Alfred Nevin was the first student to enroll in Judge John Reed’s Law School when it opened on April 1, 1834. Nevin was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania on March 14, 1816. He graduated from Jefferson College in 1834 before enrolling in the Law School. Nevin graduated from the Law School and was admitted to the Bar in 1837, but instead of practicing law, he chose to enter the Western Theological Seminary. After graduating from the Seminary, he became an ordained Presbyterian minister. In addition to his work in the ministry, Nevin was an accomplished author. He wrote several books and papers during his lifetime, most of which were devoted to religious topics. He was also the editor of the Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Nevin passed away on September 2, 1890.
April 1, 1834
On this day, one hundred and eighty-five years ago, Judge John Reed opened the Law School.
Dickinson Law: Articles of Incorporation
The exact fate of the Law School after Judge Reed’s passing in 1850 is unknown. However, it appears that operation of the Law School was suspended for a period of time. In 1862, Dickinson College conferred upon Judge James Hutchison Graham the Doctor of Laws degree and appointed him as Professor of Law. However, it is not known whether law classes were held during Judge Graham’s tenure as Professor of Law. Judge Graham passed away in the fall of 1882, and it does appear that at that time, there was no law school, and no law classes were being taught in relationship with Dickinson College.
In 1889, George Edward Reed was appointed President of Dickinson College. On January 9, 1890, the Trustees of Dickinson College met. At this meeting, Reed proposed:
That the President and Executive Committee be authorized to establish a law school in connection with the College if it can be done without expense to the institution, and that permission be granted to allow use of Emory Hall, or such portion of it as may be necessary for the purpose specified.
Burton R. Laub, The Dickinson School of Law: Proud and Independent (1983)
The Trustees accepted the proposal, and on February 19, 1890, Articles of Incorporation were filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Cumberland County. By Order of the Court issued on the same day, the Articles were approved, establishing The Dickinson School of Law as a corporation under the Corporation Act of April 29, 1874. The Articles were then recorded as a Charter with the Recorder of Deeds.
The Articles of Incorporation/Charter sets forth the agreement between George Edward Reed and several individuals, who have become known as the Incorporators of the Law School. Four of the Incorporators – Governor Andrew G. Curtin, William Penn Orbison, Nathaniel Barrat Smithers and James Patterson Sterrett – were students of Judge Reed. More information about the Incorporators, including brief biographies, can be found in Burton Laub’s book, The Dickinson School of Law – Proud and Independent.
The original Articles of Incorporation/Charter sets forth, in pertinent part:
1st. The name of the Corporation shall be – The Dickinson School of Law.
2d. The purpose of the Corporation is to dispense instruction in the law of the United States and of the Several States of the Union – in international law – in political and Social Science and in allied sciences.
3d. This instruction shall be dispensed, and the other business of the Corporation, transacted, in the Borough of Carlisle, State of Pennsylvania.
4th. The Corporation shall be perpetual.
….
8th. The Corporation shall have power to appoint a dean and faculty of instruction and discipline and upon their recommendation, to confer appropriate degrees and Certificates of Scholarship on students of the School and others.
Certain provisions of the Charter were amended in 1941, but the above provisions, from the original Charter, remained the same.
John Reed’s Advertisement
Below is the text of Judge Reed’s advertisement for the opening of his Law School, as it appears in the book he kept regarding Law School matters. The advertisement first ran on January 9, 1834.
A law department has been established in connection with Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and it has been placed under the sole direction of the subscriber.
The design of the institution is two fold. I. To prepare students of law thoroughly for the practice of this profession. II. To afford to others the means of such general instruction in the science as is deemed indispensable to every finished scholar, and eminently useful to every American citizen. The two objects, as far as expedient, will be separately attended to.
The first will embrace a minute inquiry into the science of the law and the technical details involved in the practice of it. In accomplishing these objects, the severer studies, will be occasionally relieved, by an attention to history and such other branches of general literature, as are intimately connected with the study of the law, and are deemed indispensable, in forming a professional character.
I. The means of instruction will consist, first, in a methodical course of study of the best books, properly arranged. Secondly, in frequent examinations accompanied with familiar conversations, adapted to the progress and comprehension of each particular law student, and thirdly, in a regular series of lectures.
II. The practice will be taught first by the examination of approved precedents, and books of practice. Secondly, by presenting fictitious cases, and training the students through all the forms and distinctions of actions, pleas, pleadings, trials, judgements: thus familiarizing them with all the modes of procedure from the inception of a suit to its consummation by final execution.
III. The application of theory and practice will further be made familiar, by frequent exercises in conducting proceedings in a moot court to be organized for the purpose. Actions will be instituted and regularly prosecuted through all the windings which the skill and ingenuity of the students can suggest and in these prosecutions, regular discussions will be had on debatable points, both orally and in writing.
IV. A course of collegiate lectures will be prepared for such students of the college and others as may choose to attend them, less in detail, but embracing the general principles of the law as a science, in which the constitutions of the United States and of the several states, our political institutions and the laws derived from, or modified by, their peculiar constitutions, will claim special attention.
Upon the course being satisfactorily finished by law students, and a final examination passed, the degree of “Bachelor of Laws” will be conferred by the Faculty of Dickinson College.
The length of time required to complete the course, will depend in some measure, upon the age and previous amount of preparation of the respective students. Two years will be generally sufficient for graduates of any respectable college, and others properly prepared.
The College library, with the advantages of the literary societies connected with the College, and their extensive libraries, will be accessible to the law students, the latter at the option of the societies and according to the forms of the respective institutions. An extensive private law library will be appropriated exclusively to the use of the law school. The aid of competent assistants will always be secured, where occasion requires it.
Terms
The price of tuition to law students embracing all charges will be seventy five dollars per annum. (This is for two terms of 5 mos each.) For collegiate lectures, fifteen dollars a lesson. For membership in moot court, $15 per annum. The school will be open on the first day of April 1834 for the reception of students.
John Reed: Dickinson Law’s Founder
John Reed was born, in 1786, in an area of York County, which later became part of Adams County, Pennsylvania. He attended Dickinson College, and then studied law under an attorney in Gettysburg. He was admitted to the bar in 1809. In 1820, he was appointed President Judge of the Ninth Judicial District, which at the time was comprised of Cumberland, Franklin, Adams and Perry Counties. Judge Reed is the author of a 3-volume work titled, Pennsylvania Blackstone, being a Modification of the Commentaries of Sir William Blackstone with Numerous Alterations and Additions, Designed to Present an Elementary Exposition of the Entire Laws of Pennsylvania, Common and Statute, with a Short Notice of the Judiciary of the United States.
On June 8, 1833, Judge Reed sent the following letter to the trustees of Dickinson College:
Gentleman:
I have contemplated for some time past the opening of a law school in Carlisle: there is nothing of the kind, I believe in Pennsylvania, and I can’t help thinking it might be made extensively serviceable to the profession. It has occurred to me, within a day or two past, that some nominal connection with the College would be auxiliary to my views, and that perhaps it might not altogether be without advantage to the institution. My residence from next spring will be in the immediate vicinage of the College: I will be provided with a spacious office, and will have abundant leisure, from my official duties, to conduct the operations of a school of the kind I have referred to. I would not contemplate more than a nominal connection with the College. I have taken the liberty of suggesting the subject to you; if it is of sufficient importance, or can in any way be brought to bear in favor of the College or myself, I would invite your attention to it.
With sentiments of respect,
Your Obt. Sert.
John Reed
The Board of Trustees responded by establishing a professorship of law “in connection with Dickinson College.” The law department was to be under the professor of law’s entire control and was “established under the pledge of mutual assistance and cooperation so far as may be practicable and expedient.” The professor was not to be considered a faculty member of the College, and it was “understood that there will be no expense to the College arising out of the establishment” of the Law School. However, the faculty at Dickinson College would award an appropriate degree upon students who completed a regular course of study at the Law School, upon recommendation from the professor of law.
Judge Reed’s response to the Trustees was to set forth in a letter dated September 27, 1833, his plans for the establishment of the Law School, including the curriculum and tuition. This letter would later be mirrored in Judge Reed’s advertisement for the opening of the Law School, which was first published on January 9, 1834. (In next week’s post, I will share the full text of Judge Reed’s advertisement.)
Judge Reed maintained a book, in which he recorded information relevant to the Law School, including his advertisement and the signatures of students who enrolled in his school. This book remains a part of the Law School Archives Collection and is on display in the Law Library.
Judge Reed’s Law School, which later became known as The Dickinson School of Law, opened on April 1, 1834. He continued in his position as Judge until 1839, when the judicial office expired due to a constitutional change. He thereafter returned to the practice of law, while continuing to operate his Law School. Judge Reed passed away on January 19, 1850.
Dickinson Law: From LLB to JD
In Judge John Reed’s proposal to Dickinson College for the formation of his law school, he requested that Dickinson College confer the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree upon any graduates of his school. Dickinson College agreed, and on July 15, 1836, Judge Reed requested that the President of Dickinson College award the LLB degree upon four students: H. Nelson McAllister, William P. Orbison, J.H. Carter and Hyatt P. Hepburn. In 1837, he requested that the degree be awarded to R.A. McMurrie, Alfred Nevin and Andrew Curtin. Alfred Nevin had been the first to enroll in the Law School, and Andrew Curtin would go on to become Pennsylvania’s Civil War Governor.
The LLB was originally awarded during a time when possessing a bachelor’s degree was not necessarily a requirement for attending law school. Over time, this of course changed, and law schools began gravitating towards the award of a juris doctor (JD) degree instead. In 1964, the American Bar Association (ABA) noted that there was a lack of uniformity and confusion over the name of the degree being awarded by law schools, with some schools continuing to award LLB degrees while others were awarding JD degrees. However, by that time, both degrees had evolved to signify the same thing, i.e., that a student had successfully completed a professional program in the law above and beyond that of a bachelor’s degree. Therefore, the ABA passed a resolution, recommending that all ABA-approved law schools award JD degrees.
Dickinson Law began awarding the JD degree to law graduates in 1966, and in 1968, decided to award the degree retroactively to graduates who desired to make the switch. Burton R. Laub, The Dickinson School of Law: Proud and Independent (1983).
Dickinson Law: A History of the Law Library
In 1833, Judge John Reed approached the Trustees of Dickinson College with the idea of operating a law school out of his home. The Law School, commonly referred to as Judge Reed’s Law School, opened on April 1, 1834, but suspended operations sometime after Judge Reed’s death. A letter from Judge Reed indicates that he had “an extensive law library” planned for his Law School. However, it is unclear what happened to the Law Library’s collection after his death.
In 1890, the Law School was incorporated, and reopened as The Dickinson School of Law.[1] The Law School’s home was Emory Hall, which was leased from Dickinson College. William Trickett, the Dean of the Law School, provided books from his own private collection for the Law Library. In 1892, Issa Tanimura, a student from Japan, organized a carnival to benefit the Law Library. The proceeds were used to expand the Library’s collection by over 800 volumes.
In 1918, the Law School moved to its present location at the corner of South and College Streets, in Carlisle. The new building was dedicated, and named Trickett Hall, in Dean Trickett’s honor. The Law Library occupied a 54 by 60-foot room on the second floor of Trickett Hall and was described in the 1918 Law School catalog as containing around 6,000 volumes. On June 8, 1940, the Board of Trustees of the Law School authorized the employment of a full-time librarian. William Dodd, who also served as a professor, was the first one appointed to this position.
On November 27, 1962, ground was broken for the addition of a Library/Research Center to Trickett Hall. The new Library/Research Center was dedicated on May 2, 1964, and in a ceremony on October 14, 1972, was named the Sheely-Lee Library, after Judge W. Clarence Sheely and Dr. Harry Lee, who had served as Presidents of the Law School, from 1940 to 1959 and 1959 to 1962, respectively.
In 1977, ground was broken for the construction of a new Library/Advocacy Center. This construction increased stack space and student study space, allowing the Law Library to hold up to 120,000 volumes. The Law Library at the time had over 100,000 volumes in its collection. The expansion allowed the Law Library to become a United States Government Documents Depository. The expansion also allowed for the addition of two audiovisual rooms and a Lexis terminal for legal research. The addition of a Center for Advanced Legal Education to the Law School in 1985 added additional space to the Law Library.
In 1997, The Dickinson School of Law began its merger with the Pennsylvania State University. This merger was completed in 2000. On January 23, 2008, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for what would be an extensive makeover of the Law School’s Carlisle location.[2] During construction, the Law School and Library were moved to a temporary location in Carlisle. The additions that had been made to Trickett Hall over the years were demolished and replaced with a new building, named Lewis Katz Hall, in honor of Lewis Katz, a philanthropist, businessman and alum, who donated $15 million dollars to the Law School. The exterior of Trickett Hall was restored and the interior received a complete makeover.
The Law Library was moved into Trickett Hall and renamed the H. Laddie Montague, Jr. Law Library in honor of H. Laddie Montague, Jr., Class of 1963, who donated $4 million dollars to the Law School. Faculty and staff moved into the new space on December 21, 2009, and students resumed classes there on January 11, 2010. The Library occupies space on all three levels of Trickett Hall, with a variety of options for students to study either individually or in groups. Individuals seeking quiet study may choose to do so at reading tables on the second floor, carrels on the bottom level, or at a variety of soft seating locations throughout the Library. Students who wish to study in groups may reserve time in one of the Library’s group study rooms, which are equipped with Mersive Solstice pods for wireless display connectivity and collaboration. The Law Library is particularly excited about the recent launch of its digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS.
[1] While many believe that the Law School was part of Dickinson College, the two were in fact separate institutions.
[2] Meanwhile, ground had broken on January 18, 2007 for the construction of a law school building at University Park. While that building was under construction, students attended classes elsewhere on the University Park campus. Classes resumed in the new building on January 9, 2009. This building, which houses Penn State Law, is named after Lewis Katz, and the Law Library is named after H. Laddie Montague, Jr.
Happy 100th Birthday Trickett Hall
The first classes of The Dickinson School of Law were taught in an office out of Judge John Reed’s home. After the Law School became incorporated in 1890, the Law School’s home became Emory Hall, formerly Emory Chapel. The Law School rented the building from Dickinson College.
However, the Law School quickly outgrew this space, and in 1916, the Board of Incorporators appointed a committee to study the feasibility of building a new space for the Law School. Horace B. King, from the class of 1910, threw himself into the fundraising effort, and space for the new building was located at the intersection of College Street and South Street. R. R. Markley, from Harrisburg, was hired as the architect for the building, which he designed to fit in with the colonial-style architecture prevalent in Carlisle.1
The new building was named Trickett Hall, after Dean William Trickett. The dedication was originally slated for August of 1917. However, construction was delayed due to World War I. The building was ready for occupancy in January of 1918 and the formal dedication ceremony was held on August 16, 1918.
Trickett Hall was open for inspection by the public the day before the ceremony, and a smoker was held that evening in the student lounge. The event was a cheerful one with “singing of the old college songs and popular war songs…” and “old graduates told of humorous incidents of their student days and in their later practice.”2
On August 16, 1918, the entire building was decorated with the flags of the Allied Nations. In the morning, the first meeting of the Association of the Alumni was held in the building’s new assembly room.
In the afternoon, the official dedication ceremony took place. Speeches were given by Justice S. B. Sadler of the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas, Justice Edward J. Fox of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and Dr. George Edward Reed, former President of Dickinson College and the Dickinson School of Law. As part of the ceremony, “a massive mahogany chair, the gift of the alumni of Berks County,” was presented to Dean Trickett, “as a token of their love and respect for him.”3 The Star-Spangled Banner was sung, and the alumni posed for a photograph on the steps of Trickett Hall.
This building, erected largely through the generosity of its young alumni, guarantees the future of the School. The men who erected this structure will never allow the school to fail.
……
Trickett Hall will never fail, never close its doors.
Alumni and friends will see to that. Long live Trickett Hall!
Long live the noble body of loyal sons who by their generous giving have made possible the noble building which for a hundred years and more will continue to be the home of the Dickinson School of Law.
~ Dr. George Edward Reed4
1 I highly recommend reading the architect’s incredible description of the building, which is included in Henry M. Bruner’s article, New Building at 21 Dick. L. Rev. 293 (1916). The full-text of this article is available through our digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS. 2 Trickett Hall, 23 Dick. L. Rev. 1, 4 (1918). 3 Trickett Hall, 23 Dick. L. Rev. 1, 6 (1918). 4 For further information about the dedication ceremony, as well as the full text of the speeches given by Justice Sadler, Justice Fox and Dr. Reed, please check out our digital repository, Dickinson Law IDEAS.
William Trickett: Dickinson Law’s First Dean
This is the first in a series of articles about significant events and people in the history of The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University, in celebration of the Law School’s 185th anniversary.
In the summer of 1833, Judge John Reed wrote to the Trustees of Dickinson College proposing the formation of a law school. On April 1, 1834, classes began at the newly formed Dickinson School of Law. Unfortunately, after Judge Reed’s passing, operations at the Law School were suspended. Fast forward to 1890, when a group of gentlemen decided to resurrect the Law School. This led to the incorporation of The Dickinson School of Law1 on February 19, 1890 and the appointment of William Trickett as Dean of the newly-reestablished Law School.
William Trickett was born in Leicester, England on June 9, 1840, and moved to Philadelphia with his family when he was a child. He graduated from Philadelphia Central High School in 1857. Upon graduation, he became a preacher, but he decided to return to school and graduated from Dickinson College in 1868. Trickett decided to study law after he was fired from a teaching post at Dickinson College. He was admitted to the Bar on August 26, 1875. As a lawyer, Trickett was not very good at trial work due to his demeanor and self-consciousness, but his sharp mind earned him a reputation as a scholar. During his lifetime, he wrote many books and treatises on a wide array of legal topics.
Trickett was appointed Dean of The Dickinson School of Law upon its incorporation in 1890. Trickett was known as a stern teacher, who had no tolerance for tardiness in students. Nonetheless, he became one of the most beloved deans and teachers of the Law School. His devotion to the Law School, in return, appears to be unquestionable. When the Law School reopened in 1890, Dean Trickett supplied the library with books from his own personal collection. He took pride in the Law School and in the students of the Law School, taking the time to personally know every student who entered the school.
Many letters and documents exist praising Dean Trickett, and many of the early Law School yearbooks contain dedications to him. The class of 1903 presented Dean Trickett with a Loving Cup, which remains part of the Law School’s Archives collection. Therefore, when the time came to dedicate the new Law School building, in 1918, there was no question that the building would be named Trickett Hall in Dean Trickett’s honor. However, perhaps the highest honor for Dean Trickett occurred on his 85th birthday, when, after having served as Dean for thirty-five years, he received an honorary law degree from Dickinson Law.
Dean Trickett remained Dean of the Law School until his death, at eighty-eight years old, on August 1, 1928. The 1929 edition of the Commentator, Dickinson Law’s yearbook, includes the following tribute to Dean Trickett, which perhaps best sums up his life and the feelings of those who knew him:
Giving absolutely everything of his mind, of his time, and even of his possessions, he has cheerfully and faithfully served the institution…
He has known every man by name from the inception of the school to the present graduating class and considers every man who has been under him a personal friend….
His untiring and unselfish work has had its effect on the development of our legal system, and by his kindness, his friendship, his service and example has profoundly influenced many hundreds of lawyers now practicing, who were in earlier days his students, and indirectly the people with whom they have come in contact. William Trickett was not only a great teacher, but a great man.2
1 True or False: The Dickinson School of Law was once part of Dickinson College. Answer: False. While there was an agreement between Founder Judge Reed, and the law school’s subsequent incorporators, with Dickinson College for the use of its facilities, the law school was established, and operated, as an independent institution until its merger with Penn State in 1997.
2 For more information about Dean Trickett, and the history of the law school, I recommend reading former Dean Burton R. Laub’s book, The Dickinson School of Law-Proud and Independent. Much of the information in this post was derived from Dean Laub’s book, as well as various resources found within the Law School Archives collection.