ABA Magna Carta educational traveling exhibit stops in Las Vegas

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 Nevada Office of the Attorney General will host the traveling exhibit from May 23-June 3rd.

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.

On Thursday, June 2 from 12 to 1:30 p.m., Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt, Governor Brian Sandoval and Chief Justice Ron D. Parraguirre, will host a private reception commemorating the anniversary and the charter of liberties granted by England’s King John to his barons in 1215. Since its creation, Magna Carta has been widely viewed as an enduring symbol of liberty, and has influenced the creation of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The exhibit will feature images from the Library’s rare books collection along with supporting text to tell the story of Magna Carta’s role in promoting the rule of law.

The reception will take place on the first floor foyer of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building at 555 E. Washington Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89101. The reception is open to the media, however, space is limited.

RSVPs are appreciated by Thursday, June 9 by 5 p.m. Please RSVP to Monica Moazez via email at MMoazez@ag.nv.gov.

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.