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.

 

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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 BermanJudicial Review and the Pathologies of Gridlock
  •     Anya Bernstein & Glen StaszewskiPopulist Constitutionalism
  •     Joshua Braver & Greg ElinsonWhy Judicial Review is Not Inherently Anti-Progressive
  •     Daniel RauchDefamation as Democracy Tort

9–10:30 a.m. (B)    EXECUTIVE POWER AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE—Distinguished Commentator Miriam Seifter

  •     Ashraf Ahmed, Lev Menand & Noah RosenblumConstitutionalizing the Administrative Presidency: From Presidential Administration to the Unitary Executive
  •     Helen NortonWhat 21st-Century Free Speech Law Means for Securities Regulation 
  •     Jodi ShortIn 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 CarleLiquidation and the 14th Amendment
  •     Stephen GriffinA 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 KatzAll Roads Lead to the White House: How the President Remade the Separation of Powers in Early 20th-Century America
  •     Joshua MaceyPublic 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 GaudionCountering Violent Extremism in the U.S. Military: Internal Oversight and the First Amendment
  •     Christopher HavasyRadical Administrative Law 
  •     Evan ZoldanThe Major Questions Doctrine and State Constitutional Structures

1:45–3 p.m. (B)    Lightning Session—COURTS

  •     Rachel BayefskyJudicial Institutionalism
  •     Andrew CoanToo much, Too Quickly?
  •     Jerry DickinsonA 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 EyerTransgender Constitutional Law
  •     Deep GulasekaramThe Second Amendment’s “People” Problem
  •     Ilan WurmanReversing Incorporation

9–10:15 a.m. (B)     FEDERAL COURTS—Distinguished Commentator Tara Leigh Grove

  •     Joel AliceaPractice-Based Constitutional Theories 
  •     Katherine Mims CrockerConstitutional Rights, Remedies, and Transsubstantivity
  •     Larry RosenthalNonoriginalist 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 LeeReimagining the Right to Remain
  •     Scott JohnsPutting the Bar Exam on Constitutional Notice: Cut Scores, Race & Ethnicity, and the Public Good
  •     Peter SalibAlgorithmic Abolitionism
  •     Robert TsaiAbandoning Animus

10:45 a.m.–12 p.m. (B)    Lightning Session—DEMOCRACY, DISSENT, AND CRISIS

  •     Emily BermanState Anti-Protest Laws and the Right to Dissent
  •     Jonathan HafetzThe Use of Emergency Powers to Address Immigration: The Constitutional Implications of Crisis Governance
  •     Christopher MirasolaArticle II, Historical Practice, and the Military as Police

 

Click to Download DRAFT CONFERENCE AGENDA

 

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Past Conferences

2022 Agenda and Speakers

2022 Keynote - Lee Epstein (Washington University in St. Louis)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2021 Agenda and speakers

2021 Keynote - Jamal Greene (Columbia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 Agenda and Speakers

2019 Keynote - David Straus (Chicago)

 

2018 Agenda and Speakers


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.