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id="toc-Notable_Americans_currently_reading_law-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notable_Americans_who_became_lawyers_by_reading_law" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notable_Americans_who_became_lawyers_by_reading_law"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4</span> <span>Notable Americans who became lawyers by reading law</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notable_Americans_who_became_lawyers_by_reading_law-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-U.S._presidents" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#U.S._presidents"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.1</span> <span>U.S. presidents</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-U.S._presidents-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-U.S_vice_presidents" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#U.S_vice_presidents"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.2</span> <span>U.S vice presidents</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-U.S_vice_presidents-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-U.S._legislators" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#U.S._legislators"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.3</span> <span>U.S. legislators</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-U.S._legislators-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-U.S._Supreme_Court_chief_justices" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#U.S._Supreme_Court_chief_justices"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.4</span> <span>U.S. Supreme Court chief justices</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-U.S._Supreme_Court_chief_justices-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-U.S._Supreme_Court_justices_after_1900" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#U.S._Supreme_Court_justices_after_1900"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.5</span> <span>U.S. Supreme Court justices after 1900</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-U.S._Supreme_Court_justices_after_1900-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-State_Governors" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#State_Governors"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.6</span> <span>State Governors</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-State_Governors-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other_politicians" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other_politicians"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.7</span> <span>Other politicians</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other_politicians-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Non-governmental" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Non-governmental"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.4.8</span> <span>Non-governmental</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Non-governmental-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" 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from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Read_law&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Read law">Read law</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Obsolete process to prepare to enter the law profession</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Reading the law" redirects here. For reading of the law in Judaism, see <a href="/wiki/Torah_reading" title="Torah reading">Torah reading</a>.</div> <p><b>Reading law</b> was the primary method used in <a href="/wiki/Common_law" title="Common law">common law</a> countries, particularly the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a>, for people to prepare for and enter the <a href="/wiki/Practice_of_law" title="Practice of law">legal profession</a> before the advent of <a href="/wiki/Law_school_in_the_United_States" title="Law school in the United States">law schools</a>. It consisted of an extended <a href="/wiki/Internship" title="Internship">internship</a> or <a href="/wiki/Apprenticeship" title="Apprenticeship">apprenticeship</a> under the <a href="/wiki/Tutor" class="mw-redirect" title="Tutor">tutelage</a> or <a href="/wiki/Mentorship" title="Mentorship">mentoring</a> of an experienced <a href="/wiki/Lawyer" title="Lawyer">lawyer</a>. The practice largely died out in the early 20th century. A few U.S. states, namely California, Maine, New York, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, still permit people to become lawyers by reading law instead of attending some or all of law school, although the practice is rare.<sup id="cite_ref-Adwar_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Adwar-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In this sense, "reading law" specifically refers to a means of entering the profession, although in England it is still customary to say that a university undergraduate is "reading" a course, which may be law or any other. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="United_States">United States</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: United States"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="History">History</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Colonial_history_of_the_United_States" title="Colonial history of the United States">colonial America</a>, as in <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_British_Isles" title="History of the British Isles">Britain</a> in that day, law schools did not exist at all until <a href="/wiki/Litchfield_Law_School" title="Litchfield Law School">Litchfield Law School</a> was founded in 1773. Within a few years following the <a href="/wiki/American_Revolution" title="American Revolution">American Revolution</a>, some universities such as the <a href="/wiki/College_of_William_and_Mary" class="mw-redirect" title="College of William and Mary">College of William and Mary</a> and the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Pennsylvania" title="University of Pennsylvania">University of Pennsylvania</a> established a "Chair in Law".<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, the holder of this position would be the sole purveyor of legal education for the institution, and would give lectures designed to supplement, rather than replace, an apprenticeship.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Even as a handful of law schools were established, they remained uncommon in the United States until the late nineteenth century. Most people who entered the legal profession did so through an <a href="/wiki/Apprenticeship" title="Apprenticeship">apprenticeship</a> which incorporated a period of study under the supervision of an experienced attorney. This usually encompassed the reading of the works considered at the time to be the most authoritative on the law, such as <a href="/wiki/Edward_Coke" title="Edward Coke">Edward Coke</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Institutes_of_the_Lawes_of_England" title="Institutes of the Lawes of England">Institutes of the Lawes of England</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/William_Blackstone" title="William Blackstone">William Blackstone</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Commentaries_on_the_Laws_of_England" title="Commentaries on the Laws of England">Commentaries on the Laws of England</a></i>, and similar texts.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The scholastic independence of the law student is evident from the following advice of <a href="/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> to a young man in 1855: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p>If you are absolutely determined to make a lawyer of yourself the thing is more than half done already. It is a small matter whether you read with any one or not. I did not read with any one. Get the books and read and study them in their every feature, and that is the main thing. It is no consequence to be in a large town while you are reading. I read at <a href="/wiki/Lincoln%27s_New_Salem" title="Lincoln's New Salem">New Salem</a>, which never had three hundred people in it. The books and your capacity for understanding them are just the same in all places. [...] Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>Historically, <a href="/wiki/Country_lawyer" title="Country lawyer">country lawyers</a> or county-seat lawyers were more likely to have read law. Reading law to become an attorney would be the norm, until the 1890s, when the <a href="/wiki/American_Bar_Association" title="American Bar Association">American Bar Association</a>, formed in 1878, began pressing states to limit admission to the Bar to those persons who had satisfactorily completed several years of post-graduate institutional instruction.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On July 8, 1941, <a href="/wiki/James_F._Byrnes" title="James F. Byrnes">James F. Byrnes</a> became the last Justice appointed to the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States">Supreme Court of the United States</a> who had never attended college or law school, and he was the penultimate appointee who had been admitted to practice by reading law. Byrnes was followed by <a href="/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson" title="Robert H. Jackson">Robert H. Jackson</a>, who was commissioned just three days later, on July 11, 1941, and had also been admitted to the practice of law by reading, although he had attended <a href="/wiki/Albany_Law_School" title="Albany Law School">Albany Law School</a> for less than one year, taking a two-year program in a single year to save money. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Modern_practice">Modern practice</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Modern practice"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 2013, 60 people qualified to sit for the bar exam by reading law as opposed to 83,926 via law schools, and of those 60, 17 passed on their first attempt.<sup id="cite_ref-Adwar_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Adwar-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>As of 2024, four US states still permit reading law as the sole means of legal education. In <a href="/wiki/California" title="California">California</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Adwar_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Adwar-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Vermont" title="Vermont">Vermont</a><sup id="cite_ref-Adwar_1-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Adwar-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Washington_(state)" title="Washington (state)">Washington</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-wa-rule6_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wa-rule6-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> an applicant who has not attended law school may take the <a href="/wiki/Bar_examination_in_the_United_States" title="Bar examination in the United States">bar exam</a> after reading law under a judge or practicing attorney for a period of four years. In the fourth state, <a href="/wiki/Virginia" title="Virginia">Virginia</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-va-reader_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-va-reader-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the period of reading law is only three years. Other rules vary as well. For example, Virginia does not allow the reader to be gainfully employed by the tutoring lawyer, while Washington requires just that. In California the requirements of the state bar association for reading law are set forth in Rule 4.29, Study in a law office or judge's chambers.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Two other states allow reading law in combination with some law school. <a href="/wiki/New_York_(state)" title="New York (state)">New York</a> allows applicants to read law provided they have already completed at least one year of law school study.<sup id="cite_ref-ny-bar-rule520_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ny-bar-rule520-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Maine" title="Maine">Maine</a> requires applicants to have completed at least two-thirds of a law degree.<sup id="cite_ref-maine-bar_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-maine-bar-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A 2023 bill before the <a href="/wiki/Maine_Legislature" title="Maine Legislature">Maine Legislature</a> attempted to remove the requirement for two years of law school study, but the bill was indefinitely tabled.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <table class="wikitable"> <caption> </caption> <tbody><tr> <th>State </th> <th>Required law school </th> <th>Required time reading law </th> <th>Bar passage rate </th></tr> <tr> <td>California </td> <td>None </td> <td>Four years<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>41.7% (2023)<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Maine </td> <td>Two years </td> <td>One year<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>New York </td> <td>One year </td> <td>Three years<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>17% (2024)<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Vermont </td> <td>None </td> <td>Four years<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Virginia </td> <td>None </td> <td>Three years<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>20.21% (2001–2022)<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Washington </td> <td>None </td> <td>Four years<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td> <td>20% (2024)<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Notable_Americans_currently_reading_law">Notable Americans currently reading law</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Notable Americans currently reading law"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Since 2018, <a href="/wiki/Kim_Kardashian" title="Kim Kardashian">Kim Kardashian</a> has been reading law in California through a San Francisco law firm.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2021, Kardashian said she had failed her first-year law exam, the "<a href="/wiki/State_Bar_of_California#Law_Office_Study_Program" title="State Bar of California">baby bar</a>," for a second time, performing "slightly worse" than her first attempt earlier in the year. In December 2021, she passed the baby bar law exam on her fourth attempt.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Notable_Americans_who_became_lawyers_by_reading_law">Notable Americans who became lawyers by reading law</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Notable Americans who became lawyers by reading law"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="U.S._presidents">U.S. presidents</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: U.S. presidents"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/John_Adams" title="John Adams">John Adams</a><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson" title="Thomas Jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a><sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams" title="John Quincy Adams">John Quincy Adams</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Andrew_Jackson" title="Andrew Jackson">Andrew Jackson</a><sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martin_Van_Buren" title="Martin Van Buren">Martin Van Buren</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Tyler" title="John Tyler">John Tyler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Millard_Fillmore" title="Millard Fillmore">Millard Fillmore</a><sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/James_Buchanan" title="James Buchanan">James Buchanan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> – later said of his legal education that "I studied with nobody."</li> <li><a href="/wiki/James_A._Garfield" title="James A. Garfield">James A. Garfield</a><sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chester_A._Arthur" title="Chester A. Arthur">Chester A. Arthur</a><sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grover_Cleveland" title="Grover Cleveland">Grover Cleveland</a><sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison" title="Benjamin Harrison">Benjamin Harrison</a><sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson" title="Woodrow Wilson">Woodrow Wilson</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> left <a href="/wiki/University_of_Virginia_School_of_Law" title="University of Virginia School of Law">University of Virginia School of Law</a> to read law</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge" title="Calvin Coolidge">Calvin Coolidge</a><sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="U.S_vice_presidents">U.S vice presidents</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: U.S vice presidents"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alben_W._Barkley" title="Alben W. Barkley">Alben W. Barkley</a><sup id="cite_ref-paducah255_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-paducah255-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Curtis" title="Charles Curtis">Charles Curtis</a><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="U.S._legislators">U.S. legislators</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: U.S. legislators"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Daniel_Webster" title="Daniel Webster">Daniel Webster</a>, Senator from Massachusetts</li> <li><a href="/wiki/George_Gray_(Delaware_politician)" title="George Gray (Delaware politician)">George Gray</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Senator and Judge <a href="/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Third_Circuit" title="United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit">United States Court of Appeals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/George_S._Houston" title="George S. Houston">George S. Houston</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Senator and Governor of Alabama</li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_H._Mitchell" title="John H. Mitchell">John H. Mitchell</a>, U.S. Senator from Oregon in the 1870s</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="U.S._Supreme_Court_chief_justices">U.S. Supreme Court chief justices</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: U.S. Supreme Court chief justices"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Except for the second chief justice <a href="/wiki/John_Rutledge" title="John Rutledge">John Rutledge</a>, who had formal legal education at the <a href="/wiki/Middle_Temple" title="Middle Temple">Middle Temple</a> in London, no chief justice had any university-based legal training until Melville Fuller in 1888, who attended <a href="/wiki/Harvard_Law_School" title="Harvard Law School">Harvard Law School</a> for six months. 7 of the first 8 U.S. Supreme Court chief justices engaged in their legal education primarily by reading law. All chief justices since the appointment of <a href="/wiki/Edward_Douglass_White" title="Edward Douglass White">Edward Douglass White</a> in 1910 have held law degrees. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="U.S._Supreme_Court_justices_after_1900">U.S. Supreme Court justices after 1900</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: U.S. Supreme Court justices after 1900"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Few early Supreme Court justices attended law school although the practice of attending law school became more common after around 1900. Supreme Court justices who read law after 1900 include: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/James_F._Byrnes" title="James F. Byrnes">James F. Byrnes</a><sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pierce_Butler_(justice)" class="mw-redirect" title="Pierce Butler (justice)">Pierce Butler</a><sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Hessin_Clarke" title="John Hessin Clarke">John Hessin Clarke</a><sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gabriel_Duvall" title="Gabriel Duvall">Gabriel Duvall</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Joseph_Rucker_Lamar" title="Joseph Rucker Lamar">Joseph Rucker Lamar</a><sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson" title="Robert H. Jackson">Robert H. Jackson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/William_Henry_Moody" title="William Henry Moody">William Henry Moody</a>, left Harvard Law School to read law</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mahlon_Pitney" title="Mahlon Pitney">Mahlon Pitney</a><sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/George_Sutherland" title="George Sutherland">George Sutherland</a>, left University of Michigan Law School to read law<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="State_Governors">State Governors</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: State Governors"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Strom_Thurmond" title="Strom Thurmond">Strom Thurmond</a>, Governor of South Carolina & US Senator</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patrick_Henry" title="Patrick Henry">Patrick Henry</a>, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_R._Marshall" title="Thomas R. Marshall">Thomas R. Marshall</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Vice President and Governor of Indiana</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Clarke_Rye" title="Thomas Clarke Rye">Thomas Clarke Rye</a>, Governor of Tennessee</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Other_politicians">Other politicians</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Other politicians"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Marilla_Ricker" title="Marilla Ricker">Marilla Ricker</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Examiner in Chancery</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frank_B._Kellogg" title="Frank B. Kellogg">Frank B. Kellogg</a>, United States Secretary of State</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Granville_Pearl_Aikman" title="Granville Pearl Aikman">Granville Pearl Aikman</a>, Judge and suffragist<sup id="cite_ref-EH_47-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-EH-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Edmund_Pendleton" title="Edmund Pendleton">Edmund Pendleton</a>, 1st Chief Justice, <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_Virginia" title="Supreme Court of Virginia">Supreme Court of Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/William_Simon_U%27Ren" title="William Simon U'Ren">William Simon U'Ren</a>, Father of the <a href="/wiki/Oregon_System" class="mw-redirect" title="Oregon System">Oregon System</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh_Sr." title="Rush Limbaugh Sr.">Rush Limbaugh Sr.</a>, Missouri judge</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Non-governmental">Non-governmental</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Non-governmental"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key" title="Francis Scott Key">Francis Scott Key</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Neal" title="John Neal">John Neal</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> writer and activist</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_D._Drake" title="Charles D. Drake">Charles D. Drake</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> one of <a href="/wiki/Dred_Scott_v._Sandford" title="Dred Scott v. Sandford">Dred Scott's</a> attorneys</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clarence_Darrow" title="Clarence Darrow">Clarence Darrow</a><sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Articled_clerk" title="Articled clerk">Articled clerk</a>, a similar practice to Reading Law used in Commonwealth Countries.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Adwar-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Adwar_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Adwar_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Adwar_1-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Adwar_1-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFAdwar2014" class="citation web cs1">Adwar, Corey (July 30, 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external 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Cambridge, Massachusetts: <a href="/wiki/Harvard_University" title="Harvard University">Harvard University</a>. p. 57. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/7588473">7588473</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adissertation&rft.title=The+Life+and+Works+of+John+Neal&rft.inst=Harvard+University&rft.date=1933&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F7588473&rft.aulast=Richards&rft.aufirst=Irving+T.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fid.lib.harvard.edu%2Falma%2F990038995990203941%2Fcatalog&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReading+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/drake-charles-daniel">"Drake, Charles Daniel - Federal Judicial Center"</a>. <i>www.fjc.gov</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2019-12-30</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Encyclopedia+Britannica&rft.atitle=Clarence+Darrow+%7C+American+lawyer&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fbiography%2FClarence-Darrow&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReading+law" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reading_law&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.fjc.gov/search/site/%22read%20law%22">Search of Federal Judicial Center for 'Read Law'</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" 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