Saturday, July 27, 2019


--- Some legal research ---

My other website is the Therian Timeline. Part of its purpose is to provide substantive information about the therian community to therians and others interested in them. It's not that difficult since there's a growing body of research about therianthropy. I just have to keep up.

A therian, for those unfamiliar with the situation, is a human that identifies as a nonhuman. They may live happy, productive lives, but they identify as a horse or a wolf or a tiger. But no one's life is perfect so anyone needs information eventually to get through some life crisis.

I've been writing a series of guides for professionals with therian clients and I have a general guide and guides for therapists and pastoral counselors. Then, I began looking for information for legal professionals, but that was a brick wall. There's just not any such information in the legal literature. A poster in the legal advise subreddit suggested that I talk to a law librarian, so I shouldered my backpack and headed for the Ralph Carr Supreme Court Building near the State Capitol.

It was shadow o'clock according to the sundial on the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, and the walk to University Station took me through the University of Denver Water Garden which was spectacular in the heat of summer.


                                                        [Newman Auditorium sundial]




                                                   [University of Denver Water Garden]

After a walk from California and 16th Street Station to Civic Center Park, the Ralph Carr Building was welcomed coolness.

                                                   [Ralph Carr Supreme Court Building]

As advertised, the law librarian was friendly and aimed to be useful. I sat for a few hours pouring through the books she dug out of the stacks. Sure enough, there was nothing about therianthropy, but I did find information that may be relevant so, although I can't write a guide for legal professionals, I can write an essay that might provide useful information for later court dramas.

After work, I enjoyed some walking and climbing in the Denver Central Public Library, next door to the Carr Building. Besides being a library, the fifth floor has a history museum, currently displaying exhibits about the history of railroads in the U.S. The seventh floor displays contemporary art works.

Not all law libraries are open to the public, for instance the University of Denver law library is dedicated to serving the legal community, including legal professionals and students of law. But institutions such as the Ralph Carr Supreme Court are public treasures. It's a mistake to see them as only the place that court cases are decided. Courts in the United States should be for the people and a visit to a court building can often be an educational, enjoyable experience. Try one near you.


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