he ACS National Convention is the premier annual progressive legal gathering, bringing together lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, activists, and policymakers to examine some of the most urgent and challenging issues confronting our nation.
The Constitution and Political Economy (LPE Afternoon Panels, Columbia Law)
The Constitution and Political Economy (LPE Morning Panels, Columbia Law)
Is it a Good Idea to Constitutionalize Political Economy? (Georgetown Law, Panel I)
Legislative & Administrative Constitutional Political Economy (Georgetown Law, Panel II)
Keynote Speech by Rep. Jamie Raskin (Georgetown Law)
New Directions in Constitutional Political Economy (Georgetown Law, Panel III)
«
Prev
1
/
1
Next
»
For most of our history, when Americans argued and fought about how to organize our political economy—the role of government, the extent and reach of redistribution, the tension between democracy and concentrated private wealth and power—advocates on all sides of these questions made constitutional arguments. For generations, a main current in American constitutional thought held that oligarchy—too much economic and political power concentrated in too few hands—threatens the “Republican form of government” at the heart of the Constitution.
The main arenas for all these constitutional arguments were the political branches and the public sphere. Today, the dominant mode of constitutional argument is different: it is far more focused on—and far more deferential to—the Supreme Court, which is now busy reviving the reactionary, anti-redistributive outlook of the Lochner Era.
Spurred by the publication of Joseph Fishkin and William E. Forbath’s book The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: Reconstructing the Economic Foundations of American Democracy (Harvard 2022), this conference brings together cutting-edge thinkers and scholars working in a variety of areas to explore what it would mean to put constitutional arguments at the core of Law & Political Economy (LPE), and to return political economy arguments to the heart of constitutional politics.
This conference explores the provocative question: what if we revived this progressive tradition of constitutional political economy? What work could anti-oligarchy principles and arguments do in our current moment? How can legislators, executive branch officials, and ordinary Americans draw on these traditions to challenge and counter, check and balance an out-of-control Supreme Court.
Schedule of Events
Introductions
9:15 – 9:30 a.m.
Larry Kramer
The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: A Brief Overview
9:30 – 9:45 a.m.
William Forbath
Panel I: Should We Re-Constitutionalize Progressive Political Economy?
9:45 – 11:45 a.m.
David Grewal, Angela Harris, Dirk Hartog, Paul Pierson, Joseph Fishkin
Lunch
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Panel II: Beyond the War on Crime/Toward a Third Reconstruction
1:15 – 3:00 p.m.
Jon Simon, Devon Carbado, Loïc Wacquant, john powell, Ian Haney-Lopez
Panel III: Reviving Labor’s Constitution
3:15 – 5:00 p.m.
Catherine Albiston, Catherine Fisk, Veena Dubal, Jim Pope, Diana Reddy
A reception will be held for registered guests and participants at the Bancroft Hotel form 5:15 to 6:30.
If you require accommodation for effective communication or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact Access Coordinator Jenny Boyden at boyden@law.berkeley.edu by April 3. Thank you.
Berkeley Law COVID Policy:
In order to attend this event you must have completed the initial series of original vaccines and have had a booster when eligible after the initial vaccine series, or have an exception based on a Medical Exemption, Disability, or Religious Objection. Everyone entering the Law Building is strongly encouraged to wear a high quality mask while in the building (N-95, KN-95, KF94, or surgical mask covered by a cloth mask for a more secure fit).
Many state attorneys general have become deeply involved in the fight for social justice, bringing lawsuits to protect workers' or tenants' rights; enforcing labor, racial justice, and environmental laws; and working closely with non-governmental agencies to address urgent needs in marginalized communities. In this panel discussion, we'll talk with four current and former state AG lawyers whose careers have been focused on public service and social justice. All have worked both inside and outside of government; they'll share thoughts about the unique opportunities to effect change from within state AG offices, and about opportunities for attorneys to work for social justice from within government.
Speakers:
Marsha Chien, Managing Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Washington State AG Office
Jane Flanagan, Director, Illinois Department of Labor; Fmr. Workplace Rights Bureau Chief, Illinois AG Office.
ReNika Moore, Director, ACLU's Racial Justice Program; Fmr. Labor Bureau Chief, New York AG Office
David Ureña, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Massachusetts AG Office.
Moderator:
Terri Gerstein, Director, State and Local Enforcement Project, Harvard Center for Labor and a Just Economy; Fmr. Labor Bureau Chief, New York AG Office.
In the span of only three days, the United States experienced both the second and third largest bank failures in its history. The collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank were quickly followed by the appointment of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver and the U.S. Department of Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC's joint announcement that actions would be taken to protect the depositors without burdening the taxpayer.
What caused the seemingly rapid failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank? Do their collapses reflect a failure of law and policy, enforcement, or compliance? What reforms could prevent similar failures from occurring in the future and promote increased confidence in our banking system?
Featuring:
Elizabeth Binczik, Director of Policy and Program for Economic Justice, American Constitution Society (moderator)
Michael Ohlrogge, Associate Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
Saule T. Omarova, Beth and Marc Goldberg Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
For generations, a main current in American constitutional thought held that oligarchy—defined as too much economic and political power concentrated in too few hands—threatens the “Republican form of government” at the heart of the U.S. Constitution.
Join ACS, the Center for Constitutional Governance, and the Columbia Center for Political Economy for a day-long conference on Friday, March 3, that will explore the long tradition of progressive constitutional political economy, and how it might be revived in this unique and challenging political moment.
Schedule of Events:
Breakfast and Check-in, 8:00-9:00 am
Welcome and Introduction to Conference, 9:00-9:30 am
Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Columbia Law School
Zinelle October, American Constitution Society
Willy Forbath, University of Texas School of Law
Panel I:Lessons from Constitutional History, 9:30-11:00 am
Moderator: Maeve Glass, Columbia Law School
Christine Desan, Harvard Law School
Lev Menand, Columbia Law School
Bill Novak, University of Michigan Law School
Kim Phillips-Fein, Columbia University
Aziz Rana, Cornell Law School
Panel II: Constitutional Political Economy: Promise or Peril? (Roundtable),11:15 am-12:45 pm
Moderator: Madhav Khosla, Columbia Law School
Ash Ahmed, Columbia Law School
Genevieve Lakier, University of Chicago Law School
Sam Moyn, Yale Law School
David Pozen, Columbia Law School
Reva Siegel, Yale Law School
Commenter: Joey Fishkin, UCLA School of Law
Lunch Break, 12:45-2:00 pm
Panel III: Building an Egalitarian, Democratic Constitution,2:00-3:30 pm
Moderator: Olatunde Johnson, Columbia Law School
Katherine Franke, Columbia Law School
Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Columbia University (on public service leave)
The American Constitution Society hosted a conversation featuring ACS President Russ Feingold discussing his book, The Constitution in Jeopardy,with Wilfred Codrington III, Assistant Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School on January 26, 2023.
Over the past two decades, a fringe plan to call the nation’s first ever convention under the Constitution's amendment mechanism has inched through statehouses. In their book,Feingold and his co-author, legal scholar Peter Prindiville, examine this quiet effort to radically change our constitution. If realized, the plan would allow convention delegates nearly unlimited authority to draft alterations to anything from voting and free speech rights to regulatory and foreign policy powers. The authors distill extensive legal and historical research and examine the grave risks inherent in this effort, while considering the role of constitutional amendment in modern life and offering a way forward.
You can purchase The Constitution in Jeopardy here, or at your local bookseller.
