Begin Registration: The Promise and Limits of State Constitutions

For much of the past century, the U.S. Supreme Court was the primary guardian of civil rights and liberties. In many areas the Court is now backing away from that role, and legal scholars and citizens alike are scrambling to understand this new reality.

This process has ushered in a new focus on state constitutions and the courts that interpret them. Fifty separate state constitutions provide numerous rights that do not appear in the federal constitution, and those constitutions are understudied.

Join the Brennan Center for Justice, State Court Report, and the New York University Law Review for a live two-day event on February 8 and 9 at NYU School of Law’s Vanderbilt Hall. Judges, academics, and lawyers will dive into the nuances and importance of state constitutional law. As Justice William J. Brennan Jr. once wrote, state courts “ought to be the guardians of our liberties.” It’s time to better understand them.

Produced in partnership with State Court Report and NYU Law Review

This event has been approved for nine New York State CLE credits in the category of Areas of Professional Practice. The credit is both transitional and non-transitional; it is appropriate for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys. NYU School of Law is an accredited provider of CLE in New York State. If you are seeking CLE credit for a different state, we recommend you consult with your state’s CLE Board to ascertain regulations on reciprocity.

Agenda
Speakers

Thursday, February 8, 2024
11:00 AM - 11:10 AM	Welcome and Introduction	Michael Waldman, President, Brennan Center
11:15 AM - 12:45 PM	Judicial Federalism and the Status of State Constitutions	Jerry Dickinson, Vice Dean and Associate Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Judge Caitlin J. Halligan, Associate Judge, New York Court of Appeals Justice Goodwin H. Liu, Supreme Court of California Julie Murray, Senior Staff Attorney, State Supreme Court Initiative, ACLU Robert F. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, Rutgers Law School Moderator: Alicia Bannon, Director, Brennan Center Judiciary Program
12:45 PM - 1:15 PM	Lunch served
1:15 PM - 2:30 PM	Interpretive Methods in State Constitutional Law	Justice Clint Bolick, Arizona Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, Supreme Court of North Carolina Chief Justice Loretta Rush, Indiana Supreme Court Moderator: Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Betts Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
2:45 PM - 4:00 PM	Democracy in State Constitutional Law	Wilfred U. Codrington III, Associate Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School Kareem Crayton, Senior Director, Voting Rights and Representation, Brennan Center Democracy Program Miriam Seifter, Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School Carolyn Shapiro, Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Strategic Initiatives and Professor of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law Sam Spital, Director of Litigation and General Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund Moderator: Wendy R. Weiser, Vice President, Brennan Center Democracy Program
Friday, February 9, 2024
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM	Breakfast served
10:00 AM - 10:10 AM	Introductory Remarks	Helen Hershkoff, Herbert M. and Svetlana Wachtell Professor of Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties, NYU School of Law
10:15 AM - 11:00 AM	State Constitutions: A State Solicitor General’s Perspective	Ryan Park, Solicitor General, North Carolina Moderator: Michelle Kallen, Partner, Jenner & Block; former Solicitor General, Virginia
11:15 AM - 12:30 PM	State Constitutional Obligations: Access to Courts, Remedies, and Rights in Civil and Criminal Cases	Sharon Brett, Legal Director, ACLU of Kansas Marcus Gadson, Assistant Professor, Campbell University School of Law Judith Resnik, Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School Judge Albert Rosenblatt (ret.), New York Court of Appeals Robert Schapiro, Dean and C. Hugh Friedman Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law Moderator: Hernandez Stroud, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center Justice Program
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM	Lunch served
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM	Reproductive Rights in State Constitutional Law	Michele Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy, Georgetown University Law Center Diana Kasdan, Director for Judicial Strategy, U.S. Programs, Center for Reproductive Rights Chief Justice Barbara J. Pariente (ret.), Supreme Court of Florida Mary R. Ziegler, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law Moderator: Kate Shaw, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
2:30 PM - 3:45 PM	The Politics of State Constitutionalism	Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson (ret.), Supreme Court of Texas Michael S. Kang, Class of 1940 Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Douglas Keith, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center Judiciary Program Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor (ret.), Supreme Court of Ohio Robinson Woodward-Burns, Associate Professor, Howard University Moderator: Meryl J. Chertoff, Executive Director, Georgetown Project on State and Local Government Policy and Law, Georgetown University Law Center
3:50 PM - 4:00 PM	Closing Remarks

Justice Clint Bolick, Arizona Supreme Court
Sharon Brett, Legal Director, ACLU of Kansas
Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Betts Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Meryl J. Chertoff, Executive Director, Georgetown Project on State and Local Government Policy and Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Wilfred U. Codrington III, Associate Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
Kareem Crayton, Senior Director, Voting Rights and Representation, Brennan Center
Jerry Dickinson, Vice Dean and Associate Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Justice Anita Earls, Supreme Court of North Carolina
Marcus Gadson, Assistant Professor, Campbell University School of Law
Michele Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy, Georgetown Law
Judge Caitlin J. Halligan, New York Court of Appeals
Helen Hershkoff, Herbert M. and Svetlana Wachtell Professor of Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties and Co-Director, Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program, NYU School of Law
Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson (ret.), Supreme Court of Texas
Michelle Kallen, Partner, Jenner & Block; former Solicitor General, Virginia
Michael Kang, Class of 1940 Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Diana Kasdan, Director for Judicial Strategy, U.S. Programs, Center for Reproductive Rights
Justice Goodwin Liu, Supreme Court of California
Julie Murray, Senior Staff Attorney, State Supreme Court Initiative, ACLU
Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor (ret.), Supreme Court of Ohio
Chief Justice Barbara Pariente (ret.), Supreme Court of Florida
Ryan Park, Solicitor General, North Carolina
Judith Resnik, Arthur Liman Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Judge Albert Rosenblatt (ret.), New York Court of Appeals
Chief Justice Loretta Rush, Indiana Supreme Court
Robert Schapiro, Dean and C. Hugh Friedman Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law
Miriam Seifter, Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School
Carolyn Shapiro, Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Strategic Initiatives and Co-Director, Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Kate Shaw, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
Sam Spital, Director of Litigation and General Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Hernandez Stroud, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center Justice Program
Robert F. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, Rutgers Law School
Robinson Woodward-Burns, Associate Professor, Howard University
Mary R. Ziegler, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law