Law symposium to explore forgotten Constitutional Amendments

03/12/2008

CONTACT: Tory Olson, 515-271-1834, tory.olson@drake.edu

Law symposium to explore forgotten Constitutional Amendments

Drake Law School's Constitutional Law Center will hold its 2008 symposium, Saturday, April 5, in room 213 in Cartwright Hall. The topic will be "The Forgotten Constitutional Amendments."

Scholars will discuss how and why the Ninth and 14th Amendments are considered to be largely forgotten amendments.

They will also explore how the Supreme Court has rarely addressed these amendments when deciding cases.

"The Supreme Court has issued rulings declaring that there is a right to privacy that includes a right for women to have abortions, and that includes a right for homosexuals to engage in sexual activity," said Mark Kende, director of the Constitutional Law Center. "Yet these rulings are based on a part of the Constitution that has to do with due process.

"The Ninth Amendment and 14th Amendment Privileges or Immunities Clause seem, by their language, to be possible provisions that make sense for the court to use in discussing individual rights. Mysteriously, however, the court has rarely discussed those clauses.

"This conference will explore the reasons why the court has hesitated to rely on those provisions, and whether anything is likely to change in the future. The conference will therefore shed light on some of the most important and controversial political issues of our time such as abortion and homosexuality," he added.

Symposium draws scholars from across the nation

Mark Kende, the James Madison chair in constitutional law, will moderate the discussion on both amendments.

The following guest scholars will discuss the Ninth Amendment from 8:30-10:30 a.m.:

• Daniel Farber, the Sho Sato Professor of Law, director of Environmental Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
• Randy E. Barnett, the Carmack Waterhouse professor of Legal Theory, Georgetown University Law Center
• Kurt Lash, the W. Joseph Ford Fellow at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

In addition, the following professors will present topics relating to the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.:

• Michael Kent Curtis, the Judge Doland L. Smith professor in constitutional and public law, Wake Forest University School of Law
• Rebecca Zietlow, the Charles W. Fornoff professor of law and values, University of Toledo College of Law
• David Bogen, professor emeritus of law, University of Maryland School of Law

The symposium is made possible by funding from the law firm of Belin, Lamson, McCormick, Zumbach, Flynn PC.

Register for the symposium

Cost is $10 per person. The symposium is open to the public and free for those affiliated with Drake and the Belin law firm.

For an additional $10, attendees will receive a copy of the Drake Law Review, which will include proceedings from the symposium.

To register, contact Amy Russell at 515-271-2988 or 800-443-7253 or amy.russell@drake.edu. The deadline for registration is Monday, Monday, March 31.

The symposium has been approved for four hours of Iowa and federal CLE credit.

Read more about the Constitutional Law Center and its director online.