FedSoc Events

These remarks were given by the Honorable Michael R. Pence, Vice President of the United States on February 4, 2017, at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. -- Vice President Pence was welcomed by Eugene B. Meyer, President of the Federalist Society. Prayer was led by Reverend Paul Rourke, SJ, Chaplain of the Georgetown University Law Center. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Vance Thoma...

This panel, Combating Federal Overreach, was held on February 4, 2017, at the 2017 Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's BoardWalk Inn at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. -- Featuring: Amit Agarwal, Solicitor General, Florida; Andrew Brasher, Solicitor General, Alabama; Scott Keller, Solicitor General, Texas; and Elbert Lin, Solicitor General, West Virginia. Moderator:...

This address by the Honorable Mike Lee (U.S. Senator, Utah) was given on February 4, 2017, at the 2017 Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's BoardWalk Inn at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Introduction by Jesse Panuccio, Acting Associate Attorney General / Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice.

This panel, Government Ethics & Corruption, was held on February 4, 2017, at the 2017 Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's BoardWalk Inn at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. -- Featuring: Nick Cox, Florida Statewide Prosecutor; Renee Flaherty, Institute for Justice; Todd Graves, Graves Garrett; and Prof. Matthew Stephenson, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School. Moderat...

This panel, Florida and the Future of Trade Policy, was held on February 4, 2017, at the 2017 Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's BoardWalk Inn at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. -- Featuring: Alice Ancona, Director of Global Outreach for the Florida Chamber of Commerce; Stephen Ezell, Vice President, Global Innovation Policy, Information Technology and Innovation F...

This address by the Honorable Marco Rubio (U.S. Senator, Florida) was given on February 3, 2017, at the 2017 Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's BoardWalk Inn at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Introduction by William W. Large, President, Florida Justice Reform Institute.

This panel, The Legacy of Justice Scalia, was held on February 3, 2017, at the 2017 Florida Chapters Conference at Disney's BoardWalk Inn at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. -- Featuring: Prof. John Baker, Professor Emeritus, LSU Law Center; Rachel Kovner, Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States; Prof. Michael Morley, Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, Barr...

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Pauley. The case questions whether the exclusion of churches from an otherwise neutral and secular aid program violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of Free Exercise of Religion and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Debaters will address this case along with the Blaine Amendment...

What is the proper role of the State judiciary when considering questions of federal law? If there are independent and adequate federal and State grounds, on which basis should a state supreme court decide a case? -- This panel was part of the 2017 Annual Western Chapters Conference at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA on January 28, 2017. -- Luncheon: Conversation with Sta...

The past forty years have seen a surge in efforts to litigate under state constitutional provisions furthering individual liberties. Panelists could look to numerous examples of differences between the state and federal constitutions (examples include criminal justice, property rights, same-sex marriage, education/school choice, labor, speech, and economic liberty) and explore how such differences...

In 1977, the publication of Justice William Brennan’s article, “State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights,” provoked many litigators to look to the state courts to enhance individual liberties beyond the scope of the federal constitution. Panelists will discuss the legacy of Justice Brennan’s call for state constitutions to serve as a bulwark for individual liberties. How have st...

Congressman Goodlatte discusses the House Judiciary Committee's agenda for the 115th Congress. He delivered these remarks on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. -- Featuring: Hon. Bob Goodlatte, United States House of Representatives. Introduction: Hon. C. Boyden Gray, Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates.

The Federalist Society's Practice Group and Student Divisions and the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) are pleased to present a half-day conference on the future of international and national law under freshly inaugurated President Trump. This panel will feature a lively discussion between leading international lawyers the Hon. John Bellinger and Associate Dean and Prof...

The Federalist Society's Practice Group and Student Divisions and the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) are pleased to present a half-day conference on the future of international and national law under freshly inaugurated President Trump. This second panel will discuss the future of American alliances and interventions under the Trump administration. -- This panel was p...

The Federalist Society's Practice Group and Student Divisions and the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA) are pleased to present a half-day conference on the future of international and national law under freshly inaugurated President Trump. This first panel will focus on the future of trade law, under a president who made free trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partn...

This panel will discuss administrative agencies’ increasing use of devices such as guidance letters, consent decrees, and Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (instead of final rules or adjudications issued with APA procedural protections) as mechanisms for setting major policies that may be effectively binding on private parties. -- This panel was held on January 6, 2017 during the 19th Annual Faculty...

December 2015 marked 150 years since the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment—an occasion of singular moral, political, and legal importance in American history. This panel reflects on that past with an eye toward the future. While the Amendment plainly outlaws slavery itself, does it go beyond that, or authorize Congress to go beyond that, and if so, how? -- This panel was held on January 5,...

This panel was held on January 5, 2017 during the 19th Annual Faculty Conference in San Francisco, CA. -- Young Legal Scholars Paper Presentations -- Prof. Daniel Hemel (University of Chicago Law School) & Prof. Aaron Nielson (Brigham Young University School of Law): "Chevron Step One-and-a-Half"; Prof. Ryan Holte (Southern Illinois College of Law) & Prof. Christopher Seaman (Washington & Lee Univ...

This debate will discuss the proper role of the criminal and civil jury in modern America and as understood at the Founding. It was held on January 5, 2017 during the 19th Annual Faculty Conference in San Francisco, CA. -- Luncheon Debate: The Past and Future of the Criminal and Civil Jury -- Prof. Renee Lettow Lerner, George Washington University Law School and Prof. Suja Thomas, University of Il...

This panel is about “corpus linguistics,” a technique that involves the use of computer searches of large collections of texts, or corpora, to determine meaning by reference to usage. It will discuss this technique’s potential value and limitations in informing the interpretation of different kinds of legal texts. -- This panel was held on January 5, 2017 during the 19th Annual Faculty Conference...

In the last year, the Department of Justice lost three major cases against Fed Ex, Vascular Solutions and Warner Chilcott. Critics argue that each case was an example of over-enforcement by DOJ and overcriminalization by Congress. Proponents assert that it is a critical role of government to police and dissuade bad acts by private citizens and corporations. Are there too many federal agencies, giv...

The final Showcase panel examines Justice Scalia's transformation of five very important areas of Supreme Court doctrine. First, Justice Scalia transformed freedom of expression doctrine by entrenching a rule of viewpoint neutrality in place of different tests for different kinds of speech. In the five to four flag burning cases, Justice Scalia teamed up with Justices Brennan and Marshall to prote...

RESOLVED: Hostile Environment Law, On and Off Campus, Often Violates the First Amendment. -- The Ninth Annual Rosenkranz Debate was held on November 19, 2016, during The Federalist Society's 2016 National Lawyers Convention. -- Featuring: Prof. Deborah L. Rhode, Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law; Director, Center on the Legal Profession; Director, Program in Law and Social Entrepreneurship, Sta...

“Those who won our independence," Justice Brandeis wrote nearly a century ago, “eschewed silence coerced by law – the argument of force in its worst form." They believed that “the fitting remedy for evil counsels is good ones." Holding that belief, the Founding Generation added an amendment to the Constitution that expressly protects the freedom of speech. Today, however, public officials and priv...

In his nearly 30 years on the Court, Justice Scalia left a profound mark on many areas of the law, including property rights. From his seminal decisions in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council to his frequent questioning at oral argument, Justice Scalia helped define the relationship between property and the Constitution. While his critics have sugges...