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Pepperdine Hosts Roberts Court Symposium 

For more information, visit the Symposia Web Site or click here to register.

Professor Doug Kmiec

Pepperdine University School of Law, in association with the National Constitution Center, will host a Caruso Family Chair Symposium on the Constitution titled, "An Enigmatic Court? Examining the Roberts Court as it Begins Year Three," on Friday, Oct. 19, from 2 to 6:30 p.m. in the Mendenhall Appellate Courtroom. 

The symposium will examine the work of the Roberts Court over the past two terms, along with making predictions for the year ahead. Featured speakers include Jeffrey Rosen, Joan Biskupic, Vikram Amar, Kathleen Sullivan, Dean Ken Starr, Professor Doug Kmiec, and Judges Diarmuid O'Scannlain and Steven Reinhardt, both of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Professor Doug Kmiec, the Caruso Family Chair in Constitutional Law, will guide discussion on the question of "consensus" on the court, exploring to what degree the Chief can lead the Court to consensus.

The event also includes a Mock Trial of Constitutional Interpretation. On trial will be the competing interpretative approaches in the Supreme Court's decision on "racial tie-breakers" in Parents' Involved v. Seattle School District (2007), with a unique appearance by special "legal witnesses" The Honorable Diarmuid O'Scannlain, and The Honorable Stephen Reinhardt.

Professor Kmiec and Dean Starr will appear for the Parents Involved majority opinion written by Chief Justice Roberts, and Kathleen Sullivan and Jeffrey Rosen will represent the dissenting opinion by Justice Breyer.

The event will conclude with predictions about Year Three of the Roberts Court. Panelists will engage in a discussion, guided by audience questions (from those live at the event and those participating live via simulcast from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia). At issue will be the Court's current docket and a look at the road ahead for criminal practice, sentencing, voting rights, securities law liability for lawyers, accountants, and other matters at issue this term.