Stanford Constitutional Law Center
Stanford Constitutional Law Center
Originalist versus Progressive Approaches to Constitutional Interpretation: Why it Matters for Democracy: September 26, 2025
@ Stanford: Paul Brest Hall 555 Salvatierra Walk, Stanford, CA, United States5:00 pm – Lecture 6:30 pm – Reception Constitution Day Lecture with Professors Rebecca Brown and J. Joel Alicea. Selecting an approach to constitutional interpretation requires a first-order theory of why and how the Constitution continues to bind Americans. Must we abide by the original meaning of the Constitution, even when it clashes with present-day notions […]
Impermissible Punishments: How Prison Became a Problem for Democracy: October 8, 2025
@ SLS: Room 190 Crown Quadrangle 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesJoin Judith Resnik, in discussion with Pam Karlan and David Sklansky. Can prisons escape their ties to plantations and concentration camps? This wholly original book by Judith Resnik explores the history of punishment inside prisons and the rules that organize prisons. Resnik charts the invention of the corrections profession that imposed radical restrictions on human movement […]
The Fourth Amendment and Immigration Raids: What’s the Law After the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Ruling?: October 15, 2025
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesIn Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, the Supreme Court lifted an injunction that had ordered ICE not to conduct some kinds of immigration raids in Los Angeles. In this discussion, Professor Orin Kerr and Academic Fellow Duncan Hosie explain what the Court did (or did not do) in the Noem case; what it means for immigration enforcement; […]
Presidential Emergency Powers: October 22, 2025
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesWatch the event Philip Zelikow, a lawyer and former senior official involved in the current tariff litigation, will detail the policy and legal background for the emergency powers issue now before the Court. He will discuss the way both trade law and emergency powers evolved before this historic test, and describe the challenge of finding […]
Supreme Court Roundup and Preview: October 29, 2025
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesWatch the event Join Easha Anand, co-director of Stanford Law School’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Jeremy Feigenbaum, Solicitor General of New Jersey, and Colleen Roh Sinzdak, partner at Milbank LLP, to review the most important Supreme Court cases of the past year and look ahead to the year to come. The lecture will begin at […]
The First Amendment Rights of Noncitizens: November 11, 2025
@ SLS: Room 190 Crown Quadrangle 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesWatch the event Do noncitizens located within the United States have First Amendment free speech rights? If so, are they less extensive than the free speech rights of citizens? How does the federal government’s power over immigration and naturalization intersect with the speech rights of those who have been temporarily admitted to the country? These […]
The Venezuela Attack: Legality and Consequences: January 6
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesWatch the event Please join Professor Jack Goldsmith and Congressman Juan Miguel Matheus of the National Assembly of Venezuela for a discussion of the legality of the recent operation in Venezuela and the prospects for liberal democracy in the future.
Due Process, Pirates, and . . . Drug Runners?: January 12
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesWatch the event In this talk, Professor Nathan Chapman will present the historical evidence for the applicability of due process to all US law enforcement activities, including on the high seas and in foreign territory.
The Public Defense Crisis and the Future of the Sixth Amendment: January 15
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesSixty-three years ago, on January 15, 1963, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963). As we reflect on the meaning of the Sixth Amendment in today's reality, an esteemed and experienced panel of experts will consider the legacy of Gideon and its implications on the legal […]
Second-Order Constitutional Theory: January 21
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesWatch the event A sophisticated legal thinker who wishes to work out a fully developed approach to constitutional adjudication must choose two theories, not one. The first choice is familiar. What is the best approach for finding right answers to constitutional disputes? The leading competitors are familiar, too: theories such as originalism, pluralism, moral readings, […]
Legal Perspectives on the Federal Crackdown in Minnesota: January 28
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesJoin SLS Professors Rabia Belt, Evelyn Douek, Lucas Guttentag, Pam Karlan, Fred Smith, Jayashri Srikantiah, and Bob Weisberg for a discussion on the federal crackdown in Minnesota. Students will have an opportunity to hear from and ask questions of faculty experts on legal issues including immigration, federalism, the First Amendment, civil and criminal liability, and […]
Is History Precedent?: February 12
@ SLS: Room 290 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA, United StatesIt has been just over three years since the Supreme Court instructed lower courts to evaluate Second Amendment challenges by examining history and tradition. And it is no secret that the courts have struggled. Overwhelmed by the task of evaluating historical claims, lower courts instead are turning to other judges as authorities on history. They […]