Attention all SCOTUS watchers.  Filmmaker David Van Taylor’s new documentary about Supreme Court Confirmation wars over Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, and the one that got away, Harriet Miers, opens next week. You can view the trailer, below. Check your local listings for show times.

(If you are in the D.C. area, you can catch the film at E Street Cinemas starting on May 5.)

Advise & Dissent Trailer from Lumiere Productions on Vimeo.

As we close out the month of April, we thought it would be fun to take a moment to reflect on a few historic Supreme Court decisions issued on April 30th of years past.

The most prominent of our selection for today is 24-year old, Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). In this historic case, the Supreme Court ruled that a prosecutor cannot use preemptory challenges (no-cause dismissal of jurors) to dismiss jurors based on race.

Today is also the 31st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Addington v. Texas, 441 U.S. 418 (1979). In this decision the Court raised the burden of proof required for involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility from “preponderance of the evidence” to “clear and convincing” evidence.

Unless you are an intellectual property lawyer, you may not be familiar with Microsoft v. AT&T, 550 U.S. 437 (2007), a 3-year old decision in which the Supreme Court placed restrictions on the extraterritorial reach of U.S. Patent law. In short, after Microsoft, holders of U.S. software patents face significant barriers in enforcing their U.S. patents overseas.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by The Library of Congress

And here are some other historical happenings from April 30th — courtesy of HistoryOrb.com — a very cool resource:

1803 — the Louisiana purchase was agreed to in principle (it was signed on May 2).

1904 — the ice cream cone debuts at the St. Louis World’s Fair.

2004 — the U.S. media releases controversial photos from Abu Ghraib prison.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner gave one college student, Kelsey Gloston a civics lesson that she will not soon forget.

Gloston, a pre-nursing student, apparently hung up on the courthouse clerks who contacted her regarding jury duty. Big mistake.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by JOE MARINARO

The Houston Chronicle reports that Judge Hittner ordered federal marshals to “haul her in chains from school to court to explain why she shirked jury duty.”  You can read the Chronicle’s full story here.

If you are appearing before Judge Hittner anytime soon, y’all better be on your best behavior.

Rediscover the Library of Congress

At Fastcase, we are big fans of the Library of Congress (and being information nerds, we admit that we are a little biased in this regard).  But even if you are not the type to salivate over well-organized card catalog, we think you will agree that the LOC is a truly amazing public resource, dare we say, public treasure.

While you might be familiar with the grand images of the LOC’s main reading room, we bet you will be pleasantly surprised by the breadth and depth of the LOC’s digital and online resources.  There is so much to read, see, hear, and watch all from the comfort of your own computer screen.  Here just a few of our favorites:

The LOC is archiving Twitter.  We are really excited about this one.  The LOC is partnering with Twitter to digitally archive every public tweet ever tweeted, from the historic to the mundane.

The LOC is already archiving all kinds of web sites.  Among the topics covered are the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections, September 11^th, and the 2005 Papal transition.  To access this collection, click here.

An eye-popping  collection of digital images including WPA Posters from 1936-1946, tons of historical maps and historic newspapers and photographs.  You really have to see this to believe it, so we have selected a few interesting tidbits for your viewing pleasure below.

The LOC has its own Flickr photostream chock full of images from historic newspaper images and photos.  Explore history visually by browsing the LOC’s well curated collection of historical images.  The LOC even encourages visitors to contribute by tagging and commenting images with additional information.

An eye-popping rare book and special collection including priceless items like the Lincoln bible.  You might have known that you can view the book in the LOC’s reading room, but did you know that you can also leaf through 1292 high quality images documenting the book online ?

A vast online database of federal legislative history.  Justice Scalia may not be interested in legislative history, but for those of us who are, there is THOMAS.  Use THOMAS to research nearly any aspect of the legislative process.