Event Archives

Why Free Speech is the Only Safe Space for Minorities
Date:
January 25, 2022 at 12 p.m.
Location:
Antonin Scalia Law School
The Liberty & Law Center hosted a lecture by award-winning columnist and lifelong gay-rights advocate Jonathan Rauch. Mr. Rauch draws upon his own story and the life of legendary civil-rights leader Frank Kameny to explain why freedom of speech is minorities’ best friend, and why efforts to eliminate hate speech so often backfire. Watch our event video to view the presentation.

Public Discourse Projects: Discussion Over Division
Dates: Thursday, October 14, 2021, at 5:00 pm
Antonin Scalia Law School students were invited to chat about important policy topics and current events while learning about each other’s perspectives. Participants were matched with students of differing political views to engage in conversations.

Public Discourse Projects: Discussion Over Division
Dates: Tuesday, September 28, 2021, at 12:00 pm and Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at 5:00 pm
Antonin Scalia Law School students were invited to chat about important policy topics and current events, while learning about each other’s perspectives. Participants were matched with students of differing political views for engaging conversations.

Does the Will of the People Actually Exist? Judicial Deference to Whom?
Date: September 10, 2021
Location:
Antonin Scalia Law School
The Liberty & Law Center and the Institute for Justice hosted a thought-provoking conference to explore the questions: Does the “Will of the People” exist, and if so, to what extent? And what does the answer to this question infer about judicial deference to the political branches on questions of constitutionality?

Discussion Over Division with the Public Discourse Initiative @ William and Mary Law School
Date: March 23, 2021
Students from William and Mary Law School and the Antonin Scalia Law School were invited to chat about today’s pressing issues. Participants were matched with students of differing political views to learn about each other’s positions and perspectives.

Campus Speech during COVID: A Year in Review
Date: March 18, 2021
Free speech on universities and college campuses experienced a dramatic shift during 2020. Reports show that claims of violations on campus speech rose significantly since the start of the ongoing pandemic. The shift to online education and student engagement, as well as the heightened political and social tensions, presented novel challenges to student dialogue and debate. This webinar explored the impact the pandemic has had on campus speech in the last year and how it has affected student dialogue, particularly in light of the racial justice movement and the contentious 2020 presidential election.

Discussion Over Division: Impeachment Debate
Date:
February 17, 2021
Discussion Over Division held a scholarly debate between Scalia Law Professors Ilya Somin and Eugene Kontorovich, moderated by Dean Randall on the constitutionality of impeaching a former president.

The Future of the Second Amendment and the Right to Carry
Date: December 16, 2020
In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and again in McDonald v. Chicago (2010), the Supreme Court established the individual right to possess a firearm in the home for self-defense. Since then, the Court has been urged to review whether laws imposing restrictions on carrying guns in public and prohibitions on assault weapons violate the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court had consistently declined to take on cases addressing these issues, leaving the scope of the Second Amendment uncertain. The confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett has raised hopes (and fears) that the Court may be poised to once again address the Second Amendment. To discuss what may lie ahead, the Liberty & Law Center hosted a live webinar with  legal experts from the Antonin Scalia Law School, Professor Nelson Lund and Assistant Professor Robert Leider.

Discussion Over Division, Roundtable Discussion
Date: February 18, 2020
Students were invited to discuss the topic of free speech on college campuses, with fellow students, while enjoying lunch from Panera.

Manuscript Review & Critique: Dr. Vincent Philip Muñoz’s Religious Liberty and the American Founding
Date: January 31, 2020
The Liberty & Law Center was delighted to host a book critique and review for Dr. Vincent Philip Muñoz’s new book: Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meaning of the First Amendment Religion Clauses.

We’re Better Than That: On Being a Lawyer in Today’s Politically Charged World
Date: January 23, 2020
The Liberty and Law Center and The Federalist Society were delighted to co-host The Honorable Patrick R. Wyrick, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma, for “We’re Better Than That: On Being a Lawyer in Today’s Politically Charged World.”

To Plea, or Not to Plea
Date: October 24, 2019
The Liberty and Law Center, The Federalist Society, and the Criminal Law Society were delighted to co-host Professors Clark Neily and Arthur Rizer in a debate moderated by Judge Trevor McFadden regarding plea deals.

Discussion Over Division 
Date: October 16, 2019
Discussion Over Division, a project of the Liberty & Law Center, matched Scalia Law students with another student (or small group of students) of a differing ideology, and provided them a meal over which the students had a conversation about their beliefs, issues of importance, or other substantive topics. Additional sessions are planned for Spring of 2020.

Discussing Religious Liberties
Date: October 10, 2019
The Liberty and Law Center and The Federalist Society were proud to present Beth Williams, Assistant Attorney General from the Department of Justice, Office of Legal Policy, for a discussion of religious liberties in the American legal system.

51 Imperfect Solutions
Date: September 19, 2019
The Liberty and Law Center and The Federalist Society were pleased to host Sixth Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton for a discussion on his book 51 Imperfect Solutions on the states and the making of American Constitutional Law.

Manuscript Review & Critique: Judge Napolitano’s Natural Law Constitutionalism: History and Theory.
Date: August 8, 2019
The Liberty & Law Center was delighted to host a book critique and review for Judge Andrew Napolitano’s new book: Natural Law Constitutionalism: History and Theory. Participants in the event provided analysis and feedback of the manuscript prior to publication.

The Moral Ground of Property Rights
Date: May 10, 2019
The Liberty & Law Center co-hosted a day-long seminar-styled Conference with the James Wilson Institute.  The conference was an invitation-only event that brought together experts in the areas of natural rights and property law for a deep-dive into the findings of papers written by Eric Claeys and Robert T. Miller for the conference.

A Discussion on Technophobia
Date: April 10, 2019
The Liberty and Law Center and Young Americans for Liberty co-hosted Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, to discuss the growing phenomenon of technophobia in response to a period of rapid technological change.

Cops & Cocktails: An entertaining lecture on what do when approached by the police
Date: April 9, 2019
The Federalist Society, Consovoy McCarthy Park, the Liberty & Law Center, and the National Security Institute co-hosted Cops & Cocktails: an entertaining lecture on what do when approached by the police. Former police officer turned Army Officer turned federal prosecutor, Arthur Rizer (Adjunct Professor and NSI Fellow) discussed his real life experiences in order to give attendees the run down on how to resist the police and protect their civil liberties while being supportive of the police mission. He also addressed the rising police militarization in America. This lecture was followed by a reception in the atrium featuring wine donated by Cabana Winery along with beer and heavy hors d’oeuvres. All Students, Faculty, Alumni, local professionals, and members of the community were welcome!

A Conversation with Judge Leon
Date:
April 3, 2019
The Federalist Society, Liberty & Law Center, and the Law & Economics Center hosted a conversation featuring Judge Richard Leon of the D.C. District Court and Dean Butler. Judge Leon has served on the D.C. District Court since 2002 and recently presided over the case involving the proposed merger of AT&T and Time Warner.

Corey DeAngelis on Police Vouchers
Date:
March 27, 2019
The Liberty & Law Center co-hosted a talk by Corey DeAngelis on the subject of police vouchers. Police vouchers represent a private alternative to modern law enforcement and Corey, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom, will discuss this unique approach to policing.

Discussion Over Division
Dates: March 20, 25 & 26, 2019
Discussion Over Division, a project of the Liberty & Law Center, matched Scalia Law students with another student (or small group of students) of a differing ideology, and provided them a meal over which the students had a conversation about their beliefs, issues of importance, or other substantive topics. Additional sessions are planned for Fall of 2019.

1L Essay Contest
Deadline: February 18, 2019
The Liberty & Law Center and the Federalist Society invited students to write an up to 2000-word essay on the topic: How to promote a culture of open debate and tolerance for ideological diversity at universities in general, or at law schools specifically. The first-place prize was $2000; There were also $500 prizes for two runners-up.

Discussion Over Division: Launch Event
Date:
February 6, 2019
The Liberty & Law Center hosted a launch event to announce the creation of its exciting new program designed to ameliorate partisan divisiveness by fostering one-on-one conversations between students with differing ideologies. For more information click here.

A Conversation with Judge Katsas
Date:
November 29, 2018
The Liberty & Law Center partnered with the Scalia Law School’s Federalist Society to host Judge Katsas, of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, for a conversation and lunch with law students.

Liberty & Libations: Is Public Interest Litigation for You?
Date:
November 19, 2018
The Liberty & Law Center, in collaboration with the American Freedom Network and Goldwater Institute, hosted Professors Jon Riches and Clark Neily to speak about their experiences in public interest litigation and how public interest litigation might fit into the students’ careers. In addition, Professor Neily talked about Scalia Law’s new Public Interest Litigation and Advocacy Training Program. A cocktail reception followed the event.

Emerging Issues in Free Speech: A Conversation with Nadine Strossen and Eugene Volokh
Date:
November 14, 2018
The Liberty & Law Center hosted a conversation with two leading First Amendment experts – Professor Eugene Volokh, of the Volokh Conspiracy Blog, and Professor Nadine Strossen, former president of the ACLU – on emerging and unresolved issues in free speech. The conversation was facilitated by Bradley A. Smith, former Chairman of the FEC and Founder and Chairman of the Institute for Free Speech. A reception followed.

The Fourteenth Amendment at 150: “America’s Second Founding”
Date:
September 21, 2018
The Institute for Justice and the Liberty & Law Center hosted a symposium commemorating the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Research Roundtable: The Fourteenth Amendment: “America’s Second Founding”
Date:
June 28-29, 2018
The Liberty & Law Center held a round-table discussion analyzing and providing feedback on six law review articles on the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Irony of Libertarianism: Book Review and Critique
Date:
March 9, 2018
The Liberty & Law Center brought together a range of scholars and policy analysts for a pre-publication review and critique of Andrew Koppelman’s new book, The Irony of Libertarianism.