2023 National Conference of Constitutional Law Scholars
THE REHNQUIST CENTER is pleased to announce the fifth annual National Conference of Constitutional Law Scholars. Pandemic permitting, this year’s event will be held entirely in-person at the historic Hacienda del Sol Resort in Tucson on March 24–25, 2023. The weather should be beautiful, and the resort has breathtaking views of the Catalina Mountains, with many outdoor recreational opportunities nearby.
As in previous years, there will be a series of panels organized by subject matter moderated by Distinguished Commentators. To maximize the value of the in-person experience, the program will also include several break-out “lightning sessions,” in which participants deliver short, no-paper presentations on early-stage projects followed by group discussion. The conference schedule will include plenty of time for informal conversation and outstanding food.
Aziz Huq (Chicago) will give a keynote lecture. Distinguished Commentators for 2023 include:
- Mitch Berman (University of Pennsylvania)
- Justin Driver (Yale)
- Jud Campbell (Richmond)
- Tara Leigh Grove (Texas)
- Farah Peterson (Chicago)
- Miriam Seifter (Wisconsin)
All constitutional law scholars are invited to attend. The Rehnquist Center will provide breakfast and lunch for all registered conference participants. There is a conference registration fee of $250. Registration fee is waived for University of Arizona Law students and faculty. In addition, a limited number of scholarships are available to those unable to attend the event otherwise. Please note a non-waivable $50 fee will be incurred for all individuals registering after March 1.
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
- Andrew Coan (Arizona)
- Rebecca Aviel (Denver)
- Eunice Lee (Arizona)
- Shalev Roisman (Arizona)
For more information about scholarships and event logistics, including lodging suggestions, please contact Arizona Law’s events team.
2023 Conference Agenda
Friday, March 24, 2023
8:30–9 a.m. BREAKFAST
9–10:30 a.m. (A) DEMOCRACY AND DYSFUNCTION—Distinguished Commentator Mitch Berman
- Emily Berman—Judicial Review and the Pathologies of Gridlock
- Anya Bernstein & Glen Staszewski—Populist Constitutionalism
- Joshua Braver & Greg Elinson—Why Judicial Review is Not Inherently Anti-Progressive
- Daniel Rauch—Defamation as Democracy Tort
9–10:30 a.m. (B) EXECUTIVE POWER AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE—Distinguished Commentator Miriam Seifter
- Ashraf Ahmed, Lev Menand & Noah Rosenblum—Constitutionalizing the Administrative Presidency: From Presidential Administration to the Unitary Executive
- Helen Norton—What 21st-Century Free Speech Law Means for Securities Regulation
- Jodi Short—In Search of the Public Interest
10:30–11 a.m. BREAK
11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. (A) CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE—Distinguished Commentator Jud Campbell
- Mitch Berman—Religious Liberty and the Constitution: Of Rules and Principles, Fixity and Change
- Susan Carle—Liquidation and the 14th Amendment
- Stephen Griffin—A Theory of Constitutional Change in Four Case Studies
11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. (B) EXECUTIVE POWER AND HISTORY—Distinguished Commentator Farah Peterson
- Andrea Katz—All Roads Lead to the White House: How the President Remade the Separation of Powers in Early 20th-Century America
- Joshua Macey—Public Utility Settlement
- Jed Shugerman—"Despotic Displacement,” Vénalité, and Virtue: Why Article II “Executive Power” Did Not Include Removal
12:15–1:45 p.m. LUNCH
1:45–3 p.m. (A) Lightning Session—EXECUTIVE POWER
- Amy Gaudion—Countering Violent Extremism in the U.S. Military: Internal Oversight and the First Amendment
- Christopher Havasy—Radical Administrative Law
- Evan Zoldan—The Major Questions Doctrine and State Constitutional Structures
1:45–3 p.m. (B) Lightning Session—COURTS
- Rachel Bayefsky—Judicial Institutionalism
- Andrew Coan—Too much, Too Quickly?
- Jerry Dickinson—A Theory of Federalization Doctrine
3–4 p.m. BREAK
4–5 p.m. KEYNOTE ADDRESS—Aziz Huq: The Rule of Law in Contemporary American Constitutionalism
7 p.m. Panelist Dinner
Saturday, March 25, 2023
8:30–9 a.m. BREAKFAST
9–10:15 a.m. (A) EQUALITY—Distinguished Commentator Justin Driver
- Katie Eyer—Transgender Constitutional Law
- Deep Gulasekaram—The Second Amendment’s “People” Problem
- Ilan Wurman—Reversing Incorporation
9–10:15 a.m. (B) FEDERAL COURTS—Distinguished Commentator Tara Leigh Grove
- Joel Alicea—Practice-Based Constitutional Theories
- Katherine Mims Crocker—Constitutional Rights, Remedies, and Transsubstantivity
- Larry Rosenthal—Nonoriginalist Laws in an Originalist World: Litigating Original Meaning from Heller to Bruen
10:15–10:45 a.m. BREAK
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. (A) Lightning Session—EQUALITY
- Eunice Lee—Reimagining the Right to Remain
- Scott Johns—Putting the Bar Exam on Constitutional Notice: Cut Scores, Race & Ethnicity, and the Public Good
- Peter Salib—Algorithmic Abolitionism
- Robert Tsai—Abandoning Animus
10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. (B) Lightning Session—DEMOCRACY, DISSENT, AND CRISIS
- Emily Berman—State Anti-Protest Laws and the Right to Dissent
- Jonathan Hafetz—The Use of Emergency Powers to Address Immigration: The Constitutional Implications of Crisis Governance
- Christopher Mirasola—Article II, Historical Practice, and the Military as Police
Click to Download DRAFT CONFERENCE AGENDA
Past Conferences
2022 Keynote - Lee Epstein (Washington University in St. Louis)
2021 Keynote - Jamal Greene (Columbia)
2019 Keynote - David Straus (Chicago)
About the Rehnquist Center
The William H. Rehnquist Center on the Constitutional Structures of Government was established in 2006 at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. The non-partisan center honors the legacy of Chief Justice Rehnquist by encouraging public understanding of the structural constitutional themes that were integral to his jurisprudence: the separation of powers among the three branches of government, the balance of powers between the federal and state governments, and among sovereigns more generally, and judicial independence.