when the courts will try to deal with the 3,000 trials [JURIST report] pending before Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] swept through the city. The first post-Katrina grand jury may convene in February to hear the case [JURIST report] of some 40 patients who died at New Orleans' Memorial Medical Center [hospital website] in the days following the storm. Among the obstacles for those trying to begin work again are mold-covered evidence that sat in flood water for days and only two usable courtrooms in the federal court building. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.