FedSoc Events The Federalist Society

Join us for a closing banquet and the Arthur N. Rupe Debate, entitled "Resolved: The Separation of Powers is a Dangerous, Extraconstitutional Maxim." Special code on nametag required for admission.
Featuring:

Prof. Noah Feldman, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law and Director, Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law, Harvard Law School
Prof. Michael W. McConnell, Richard and Frances Mallery Professor and Director of the Constitutional Law Center, Stanford Law School
Moderator: Hon. Steven J. Menashi, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Suppose we don’t like how our governmental powers are separated. Perhaps we think the executive branch has too much power. Or perhaps we think that it is doing more than the original meaning of “the executive power” would suggest, but we think that is a good thing. What are the legitimate methods of constitutional change in our republic? Must we amend the Constitution? How should an originalist approach these questions?
Featuring:

Prof. Sherif Girgis, Associate Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School
Prof. Lawrence Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School
Prof. Stephen E. Sachs, Antonin Scalia Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Moderator: Hon. Britt C. Grant, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

New presidential administrations start with a flurry of administrative actions. These fresh rules, guidelines, and procedures in turn face judicial scrutiny from the moment they are finalized. Oversight from the judiciary can keep agencies accountable and within the bounds of the law. But when judges get the final say on everything the executive does, policies can take years—even decades—to implement and can fluctuate wildly with the ebbs and flows of litigation. Has something gone awry with the way judges are “saying what the law is”?
Featuring:

Prof. John C. Harrison, James Madison Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
Prof. Amanda L. Tyler, Shannon C. Turner Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
Prof. Jeannie Suk Gersen, John H. Watson, Jr. Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
Prof. Gary S. Lawson, Associate Dean for Intellectual Life and Philip S. Beck Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
Moderator: Hon. Benjamin Beaton, Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky

Many critics of modern administrative law want a world where Congress does more things, and the executive does less—which would lead to relative stability across administrations. Simultaneously, many also want their vote in presidential elections to have meaningful policy consequences. Between these two competing intuitions lies a tension at the heart of much contemporary political strife, which, of course, has a great deal to do with who controls Congress and who controls the White House.
Featuring:

Prof. Julian Davis Mortenson, James G. Phillipp Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
Eli Nachmany, Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
Prof. Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Professor of Law and Joseph Lipsett Scholar, Boston University School of Law
Prof. Christopher J. Walker, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
Moderator: Hon. Jennifer Walker Elrod, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Professor Cass Sunstein and Judge Raymond Kethledge will open the symposium with a fireside chat exploring the conceptual question of why states choose to separate powers along with the relationship between the separation of powers and the rule of law.
Featuring

Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School
Prof. Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard Law School

Featuring:

Hon. Joseph Deters, Justice, Supreme Court of Ohio
Hon. Michael Donnelly, Justice, Supreme Court of Ohio
Hon. Lisa Forbes, Judge, 8th District Court of Appeals, State of Ohio
Hon. Daniel Hawkins, Judge, Franklin County Court
Hon. Megan Shanahan, Judge, Hamilton County Court
Hon. Melody Stewart, Justice, Supreme Court of Ohio
Moderator: Professor Chris Walker, University of Michigan Law School