Constitution Day Examines Supreme Court's Evolution Sept. 17
September 7, 2007
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
The history of the United States Supreme Court offers a window into the nation's freedoms as well as its struggles with its democratic ideals. As part of the University of Baltimore's celebration of Constitution Day on Monday, Sept. 17, the School of Law will present a special panel discussion on that history and its impact, featuring four distinguished members of the School of Law faculty.
This event, free and open to the public, will take place in the Venable Baetjer Howard Moot Court Room in the UB School of Law, 1415 Maryland Ave. The first session will begin at noon, and the second at 5 p.m. Both sessions will last approximately two hours.
The panelists will include Keith Blair, assistant professor; Elizabeth J. Samuels, professor; F. Michael Higginbotham, professor; and Michael I. Meyerson, professor.
The event will feature the viewing of two episodes of PBS's landmark series, "The Supreme Court." This program, which originally aired earlier this year, presented a comprehensive look at the court's history, its impact on the nation's system of justice, and even a forecast of future cases that will affect the lives of every American.
Constitution Day is an annual national celebration designed to renew the nation’s familiarity with the tenets of its founding document. On Sept. 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the U.S. Constitution.
The first episode to be featured on Constitution Day is "One Nation Under Law," which examines the establishment of the Supreme Court and follows it through the brink of the Civil War. The program pays particular attention to the court's fourth chief justice, John Marshall, and to his successor, Roger Taney. Marshall presided over one of the most famous cases heard by the court, Marbury v. Madison (1803); Taney, over one of the most infamous, Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). In Marbury, Marshall used an obscure case involving an unsigned judicial appointment as an opportunity to assert the court's most important power—that of judicial review, which gives federal courts the right to strike down laws that clash with the Constitution. A half century later, in the Scott case, Taney exercised that same power against the national government, this time to protect slavery. Panelists Blair and Samuels will lead a discussion on this episode beginning at noon.
The second episode of the series, "A New Kind of Justice," explores the issues before the court during the period after the Civil War—a time of unprecedented economic growth and the rise of the industrial powers. As corporations became more influential they found an unlikely ally in the Supreme Court. While the 14th Amendment was passed to make certain that the states were obligated to recognize the rights of the newly freed slaves, the court would, for almost 100 years, use the amendment to shelter big business, recognizing corporations as "persons" and awarding them sweeping legal protections. Panelists Higginbotham and Meyerson will lead a discussion on this episode beginning at 5 p.m.
For more information about this event, call 410.837.6797.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.