ABA Magna Carta educational ­traveling exhibit stops in Phoenix

The American Bar Association has joined with the Library of Congress and its Law Library to present a special traveling exhibit commemorating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. The State of Arizona will co-host the exhibit which runs from March 4-23.

The exhibit will feature images of objects from the Library of Congress collections, an interpretive video and other materials illustrating Magna Carta’s influence throughout the centuries and how it came to be recognized as the foundation of modern democracy.

The exhibit will appear in the lobby of the Arizona Capitol Museum, Old Capitol Building 1700 W Washington St, Phoenix, AZ 85007. For exhibit viewing, the museum is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The entrance to the building faces 17th Avenue with parking located at Wesley Bolin Plaza across the street.

The exhibit will open with a special reception hosted by the Federalist Society and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. The reception will take place on Friday, March 4 from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Arizona Capitol Museum Rotunda.  The Honored Guest and Speaker will be Michael Bailey, Chief Deputy Counsel for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

The ABA Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress unveiled “Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215-2015” at the ABA Annual Meeting in Boston in August 2014. Curated by the Library of Congress, the exhibit features 16 banners, 13 of which reflect spectacular images of Magna Carta and precious manuscripts, books and other documents from the Library of Congress’ rare book collections. The exhibit also incorporates a video, produced by the Library of Congress, showing the law librarian and the exhibit curator handling selected materials depicted in the exhibit and explaining their significance. The exhibit is to raise awareness about Magna Carta’s enduring influence and to highlight treasures held by the Library and its Law Library.

The principles found in Magna Carta played a fundamental role in establishing the supremacy of the law in our constitutional, democratic society, including concepts embraced by the Founding Fathers in the Bill of Rights. The importance of Magna Carta to American laws and freedoms was highlighted at the ABA Annual Meeting as Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. spoke of its significance.
“When we talk about Magna Carta today, we’re not celebrating antiquated relics of a time long past,” he said. “Instead, we are referring to a small collection of provisions that express kernels of transcendent significance.”

For information about hosting the ABA Magna Carta Traveling Exhibit, please contact Elissa Lichtenstein at elissa.lichtenstein@americanbar.org.

For further information about ABA’s “Magna Carta: Enduring Legacy 1215-2015,” visit http:// ambar.org/mctravelingexhibit