The legacy of Professors Judith and Irving Younger, who joined the University of Minnesota Law School in 1984, continues to have significant impact within the Law School and Law Library. Judith Younger, a renowned scholar and teacher who passed away late last year, was a trailblazer throughout her career. Prior to joining the Law School, she served as the first female dean of Syracuse University College of Law and as an assistant New York attorney general. At Minnesota Law, she developed one of the country’s first courses on the law of reproductive rights and also taught in the areas of wills, trusts, and remedies. Throughout nearly four decades of service at the Law School, she remained a passionate advocate of legal education and gender equality, a highly respected scholar, and a beloved teacher.
During his thirty-year career, Irving Younger served as a trial lawyer, federal prosecutor, judge, professor, and scholar. When he arrived at Minnesota Law in 1984, he was a nationally renowned educator and expert on trial advocacy and evidence, and he quickly became a central figure within the Law School. As part of his commitment to sharing his knowledge and helping students and attorneys hone their skills as advocates, he developed a popular series of instructional audiotapes and videotapes. The entire American legal community mourned his untimely death in 1988.
In May 2025, the Youngers’ daughter, Abigail Younger Hammond ’93, donated a collection of memorabilia and other items reflecting on the Youngers’ legendary careers. The gift includes photographs of the Youngers and their yearbooks from the Bronx High School of Science in New York, where the couple met. The collection also contains several posters advertising Irving Younger’s lectures and a custom-made briefcase designed to house his instructional tapes. This generous donation enhances the Law Library’s Riesenfeld Rare Books Center’s existing collection of Irving Younger’s papers.
New Digital Exhibit
Evolution on the Stand: Revisiting the Scopes Trial at 100
This fall the Law Library unveiled its newest digital exhibit, “Evolution on the Stand: Revisiting the Scopes Trial at 100,” commemorating the hundredth anniversary of one of America’s most storied courtroom dramas. The 1925 trial of John T. Scopes, who was accused of violating a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of evolution, became a national sensation and the focal point of a public debate over the places of science and religion in public education. The digital exhibit highlights the Law Library’s preeminent collection of famed defense attorney Clarence Darrow’s letters, publications, photographs, and trial materials. The digital exhibit also preserves and builds upon a physical exhibit open in the Riesenfeld Rare Books Center throughout 2025.
