The Drake Constitutional Law Center will host the 2023 Constitutional Law Symposium on Saturday, April 15, from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. The program will be delivered in Cartwright Hall, Room 213, or virtually via Zoom. Speakers will analyze a variety of current issues from multiple viewpoints. A slate of nationally renowned scholars will discuss these important topics:
Abortion
– “Slavery, Abortion, and Collective Self Governance” – Dr. Teresa Stanton, Professor of Law and Director, Pro-Life Center, University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minneapolis)
– “The Supreme Court’s Impractical Opinion in Dobbs” – Mark S. Kende, James Madison Chair Professor in Constitutional Law and Director, Drake Constitutional Law Center, Drake Law School
The Administrative State
– “The Real Major Questions Doctrine” – Ilan Wurman, Associate Professor of Law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
– “The Supreme Court and the Future of Administrative Power” – Dr. Nicholas Parillo, William K. Townsend Professor of Law and Professor of History, Yale Law School
Affirmative Action
– “The Constitutional Case Against ‘Diversity’, Racial Preferences in Higher Education” – Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
– “The Future of Race-Consciousness in Admissions” – Dr. Vinay Harpalani, Professor of Law and Lee & Leon Kavelitz Chair in Evidence & Procedure, University of New Mexico School of Law
The program will be moderated by Erin Lain, Associate Dean and Professor of Law, and Miguel Schor, Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Constitutional Law Center at Drake University. The symposium is approved for 2.5 hours of Iowa Continuing Legal Education credit.
The program is open to the public. Register online here. The proceedings are published in the Drake Law Review.
The Constitutional Law Symposium is dedicated to the memory of Congressman Neal Smith, LW’50, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 101. Congressman Smith’s efforts provided foundational support for the Center and he continued to be a loyal supporter his entire life.
The Constitutional Law Center gratefully acknowledges key support for this symposium from the Nathan S. McCay (LW ’80) Endowment and the Drake Constitutional Law Fund.
About the Drake Constitutional Law Center
Congress created the Constitutional Law Center to commemorate the bicentennial of the Constitution in 1987. Drake Law School is one of only four law schools designated by statute to receive a permanent endowment “to encourage graduate study of the American Constitution, its roots, its formation, its principles and its development.”
The annual Constitutional Law Symposium invites scholars, judges, and lawyers from across the country to discuss a timely constitutional issue. The proceedings are published in the Drake Law Review. Learn more about the Drake Constitutional Law Center.
— Taylor Johnson, Law School