6-Hour Program

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Overview

Why You Should Attend

The United States Supreme Court this Term confronted an unusually broad array of vital constitutional questions impacting myriad facets of society. The questions include such contentious issues as state regulation of abortion, university racially based affirmative action admission programs, compulsory union dues for public sector employees, religious objection to the Affordable Care Act contraception mandate, the right to vote, Presidential power over immigration, and the death penalty. The Court also agreed to decide major issues involving criminal prosecutions for political corruption, police searches, civil rights litigation, class action litigation, and arbitration.

Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in the middle of the Term presented the prospect that this highly ideologically divided Court might decide some of its cases by a 4-4 vote or schedule some cases for reargument in the October 2016 Term. The impact of Justice Scalia’s death on the Court’s work, and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s refusal to hold hearings on the President’s Supreme Court appointment of Judge Merrick Garland, have become a focal point of Supreme Court commentators and analysts.

The extraordinary faculty, representing a broad spectrum of constitutional views, includes a federal court of appeals judge, a Supreme Court journalist, constitutional scholars, and civil rights experts.

What You Will Learn

This program will analyze and debate the U.S. Supreme Court decisions rendered during the October 2015 Term, and the impact of Justice Scalia, and his death, upon the Court. The decisions will be analyzed for their doctrinal, precedential and, where appropriate, litigation significance. Topics will include:
• Overview of the Term : the major decisions, trends, voting patterns of the Justices, and the impact of the death of Justice Scalia
• Key decisions impacting freedom of speech, voting rights, and religion
• State authority to regulate abortion, the validity of university affirmative action admissions programs, and Presidential power over immigration
• Criminal law and procedure decisions
• Business, class actions, civil rights, and other civil litigation

Who Should Attend

The program is a must for anyone interested in constitutional law and the United States Supreme Court.

Credit Details