The Power of State Constitutional Rights Symposium - LGBT+, Voting & More (Virtual Day 1)

The Power of State Constitutional Rights Symposium

Two-day symposium where judges, practitioners, and scholars will explore critical issues facing state courts and constitutions.

Thursday, November 6 at 7 am - 12:45 pm PT (9 a.m.– 2:45 pm Chicago time)

Friday, November 7 at 7 am - 1:30 pm PT (9 a.m. – 3:30 pm Chicago time)

Information: https://www.brennancenter.org/events/power-state-constitutional-rights

Registration & schedule: https://brennan.swoogo.com/stateconstitutionalrightssymposium/begin

HOSTS: Brennan Center for Justice, State Court Report, and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University


State courts and constitutions are increasingly in the spotlight as significant sources of rights. In areas ranging from abortion to education to property rights, many state constitutions offer protections that are distinct from and often more expansive than those found in the U.S. Constitution.

Join the Brennan Center for Justice, State Court Report, and the Northwestern University Law Review for a two-day symposium at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law exploring the future of state constitutional rights, including the substantive rights protected by state constitutions, state constitutional amendments, and emerging issues in areas such as LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights.

Produced in partnership with State Court Report and Northwestern University Law Review


AGENDA

Day 1 - Thursday, November 7

7 - 8 AM PT (9:00 – 10:00 AM CT): A conversation with Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Moderated by Daniel B. Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

8:15 AM - 8:30 AM PT (10:15 – 10:30 AM CT): Welcome and introduction
Zachary Clopton, Interim Dean, Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
May Hiatt, Editor-in-Chief, Northwestern University Law Review
Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center for Justice

8:30 - 10 AM PT (10:30 – 12:00 PM CT): Voting Rights and Democracy in State Courts
Moderator: Sean Morales-Doyle, Director, Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice

Panelists:
Michael Kang, Class of 1940 Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Hon. Allison Riggs, Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court
Miriam Seifter, Richard E. Johnson Bascom Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School

10 - 11:15 AM PT (12:00 – 1:15 PM CT): Lunch break

11:15 AM - 12:45 PM PT (1:15 – 2:45 PM CT): The Diversity of Rights in State Constitutions
Moderator: Alicia Bannon, Director, Judiciary Program, Brennan Center for Justice

Panelists:
Ting Ting Cheng, Director of the ERA Project at Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law
Martha Davis, University Distinguished Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
Andrew Hammond, Professor of Law and Harry T. Ice Faculty Fellow, Maurer School of Law
Hon. Melissa A. Long, Associate Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Anthony Sanders, Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement, Institute for Justice


Day 2 - Friday, November 7

8 - 9:30 AM PT (10:00 – 11:30 AM CT): Federalism and Interstate Conflicts
Moderator: Zachary Clopton, Interim Dean, Daniel Hale Williams Professor, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Panelists:
Bridget Fahey, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Roderick M. Hills, Jr., William T. Comfort III Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Adam Sopko, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
Julia Spiegel, Founder and CEO, GovAct

9:45 - 11 AM PT (11:45 – 1:00 PM CT): LGBTQ Rights & State Constitution
Moderator: Kara Ingelhart, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Director of the LGBTQ+ Rights Clinic, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law

Panelists:
Akilah Deernose, Executive Director, ACLU of Montana
Whit Washington, Senior Attorney for the Nonbinary & Transgender Rights Project, Lambda Legal
Evan Wolfson, Founder and President, Freedom to Marry
Quinn Yeargain, 1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy and Associate Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law

11 AM - noon PT (1:00 – 2:00 PM CT): Lunch break

12 - 1:30 PM PT (2:00 – 3:30 PM): State Constitutional Amendments and State Conventions
Moderator: Wilfred Codrington, Walter Floersheimer Professor of Constitutional Law, Co-Director of Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy, Cardozo Law School

Panelists:
Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney, State Democracy Research Initiative
Marcus Gadson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
Hon. Caitlin J. Halligan, Associate Judge, New York Court of Appeals
Hon. Elizabeth M. Welch, Associate Justice, Michigan Supreme Court


CONFERENCE SPEAKERS:

Alicia Bannon, Director of Judiciary Program, Brennan Center for Justice
Megan Byrne, Staff Attorney, ACLU Capital Punishment Project
Ting Ting Cheng, Director of the ERA Project at the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center, NYU School of Law
Derek Clinger, Senior Staff Attorney, State Democracy Research Initiative
Zachary Clopton, Interim Dean, Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Wilfred Codrington, Walter Floersheimer Professor of Constitutional Law, Co-Director of Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy, Cardozo Law School
Martha Davis, University Distinguished Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
Akilah Deernose, Executive Director, ACLU of Montana
Bridget Fahey, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
Lucien Ferguson, Assistant Professor, Chicago-Kent College of Law
Sue Frietsche, Executive Director and Director of Litigation, Women’s Law Project
Marcus Gadson, Associate Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
Michelle Garcia, Deputy Director, New Mexico Legal Aid
Hon. Caitlin J. Halligan, Associate Judge, New York Court of Appeals
Andrew Hammond, Professor of Law, Harry T. Ice Faculty Fellow, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Brian Highsmith, Assistant Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
Roderick M. Hills Jr., William T. Comfort III Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
Kara Ingelhart, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law, Director of the LGBTQ+ Rights Clinic, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Michael Kang, Class of 1940 Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Diana Kasdan, Legal and Policy Director for the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, UCLA School of Law
Hon. Melissa A. Long, Associate Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
Marie Miller, Attorney, Institute for Justice
Sean Morales-Doyle, Director of Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice
Lalita Moskovitz, Staff Attorney, ACLU New Mexico
Rosemary Nidiry, Senior Counsel, Justice Program, Brennan Center for Justice
Hon. Allison Riggs, Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court
Daniel B. Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Anthony Sanders, Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement, Institute for Justice
Matthew Segal, Codirector of State Supreme Court Initiative, American Civil Liberties Union
Miriam Seifter, Richard E. Johnson Bascom Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School
David Shapiro, Executive Director, MacArthur Justice Center
Adam Sopko, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
Julia Spiegel, Founder and CEO, GovAct
Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton, Chief Judge, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Karen Thompson, Legal Director of Pregnancy Justice
Deborah Tuerkheimer, Class of 1967 James B. Haddad Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Andrew H. Ward, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
Whit Washington, Senior Attorney for the Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project, Lambda Legal
Hon. Elizabeth M. Welch, Associate Justice, Michigan Supreme Court
Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice
Evan Wolfson, Founder and President, Freedom to Marry
Quinn Yeargain, 1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy, Associate Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law