FedSoc Blog

On Monday, May 14, FedSoc's Administrative Law & Regulation Practice Group will be hosting a teleforum on Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) has been embraced by every President since Richard Nixon as a general purpose tool for evaluating the merits of administrative decisions, even while it has been assigned a subordinate role – or no role at all – in the statutory frameworks for making those decisions.  One consequence is that we have a voluminous record of BCA performance in the executive branch, but only a handful of cases in which it has played an important role in judicial review of rules.  Now, amid widespread claims that federal regulation is contributing to America’s continuing economic troubles, BCA is getting more attention.  As practiced, does it give an accurate picture of the economic consequences of regulatory actions?  Should we rely on it or require it, more than we do, to guide administrative discretion?  Our two experts will talk about the state of the art and current BCA controversies in energy and environmental regulation, and in financial regulation.

Featuring:

• Dr. Sharon Brown-Hruska, National Economic Research Associates, Inc.
• Mr. Brian Mannix, Buckland Mill Associates

Agenda:

Call begins at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.

Registration details:

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

Ask Americans what they think the First Amendment protects, and they will tell you “freedom of speech.”  Some will also mention “freedom of religion.”  But few if any will think of “freedom of assembly.”  In his provocative new book, Liberty’s Refuge, The Forgotten Freedom of Assembly, Washington University School of Law’s John Inazu argues that this is an important loss.

During the past decade, courts have struggled to reconcile anti-discrimination statutes with claims by private organizations to First Amendment protection for decisions regarding their missions and membership.  Can the Boy Scouts expel a gay Scoutmaster? (Boy Scouts of America v. Dale)  Can a state law school deny official recognition to a religious club that requires members to affirm certain beliefs regarding homosexuality? (Christian Legal Society v. Martinez)  In resolving these questions courts have frequently invoked the freedom of "expressive association," a phrase that appears nowhere in the text of the First Amendment but has been a part of judicial doctrine since the mid-twentieth century.  Professor Inazu argues that this "expressive association" mode of analysis is at least in part responsible for what he argues is inadequate protection for associational autonomy--and that a return to the more textually and historically grounded "right of the people peaceably to assemble" is necessary to recapture the benefits of a meaningful pluralism.  The Constitution contemplated forcefully dissenting political and expressive groups that would serve as a check on majority rule’s tendency to turn into a force for stifling conformity.  To maintain an environment in which these groups will flourish, Inazu contends, our First Amendment jurisprudence must recover a more robust conception of associational autonomy grounded in a better understanding of the centrality and breadth of the assembly right.  

Is a more robust conception of associational autonomy desirable?  Is it what the Constitution contemplates What about the rights of individuals or groups excluded from participation as a result of private discrimination What is the proper balance between social equality and organizational autonomy?  Join the Federalist Society and the American Enterprise Institute as we explore these and other questions in a panel discussion of John Inazu’s thoughtful new book.

Details:

Start : Tuesday, May 8, 2012 4:30 PM

End   : Tuesday, May 8, 2012 6:30 PM

Panelists:

• John Inazu, Washington University Law School
• Douglas Laycock, University of Virginia School of Law
• David Bernstein, George Mason University School of Law 
• Moderator: Hon. Janice Rogers Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

Location: American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th St NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036

Please register through the American Enterprise Institute's event webpage.

There is no charge for this event.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in the much talked about immigration law case, Arizona v. United States.  At issue is the constitutionality of Arizona's statute, S.B. 1070.  Does the statute cross the line into territory that has been pre-empted by federal law?  Or, as the law's proponents argue, is the statute a proper exercise of the state's police power?  After providing their analysis of the case, our experts will take questions from callers.  The call will feature Prof. John C. Eastman of Chapman University School of Law and Margaret D. Stock of Lane Powell PC.

Details:

Start : Friday, April 27, 2012 1:00 PM

End   : Friday, April 27, 2012 2:00 PM

Teleforum calls are open to all dues-paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

On May 3, 2012 the Federalist Society will host a D.C. luncheon at which John Stossel will speak about his new book, No, They Can't: Why Government Fails-But Individuals Succeed.

Details below:

Start : Thursday, May 3, 2012 12:00 PM

End   : Thursday, May 3, 2012 1:30 PM

Location: Tony Cheng's Restaurant, 619 H St. NW (Gallery Place Metro)

Copies of the book will be available for purchase and Mr. Stossel will be available for signing at the conclusion of the lunch.

The cost is $15.00 for members and $20.00 for guests.

Space is limited, so please register online now.

Please call (202) 822-8138 with any questions.

Kosmos Online, a project of the Institute for Humane Studies, will be holding an online conference for law students considering entering legal academia:

The seminar will consist of five one hour sessions held on weeknight evenings in May. Over the course of the program, presenters will offer advice on researching, networking, the job market, vitae building, and learning to think like a successful future academic. You can also look forward to practical advice about how to flourish during your time in law school.

Presentations will include:

• Legal Academic Publishing with David Bernstein, professor at GMU Law School
• Making the Most of Your Time in Law School with Ilya Somin, professor at GMU Law School
• The AALS Process with Lee Liberman Otis, Senior Vice President & Director of the Federalist Society's Faculty Division

The conference will also feature current research discussions where students can receive feedback on their work from top law professors.

Tomorrow, April 17, at 1 p.m. ET, FedSoc's Civil Rights Practice Group will be holding a teleforum on a new Supreme Court affirmative action case.  Fisher v. University of Texas comes before the Court just as an unprecedented number of scholars have published work directly or indirectly calling into question some of the basic assumptions of affirmative action policies. Is the Supreme Court poised to make more fundamental changes to affirmative action in higher education than it did in either Bakke (1978) or Grutter and Gratz (2003)? Does Fisher have the markings of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case?  Professor Richard Sander of UCLA will give an overview of this research and discuss its implications for Fisher.

Please note that the teleforum is open only to dues-paying FedSoc members.  You can join the Federalist Society here.

Please join the DC Young Lawyers Chapter for food, drinks, and good company at the next after-work social on Wednesday April 25.

Start : Wednesday, April 25, 2012 6:00 PM

End   : Wednesday, April 25, 2012 8:00 PM

Location: The Irish Whiskey, 1207 19th Street NW

Registration details: Hors d'oeuvres will be provided and the first 50 people to register online will receive a FREE drink ticket.

Jack Balkin, professor at Yale Law School, has announced a conference dedicated to his new book:

On April 27 and 28, 2012, Yale Law School will host a conference on constitutional interpretation and change in conjunction with my new book, Living Originalism (Harvard University Press 2011).

What makes this conference distinctive is that it focuses on the role of journalism and media as conduits of American constitutional culture. It pays attention to the role of journalists and media as important players in the construction of public opinion about the Constitution. The conference includes panels of constitutional scholars and of journalists who cover and write about constitutional issues.

There will be discussions of current debates about constitutional interpretation in panels featuring some of the most prominent scholars of constitutional theory in the United States. And there will also be discussions about the role of media in covering and explaining constitutional issues, both before the courts--and, equally important--outside the courts, in the work of social movements, political parties, and civil society organizations.

Living Originalism argues that the Constitution changes over time because of continuous debates in public life about what the Constitution means. Journalists play a key role in discussing and explaining constitutional controversies before the public, including debates about constitutional interpretation. Because their work shapes and educates public opinion, journalists are an indispensable element of the long-term processes of constitutional change. The Internet and digital media, which blend traditional legal experts, journalists, commentators, and the general public, have, if anything, enhanced these features of American constitutional culture.

The all-star cast of participants includes: Bruce Ackerman (Yale), Akhil Amar (Yale), Jack Balkin (Yale), Emily Bazelon (Yale, Slate), Joan Biskupic (Reuters News), Sujit Choudhry (NYU), Justin Driver (Texas, New Republic), Garrett Epps (University of Baltimore, American Prospect), Barry Friedman (NYU), Linda Greenhouse (Yale, NY Times), Michael Greve (American Enterprise Institute), Sanford Levinson (Texas), Adam Liptak (NY Times), Dahlia Lithwick (Slate), Michael McConnell (Stanford), Robert Post (Dean, Yale Law School), Jeffrey Rosen (GW, New Republic), Reihan Salam (National Review Online, The Daily), Charlie Savage (NY Times), Kim Scheppele (Princeton), Neil Siegel (Duke), Reva Siegel (Yale), Sara Aronchick Solow (Clerk 3rd Cir.), Steven Teles (Johns Hopkins), and Matthew Yglesias (Slate)

This conference is sponsored by the Oscar M. Ruebhausen Fund, the Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities--which will publish scholarly essays from the conference--and by Yale's Information Society Project.

The conference website is here, and you can register for the conference here.

In our increasingly global society, dozens of international institutions, from the International Court of Justice to border commissions to the World Trade Organization, cast a legal net across the globe.  This presents an unavoidable challenge to American constitutional law, especially to the separation of powers and the allocation of powers between the national government and the States.  In their new book, Taming Globalization: International Law, the U.S. Constitution, and the New World Order, Hofstra and Berkeley Law Professors Julian Ku and John Yoo propose that domestic actors should invoke “mediating devices” --  such as non-self-execution of treaties, recognition of the President’s authority to interpret international law, and a reliance on state implementation of international law and agreements.  These devices, Ku and Yoo argue, will help us resolve this challenge in a way that minimizes both constitutional and international difficulties.  Does this approach make sense?  How faithful is it to our Constitution?  To our traditions?  To our international law obligations?

Join the Federalist Society and the American Enterprise Institute on April 19 for a panel discussion of Yoo and Ku's new book.

Details below:

Start : Thursday, April 19, 2012 4:30 PM

End   : Thursday, April 19, 2012 6:30 PM

Location: American Enterprise Institute, 1150 17th St NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20036

Panelists:

• Julian Ku, Hofstra University School of Law
  
• John Yoo, UC Berkeley School of Law
• Martin Flaherty, Fordham University School of Law
• Jeremy Rabkin, George Mason University School of Law
• Moderator: Jennifer Rubin, Commentary Magazine

Registration:

There is no charge for this event.  Please register online through the American Enterprise Institute's event webpage.

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On Wednesday, April 18, 2012, The Federalist Society's D.C. Chapter be hosting a luncheon with Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute.  He will be speaking about his new book Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010. 

Details below:

Start : Wednesday, April 18, 2012 12:00 PM

End   : Wednesday, April 18, 2012 1:30 PM

Location: Tony Cheng's Restaurant, 619 H Street NW (Gallery Place Metro)

Copies of the book will be available for purchase and the author will be available for signing at the conclusion of the lunch.

The cost is $15.00 for members and $20.00 for guests.

Space is limited, so please register online now.

Please call (202) 822-8138 with any questions.

The Washington Post has the story:

A senior Pentagon official on Wednesday authorized a new trial for Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four others accused of orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a step that restarts the most momentous terrorism case likely to be held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The suspects were first charged in a military commission in 2008, but the case was suspended when the Obama administration came into office and later moved to have them tried in federal court in New York.

That effort collapsed in the face of congressional and local opposition. In April 2011, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced that he was reluctantly sending the case back to the military.

Military charges against the five men were re-sworn in June and, on Wednesday, Ret. Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald, the official who oversees commissions and is known as the Convening Authority, sent the case for trial after reviewing and approving those charges.

The men face multiple charges, including murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, hijacking aircraft and terrorism. If convicted, they could face the death penalty.

For a Federalist Society online debate from 2010 on "The Civilian Trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," click here.  On April 20, FedSoc's Syracuse Student Chapter will be hosting Glenn M. Sulmasy, professor of law at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, for a talk on "Guantanamo Bay and the Trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: A National Security Perspective"

Today at 4 p.m., the Federalist Society's Georgetown Student Chapter and the Supreme Court Institute will be hosting a debate on Obamacare.  Among the debaters are Georgetown Law Prof. Randy Barnett and Mayer Brown’s Andrew J. Pincus, who filed an amicus brief on behalf of constitutional law scholars in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida.  Grant funding for the panel was provided by the Templeton Foundation.

Here are the details: 

Start : Monday, April 2, 2012 4:00 PM

End   : Monday, April 2, 2012 5:00 PM

Location: Supreme Court Institute Moot Courtroom at Georgetown Law School

Reception immediately following.

This Thursday, March 29th, FedSoc's Washington, D.C. Lawyers Chapter will be hosting it monthly luncheon.  The guest speaker is Pete Williams, NBC News Justice Correspondent, who will be discussing "The Affordable Care Act in the Supreme Court." Here are the details:

Start : Thursday, March 29, 2012 12:00 PM

End   : Thursday, March 29, 2012 1:30 PM

Registration: The cost is $15.00 for members and $20.00 for guests.

Space is limited, so please register online now.

Please call (202) 822-8138 with any questions.

The Obama adminstration has unveiled a new policy regarding the storage of intelligence information regarding Americans with no ties to terrorism.  The AP reports:

The U.S. intelligence community will now be able to store information about Americans with no ties to terrorism for up to five years under new Obama administration guidelines.

Until now, the National Counterterrorism Center had to immediately destroy information about Americans that was already stored in other government databases when there were no clear ties to terrorism.

Giving the NCTC expanded record-retention authority had been called for by members of Congress who said the intelligence community did not connect strands of intelligence held by multiple agencies leading up to the failed bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas 2009.

The new policy is highly relevant to the Federalist Society's upcoming National Security Symposium, which will include a panel on cybersecurity.  To be held April 5th in Washington, D.C., the symposium's line-up includes the Hon. Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

On Tuesday, April 3rd, the Federalist Society's Long Island Lawyers Chapers will be hosting a breakfast with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.  Here are the details:

Start : Tuesday, April 3, 2012 8:30 AM

End   : Tuesday, April 3, 2012 9:30 AM

Location: The Nassau County Bar Association, 15th & West Streets, Mineola, NY 11501

Registration details:

Cost: $10 for dues-paying Federalist Society members, $20 for non-members

RSVP required to LIFederalistSociety@gmail.com.