Panel of YLS Professors to Discuss, "The Roberts Nomination: What's at Stake?" Sept. 14

On Wednesday, September 14, 2005, Yale Law School will host a discussion of the future of the U.S. Supreme Court, titled "The Roberts Nomination: What's at Stake?" The talk will start at 12:10 p.m. and run until 1:30 p.m. in Room 127.

From 1994 to 2005 the same nine women and men sat on the nation's highest court. It was the longest period of stability in the history of the Supreme Court. However, in the last few months, two seats have opened up, through the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. President Bush has nominated Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to fill one of those seats and to take on the role of Chief Justice.

With Roberts's confirmation hearings starting on September 12, a new nomination expected from the President, and the Supreme Court's term opening in October, a panel at YLS--titled "The Roberts Nomination: What's at Stake?"--will discuss the confirmation process and analyze political and social issues that are likely to be affected by the change in the Court's makeup.

The speakers on the panel are all YLS professors who teach and study constitutional law, in addition to a variety of other legal subjects. The panelists will be:

-Bruce Ackerman, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science
-Paul Gewirtz, Potter Stewart Professor of Constitutional Law
-Judith Resnik, Arthur Liman Professor of Law
-Stephen L. Carter, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law
-Jonathan Macey, Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law
-Kenji Yoshino, deputy dean for intellectual life and professor of law, will moderate

This program is sponsored by the Yale chapter of the American Constitution Society, the Yale Federalist Society, and the Dean's Office.