Here are two legal happenings worth noting.

The first may be of interest to every citizen whose life will be affected by the redistricting that follows on the heels of a national Census—which should be most of us.

The Brennan Center for Justice is releasing its 2010 edition of A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting.  Fifty state governments—including Arizona’s—will soon begin redrawing legislative lines. As the Brennan Center says, “Political insiders will invariably seek to tilt the process to partisan ends.”

The new volume has tables, illustrations and maps. According to the center, “It will help citizens and journalists as we try to hold accountable this otherwise murky process.”

More information is here.

(And as a related reminder, you might seek out the documentary film Gerrymandering. More detail about it is here. And it looks like it will be shown on December 17 at The Screening Room in Tucson—but check with the theater first.)

The second event takes place in Washington, DC, but is worth noting.

Tomorrow, the Law Library of Congress will celebrate Human Rights Day with a program on “Cultural Property Rights of Indigenous People.”

As the Law Library says:

“Human rights are rights and freedoms inherent to all human beings without discrimination on the basis of nationality, ethnic origin, gender, creed, religion, language or any other distinction. The panel discussion is designed to promote understanding and recognition of the inherent dignity and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. 

“Moderated by Law Librarian of Congress Roberta I. Shaffer, the panel will include Helen Stacy of Stanford Law School; Betsy Kanalley of the U.S. Forest Service; and Kelly Buchanan and Stephen Clarke of the Law Library of Congress.”

The event will be held at the Library of Congress at 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10 in the Mumford Room, located on the sixth floor of the James Madison Building at 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington D.C. 20540.

More information is here.