The Conservative Legal Movement and the Future of Liberal Jurisprudence
The conservative legal movement has shown remarkable success at defining the terms of the debate over jurisprudence, while the various visions of liberal theories of law that confront conservative orthodoxy have struggled to gain currency in the political sphere. Conservative legal theorists have coalesced around a relatively compact and politically effective set of ideas while their liberal critics have offered a diverse series of responses. In the face of conservative victories, can liberals forge a coherent response? Or will differences among liberals get in the way? What events might shake up the current state of the debate?
On December 1, the Brookings Institution hosted a conference on the asymmetry between liberal and conservative visions of jurisprudence. Participants discussed how modern conservative orthodoxy arose, the competing visions of liberal jurisprudence, and the prospects for political backlash against conservative orthodoxy and for a resurgence of liberal jurisprudence.
Following each panel, the participants took questions from the audience.
Agenda
9:30 AM -- Welcome
9:45 AM -- Opening Remarks
Noah Feldman
Bemis Professor of International Law
10:15 AM -- The Rise of the Conservative Legal Movement
Pamela S. Karlan
Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law, Stanford Law School
Lee Liberman Otis
Senior Vice President and Faculty Division Director
Steven M. Teles
Professor of Political Science
1:25 PM -- Featured Speaker
The Honorable J. Harvie Wilkinson, III
Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
2:25 PM -- Will There be a Backlash? Lessons for the Future
Michael Klarman (by video)
Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law
Dahlia Lithwick
Contributing Editor - Newsweek
Jeff Shesol
Founding Partner
11:45 AM -- The Liberal Response: Not One, But Many
William E. Forbath
Lloyd M. Bensten Chair in Law and Professor of History
Jeffrey Rosen
Former Brookings Expert
Professor - The George Washington University School of Law
President and CEO - National Constitution Center
Contributing Editor - The Atlantic
James E. Ryan
William L. Matheson & Robert M. Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law
David A. Strauss
Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law
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