Of Local Lore & Lawyers

OF LOCAL LORE & LAWYERS By: Joe Jarret, J.D., Ph.D.

Attorney, University of Tennessee

BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY: THE LAWYER’S PERENNIAL COMPANION

Introduction:

I received my first copy of Black’s Law Dictionary © (5th edition), back in 1983, when I was transitioning from the United States Army to law school. It was gifted to me by an old high school friend with whom I flipped hamburgers during our teenage years. He had just graduated from law school and, upon presenting me with this incredible tome said, “When in doubt, look it up in Black’s!” Needless to say, rare is the jurist or attorney who has not relied upon this stalwart of the law.

A Legal Dictionary is Born:

It is not unusual to hear even learned legal scholars opine that Black’s was the first law dictionary published in the United States for the use and benefit of members of the Bench and Bar. This assumption is incorrect. Prior to the advent of Black’s, the legal community relied heavily upon John Bouvier’s 1 A Law Dictionary: Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States and the Serveral [sic] States of the American Union, which was published in 1839. In the preface to his work, he wrote, “To the difficulties which the author experienced on his admission to the bar, the present publication is to be attributed.” 2 Several legal scholars have suggested that Bouvier chose his words carefully, as his intent was to publish a dictionary for the use and benefit of law students, while Black’s audience was “the working lawyer and judge.” 3 Unfortunately, verifiable information on Black’s aims and methodology for compiling the law dictionary are sketchy at best. In the preface to the first edition of his dictionary, published in 1891, Black wrote the following: “Henry Campbell Black, M.A.: author of treatises on judgments, tax titles, intoxicating liquors, bankruptcy, mortgages, constitutional law, interpretation of laws, etc.” Needless to say, his modesty falls far short of his legacy. Black was born in 1860 in Ossining, New York. He received an A.B. in 1880, an A.M. in 1887, and an LL.D. (Legum Doctor)4 in 1916, all from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He was admitted to the bar in 1883 and practiced law in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, before devoting himself full-time to legal writing and editing. Black was the author of more than a dozen books on constitutional law, tax law, bankruptcy law, and other legal topics; additionally, he served as editor of The Constitutional Review from its first issue in 1917 until his death in 1927.5

I came across a copy of his first edition (Published by West Publishing Company), and read with great interest his definition of “Lawyer,” which is as follows: “Lawyer. A person learned in the law: as an attorney, counsel or solicitor. Any person who, for fee or required, prosecutes or defends causes in courts or record or other jurisdictional tribunals of the United States or any of the states, or whose business it is to give legal advice in relation to any causes or matter whatever.”

Interestingly, he provides as reference the following citation: Act of July 13, 1866, §9 14 Statutes at Large, 121. This long repealed federal statute read in pertinent part:

“No person shall be admitted as an attorney and counselor to the bar of the Supreme Court, to the bar of any Circuit or District Court of the United States, or Court of Claims, unless he shall have first taken and subscribed to the oath which requires the affiant to swear or affirm that he has never voluntarily borne arms against the United States since he has been a citizen.”

Of his venerable dictionary he said:

“The dictionary now offered to the profession is the result of the author’s endeavor to prepare a concise and yet comprehensive book of definitions of the terms, phrases, and maxims used in American and English law and necessary to be understood by the working lawyer and judge, as well as those important to the student of legal history or comparative jurisprudence.” 6

Summary:

Some may disagree that Henry Campbell Black accomplished what he set out to do. I am among those who feel he contributed more to our profession then he could have ever imagined. Regardless, I suspect that law students throughout the land will continue to rely upon this venerable tome, now in its 11th edition, even if it is on a smart phone and not in a backpack.

1 John Bouvier (1787–1851) was born in Codognan, France, but came to the United States at an early age, became a U.S. citizen in 1812, was admitted to the bar in 1818, and began practicing law in Philadelphia. 2 Bouvier’s Law Dictionary and Concise Encyclopedia, at vii (Francis Rawle ed., 8th ed. 1914) 3 See Henry Campbell Black, A Dictionary of Law, at vii (1891). 4 Legum Doctor, Latin “Teacher of the laws” predecessor to the J.D. 5 David Jayne Hill, In Memoriam: Doctor Henry Campbell Black, October 17, 1860–March 19, 1927, 11 Const. Rev. 67, 73. 6 Black, supra note 14, at iii.