A new trove of letters and oral histories is shining a light on the successes and challenges of jailhouse lawyers: people in prison who help themselves and others navigate the legal system.

An Iowa law removing gender identity as a protected class from the state’s civil rights code took effect Tuesday, the first action of its kind in the United States.

IMPOSING LAW This stela, inscribed with 282 laws, contains the legal code promulgated by Hammurabi, king of Babylon. The relief above the text depicts Hammurabi standing before the god of justice ...

The outcome, however, was the same. You can’t call dibs on an idea. “Everybody is allowed to have ideas, so there’s no legal protection for them,” says legal commentator Ian Caplin.