Press Release

Contact: Sheryl Hayes
Sheryl@virginia.edu
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
145 Ednam Drive Charlottesville, VA
22903-4629
Phone:(434)924-3296
Fax: (434)296-4714
For Immediate Release
December 18, 2009

Virginia Foundation For The Humanities And Jefferson Madison Regional Library
Partner To Make Bill Of Rights Book Available Free of Charge

Charlottesville, VA---The America we know today is forever in debt to a pivotal decision made on December 15, 1791. On this day, James Madison’s Bill of Rights went into effect as a vote of ratification came from Virginia, the 10th and final state to do so to gain the necessary two-thirds approval. No other event in American history has had such a profound outcome on the formation of our legal system and the definition of individual rights.

The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) and the Jefferson Madison Regional Library are partnering to help Virginians understand the history and consequence of the Bill of Rights by distributing The Bill of Rights, The Courts & The Law free of charge. This book contains abridged versions of 55 landmark cases with commentary by six of the nation’s foremost legal scholars and has served as a reference in high school and college classrooms since its original publication in 1999. The cases included explore such controversial matters as government censorship, affirmative action, and drug testing, all issues that continue to spark debate today.

The case commentaries are authored by six of Virginia’s – and the nation’s – leading authorities on the Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights: A.E. Dick Howard and Robert O’Neil of the University of Virginia; Rodney Smolla of the University of Richmond; Lynda Butler of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law; Melvin Urofsky of Virginia Commonwealth University; and Barbara Perry of Sweet Briar College.

Copies of The Bill of Rights, The Court & The Law may be obtained at no charge by visiting any branch of the Jefferson Madison Regional Library, or at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities at 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, for its size, is one of the most heavily used public libraries in the United States.  Local libraries include branches in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson, and the Bookmobile.

A nonprofit educational organization created in 1974, VFH is a catalyst for the cultural, civic, artistic, and educational vitality of the Commonwealth. Its purpose is to understand the past and confront issues in the present, to help shape a more promising future.  VFH seeks to discover and share untold stories, encourage lifelong learning, and promote civil discourse.

For more information, visit www.virginiafoundation.org.

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