Skip to main content
Conference

17th Annual Constitution Day

Watch the Event
 
Date and Time
-
Location
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute
Share This Event
Featuring

Former Vice President and Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

David Forte
Thomas C. Berg
Robert McNamara

Former Research Fellow, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

Mark Brnovich
Jennifer L. Mascott

Professor of Law, George Mason University

Senior Fellow, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

George F. Will
George F. Will

Author and Columnist, The Washington Post

The Supreme Court: Past and Prologue

A Look at the October 2017 and 2018 Terms

Presented through the generosity of The George M. Yeager Family Foundation

Cato’s annual Constitution Day symposium marks the day in 1787 that the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the U.S. Constitution. We celebrate that event each year with the release of the new issue of the Cato Supreme Court Review and with a day‐​long symposium featuring noted scholars discussing the recently concluded Supreme Court term and the important cases coming up. Past speakers have included Judges Alex Kozinski, Diane Sykes, and Douglas Ginsburg, Professors Richard Epstein, Michael McConnell, and Nadine Strossen, and Supreme Court litigators Paul Clement, Neal Katyal, and Walter Dellinger.

Monday, September 17, 2018
10:30AM—7:00PM EDT

Cato Institute • F.A. Hayek Auditorium
1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001

About the Symposium | Registration



Symposium Program

10:30–10:45AM Welcoming Remarks

Roger Pilon, VP for Legal Affairs and Director, Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

Introduction

Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies and Editor‐​in‐​Chief, Cato Supreme Court Review
10:45AM-12:00PM Panel I: First Amendment and the Culture Wars

Moderator: Ilya Shapiro, Editor‐​in‐​Chief, Cato Supreme Court Review

David F. Forte, Professor of Law, Cleveland‐​Marshall College of Law
Thomas C. Berg, James L. Oberstar Professor of Law and Public Policy, University of St. Thomas School of Law
Robert McNamara, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice

Download video of the panel
Download podcast of the panel

12:00–1:00PM Lunch
1:00–2:15PM Panel II: Federalism and Government Structure

Moderator: Trevor Burrus, Research Fellow, Cato Institute

Mark Brnovich, Attorney General, Arizona
Joseph Bishop‐​Henchman, Executive Vice President, Tax Foundation
Jennifer L. Mascott, Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School

Download video of the panel
Download podcast of the panel

2:15–3:30PM Panel III: Big Controversies: Travel Ban, Gerrymandering & Cellphone Tracking

Moderator: Clark Neily, Vice President for Criminal Justice, Cato Institute

Josh Blackman, Associate Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston
Trevor Burrus, Research Fellow, Cato Institute
Walter Olson, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute

Download video of the panel
Download podcast of the panel

3:30–3:45PM Break
3:45–5:00PM Panel IV: Looking Ahead: October Term 2018

Moderator: Ilya Shapiro, Editor‐​in‐​Chief, Cato Supreme Court Review

Erin E. Murphy, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Tom Goldstein, Partner, Goldstein & Russell, P.C.
Mark Sherman, Reporter, Associated Press

Download video of the panel
Download podcast of the panel

5:00–6:00PM Annual B. Kenneth Simon Lecture: The Insufficiently Dangerous Branch: The Difficulty with the “Counter‐​Majoritarian Difficulty”

Moderator: Roger Pilon, Vice President for Legal Affairs, Cato Institute
George Will, Columnist, Washington Post

Download video of the panel
Download podcast of the panel

6:00–7:00PM Reception