Lindsay Robertson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Lindsay Robertson
The American Journal of Legal History, 2005
Island, burned to death in her inner parlor while her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Sarah, ... more Island, burned to death in her inner parlor while her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Sarah, six children, a border, and a visitor ate supper seemingly unaware of the "Unhappie accident" occurring a few scant feet away as they passed a large "saltmackrill" among themselves and discussed the events of the day. According to Thomas's later testimony, Rebecca had earlier declined to leave her room for supper because she did not like the main dish. After the diners disposed of the mackerel, Sarah dispatched Richard, one of the children, to inquire if his grandmother wanted anything and he discovered her still-smoldering body. Thus began colonial America's only prosecuted case of matricide and the 0. J. Simpson case of seventeenth-century New England. Despite the original finding of accidental death, speculation soon ran rife that foul play had befallen Rebecca, and suspicion fell on her son, Thomas, the last person known to have seen her alive. Three months later, a grand jury indicted Thomas for murder, and after a five-day trial, the court convicted him and gave him the death sentence which was carried out a week later. Despite the sensational nature of the Cornell case, it has largely been ignored by historians until Elaine Forman Crane, a distinguished historian and an especially knowledgeable scholar of colonial Rhode Island, breathed life into it with this book. Why has she done so? Because Crane uses the Cornell case to probe the underpinnings of Rhode Island and New England society, which, according to her, betrayed dysfunctional gaps between expectation and ideology on one hand and reality on the other. Thus, just as the 0. J. case rose above tawdry circumstances to reveal that black and white Americans had fundamentally different perceptions of the police and legal systems in modern cities, so, too, Crane argues, the Cornell case lay bare some ugly social truths that Rhode Islanders would have preferred to gloss over. Was Thomas Cornell guilty? Crane leaves the answer open but clearly she thinks the evidence insufficient to sustain the verdict. Why then was he convicted? And what was wrong with Rhode Island? Thomas was convicted, Crane believes, because he challenged the appropriate behavior expected of him. He was not a dutiful son but instead had often been known to be rude to his mother; he resented his dependence on her financially; and he feared she would move to one of his siblings and leave him penniless. Additionally, Thomas had made enemies politically; he seemed acquisitive and self-serving; he was irreligious in contrast to his mother's Quaker piety; and he had a bad temper. In short, Thomas seemed to personify the shortcomings of the second generation of New Englanders who deserted the principles of New England's glorious founders. He was found guilty, according to Crane, not so much because of the specific evidence of the case but because the jury and court knew so much about him that they believed he was the sort of person who would kill his mother. Crane is a fine historian who does, indeed, do a fine job of dissecting the tensions in late seventeenth-century New England. She writes beautifully and this book is engaging throughout. Some of the legal testimony she has discovered even BOOK REVIEWS rises to the titillating level of modem court television drama. The criminal inquiry first began after Rebecca's brother, John, went to the authorities with his suspicions after he received a visit from her ghost. A later witness also recalled seeing "The Great Dogg" run from Rebecca's room, which-inasmuch as the Comells had no pet-was taken to mean the Devil in disguise. Rebecca had also confessed to relatives to living "with an evil spirit," which we might well take to mean a clinical depression but authorities assumed was the Devil's temptation dwelling within. But, as enjoyable as this book may be, it is not convincing. To continue the legal idiom, Crane is forced to rely almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. Her rhetoric and honesty betray any lack of clear proof: this is a book that uses phrases such as "probably" and "it is likely" too darn much. Rhode Island was a disputatious and contentious society, and Thomas was a grumpy fellow who would never have won a Mr. Congeniality award. But nothing connects these phenomena to his guilty verdict but wishful thinking. Crane's main proposition does not have to be right, however, for her book to be valuable. Killed Strangely is entertaining and it shines a bright light on parts of seventeenth-century Rhode Island.
The Aboriginal Corrections Unit of the Ministry of the Solicitor General is very pleased to have ... more The Aboriginal Corrections Unit of the Ministry of the Solicitor General is very pleased to have the opportunity to publish "Conquest by Law" by Ms. Christie Jefferson. This document, which was originally written in 1978, is one of the most comprehensive reports to deal with traditional forms of justice among Aboriginal Peoples across Canada and the impact western settlement had on those systems. It was decided to leave the report as it was originally drafted, ending its story in 1979, for two reasons. First, it was felt that the period between the end of this report and the present deserves, and has received, its own documentation given the rapid advancement Aboriginal Peoples have made in the area of justice and Aboriginal-Government relations. Second, the period in which this report was written, the late 1970's, was a period of history that had a distinct perspective and way of approaching issues. It was felt that by updating this report it would lose some of that flavour. I hope you will enjoy reading "Conquest by Law" and you will wonder, as other readers have in the past, why it has taken so long for this report to see the light of day.
The American Journal of Legal History, 2005
Legal Education Review, 2009
The incorporation of Indigenous content within the Bachelor of Laws curriculum is one measure tha... more The incorporation of Indigenous content within the Bachelor of Laws curriculum is one measure that may contribute to the development of bicultural legal education in New Zealand. Incorporating Indigenous content into law courses can help to make the study of law more relevant to Indigenous communities and provide a critical framework from which changes to the legal system can be advanced. This paper identifies three distinct types of Indigenous content that may be usefully incorporated into the Bachelor of Laws curriculum: Indigenous legal issues; Indigenous perspectives; and Indigenous law. The inclusion of each type of Indigenous content has distinct benefits but also requires distinct forms of delivery. This paper considers these benefits and forms of delivery in relation to courses on Māori customary law and constitutional and administrative law, concluding that, in order to be effective, the incorporation of Indigenous content must be based on clearly identified objectives, wit...
The American Journal of Legal History, 2005
Island, burned to death in her inner parlor while her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Sarah, ... more Island, burned to death in her inner parlor while her son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Sarah, six children, a border, and a visitor ate supper seemingly unaware of the "Unhappie accident" occurring a few scant feet away as they passed a large "saltmackrill" among themselves and discussed the events of the day. According to Thomas's later testimony, Rebecca had earlier declined to leave her room for supper because she did not like the main dish. After the diners disposed of the mackerel, Sarah dispatched Richard, one of the children, to inquire if his grandmother wanted anything and he discovered her still-smoldering body. Thus began colonial America's only prosecuted case of matricide and the 0. J. Simpson case of seventeenth-century New England. Despite the original finding of accidental death, speculation soon ran rife that foul play had befallen Rebecca, and suspicion fell on her son, Thomas, the last person known to have seen her alive. Three months later, a grand jury indicted Thomas for murder, and after a five-day trial, the court convicted him and gave him the death sentence which was carried out a week later. Despite the sensational nature of the Cornell case, it has largely been ignored by historians until Elaine Forman Crane, a distinguished historian and an especially knowledgeable scholar of colonial Rhode Island, breathed life into it with this book. Why has she done so? Because Crane uses the Cornell case to probe the underpinnings of Rhode Island and New England society, which, according to her, betrayed dysfunctional gaps between expectation and ideology on one hand and reality on the other. Thus, just as the 0. J. case rose above tawdry circumstances to reveal that black and white Americans had fundamentally different perceptions of the police and legal systems in modern cities, so, too, Crane argues, the Cornell case lay bare some ugly social truths that Rhode Islanders would have preferred to gloss over. Was Thomas Cornell guilty? Crane leaves the answer open but clearly she thinks the evidence insufficient to sustain the verdict. Why then was he convicted? And what was wrong with Rhode Island? Thomas was convicted, Crane believes, because he challenged the appropriate behavior expected of him. He was not a dutiful son but instead had often been known to be rude to his mother; he resented his dependence on her financially; and he feared she would move to one of his siblings and leave him penniless. Additionally, Thomas had made enemies politically; he seemed acquisitive and self-serving; he was irreligious in contrast to his mother's Quaker piety; and he had a bad temper. In short, Thomas seemed to personify the shortcomings of the second generation of New Englanders who deserted the principles of New England's glorious founders. He was found guilty, according to Crane, not so much because of the specific evidence of the case but because the jury and court knew so much about him that they believed he was the sort of person who would kill his mother. Crane is a fine historian who does, indeed, do a fine job of dissecting the tensions in late seventeenth-century New England. She writes beautifully and this book is engaging throughout. Some of the legal testimony she has discovered even BOOK REVIEWS rises to the titillating level of modem court television drama. The criminal inquiry first began after Rebecca's brother, John, went to the authorities with his suspicions after he received a visit from her ghost. A later witness also recalled seeing "The Great Dogg" run from Rebecca's room, which-inasmuch as the Comells had no pet-was taken to mean the Devil in disguise. Rebecca had also confessed to relatives to living "with an evil spirit," which we might well take to mean a clinical depression but authorities assumed was the Devil's temptation dwelling within. But, as enjoyable as this book may be, it is not convincing. To continue the legal idiom, Crane is forced to rely almost entirely on circumstantial evidence. Her rhetoric and honesty betray any lack of clear proof: this is a book that uses phrases such as "probably" and "it is likely" too darn much. Rhode Island was a disputatious and contentious society, and Thomas was a grumpy fellow who would never have won a Mr. Congeniality award. But nothing connects these phenomena to his guilty verdict but wishful thinking. Crane's main proposition does not have to be right, however, for her book to be valuable. Killed Strangely is entertaining and it shines a bright light on parts of seventeenth-century Rhode Island.
The Aboriginal Corrections Unit of the Ministry of the Solicitor General is very pleased to have ... more The Aboriginal Corrections Unit of the Ministry of the Solicitor General is very pleased to have the opportunity to publish "Conquest by Law" by Ms. Christie Jefferson. This document, which was originally written in 1978, is one of the most comprehensive reports to deal with traditional forms of justice among Aboriginal Peoples across Canada and the impact western settlement had on those systems. It was decided to leave the report as it was originally drafted, ending its story in 1979, for two reasons. First, it was felt that the period between the end of this report and the present deserves, and has received, its own documentation given the rapid advancement Aboriginal Peoples have made in the area of justice and Aboriginal-Government relations. Second, the period in which this report was written, the late 1970's, was a period of history that had a distinct perspective and way of approaching issues. It was felt that by updating this report it would lose some of that flavour. I hope you will enjoy reading "Conquest by Law" and you will wonder, as other readers have in the past, why it has taken so long for this report to see the light of day.
The American Journal of Legal History, 2005
Legal Education Review, 2009
The incorporation of Indigenous content within the Bachelor of Laws curriculum is one measure tha... more The incorporation of Indigenous content within the Bachelor of Laws curriculum is one measure that may contribute to the development of bicultural legal education in New Zealand. Incorporating Indigenous content into law courses can help to make the study of law more relevant to Indigenous communities and provide a critical framework from which changes to the legal system can be advanced. This paper identifies three distinct types of Indigenous content that may be usefully incorporated into the Bachelor of Laws curriculum: Indigenous legal issues; Indigenous perspectives; and Indigenous law. The inclusion of each type of Indigenous content has distinct benefits but also requires distinct forms of delivery. This paper considers these benefits and forms of delivery in relation to courses on Māori customary law and constitutional and administrative law, concluding that, in order to be effective, the incorporation of Indigenous content must be based on clearly identified objectives, wit...