How Much Should We Revere the Constitution?

The Constitution is turning 233 this September. Often revered by citizens, academics, and politicians, this is an opportunity to reflect on the successes and failings of this document. How have the roots of the Constitution shaped its efficacy today? How should we use this document going forward? Please join the Yale Law ACS Student Chapter as we welcome Professor Monica Bell and Professor Gerald Torres as they discuss these questions. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Speaker Bios:

Professor Monica Bell is an Associate Professor of Law and Associate Professor of Sociology at Yale University. Her areas of research include criminal justice, poverty, welfare law, housing, and race and the law. Some of her recent scholarship has been published in the Yale Law Journal, Law & Society Review, Social Service Review, Harvard Law Review Forum, and Annual Review of Law & Social Science. She has also published work in popular outlets such as the Los Angeles Review of Books and the Washington Post. 

Professor Gerald Torres is a leading figure in critical race theory, environmental law and federal Indian Law. He previously served as the Bryant Smith Chair in Law at the University of Texas School of Law and taught at The University of Minnesota Law School, where he served as Associate Dean. He is also a former president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). Torres has served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and as counsel to then U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Prof. Torres was appointed Professor of Environmental Justice at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in November 2019.