Coverage of Pilon-Friedman Event

Ann Parks from the Georgetown Alumni Association covered our last event for the alumni magazine. A link to her story is here.

RIP LSAT?

According to the National Law Journal, the ABA is considering making the LSATs voluntary rather than mandatory for admission to law schools under its accreditation standards. The WSJ Law Blog has a piece here. The Careerist gives its opinion here. I am sure most LSAT alumni would agree that a person who cannot determine whether the conclusion follows from the premises has no business in law school.

Event: January 19 3:30 PM

Our first event of the Spring semester is Wednesday, January 19 from 3:30-5:00pm in McD 205. Professor Barry Friedman from NYU will debate Roger Pilon from the Cato Institute on the Conservatism of the Roberts Court and how the Court does/should act based on public opinion.

Please meet us at 3:30 for a great event featuring two prominent presenters. The event is co-sponsored with Georgetown ACS.

DATE: Wed., Jan. 19

TIME: 3:30-5:00

PLACE: McD 205

End of the Year Survey

Thank you to everyone for a great Fall semester. Please take a minute to fill out a quick, anonymous survey evaluating our Fall events and expressing your interest in Spring event topics.

Texas Says: Don't Be a Loser

WSJ had this editorial yesterday about Gov. Rick Perry's push for further statewide tort reform that includes implementing a loser pays system and preventing judges from creating new causes of action. An excellent study of loser pays by the Manhattan Institute's Marie Gryphon is here. Comments?

DC Lawyers Luncheon This Friday

This Friday the DC Lawyers Chapter is hosting AEI's Michael S. Greve on "The Failing States of America-Is Bankruptcy an Option?" Register here.

DATE: 12/17/10
TIME: Noon-1:30
PLACE: Tony Cheng's (Gallery Place)
COST: $15 

Happy Holawdays

A California judge recognized Festivus as a legitimate religion in order to give a convicted drug felon special meals in jail. Story here. It's always good to hear about judges taking their jobs seriously.

Cuccinelli 1, Obama 0

Obama just got an early lump of coal in his stocking. The penalty for not buying healthcare has been deemed unconstitutional in district court. Forbes has a summary of the Obamacare ruling here. Washington Post here. Judge Henry E. Hudson just became infamous.

Study Break: Future of Federalism

Will Wilkinson has an interesting piece for the Economist on a "Repeal Amendment" that would give a majority of states the power to overturn federal law. If that sounds like a Randy Barnett idea...that's because it is. According the article, "the amendment is the brainchild of Randy Barnett, a law professor at Georgetown University." Thoughts? Ilya Somin has some at Volokh. 


Good luck to everyone taking Barnett's Con Law II final. Talking about this amendment in an essay question probably won't hurt your grade. 

Justice Stevens on 60 Minutes

Justice Stevens gives his opinions on Bush v. Gore, Citizens United, Padilla, and Babe Ruth's called shot. He also takes the cameras behind the scenes to the Supreme Court library and robing room. Even Justice Souter makes a cameo appearance to praise Stevens' work. Video here.

Georgetown Law = Beautiful

In case TSA pat downs get you upset over Thanksgiving break, or if you are just missing the way campus looks during Fall, this video is sure to cheer you up.

The clock tower gets a lot of attention and the music sounds like an old Nintendo game soundtrack, but overall it is a good film. The handshake at 1:05 is the second strangest handshake of 2010.

30th Annual National Student Convention

It is time to sign up for the National Student Convention in Charlottesville, VA on February 25 & 26, 2011. The topic this year is "Capitalism, Markets, and the Constitution." Register to attend and pay here. Transportation is partially funded but hotel accommodations are your own responsibility. Click on the image above for full details. Info about Charlottesville and area hotels is at the bottom of this page.

Fed Soc Annual Lawyers Dinner Recap

Last Thursday, Justice Scalia was interviewed by CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford. Above the Law has a nice summary here. Special thanks to Professor Randy Barnett for inviting some Georgetown Law students to attend. Check here for video and audio from the entire National Lawyers Convention.

Federalist Society Lawyers Convention

The Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention is this weekend and in case you cannot make it, Josh Blackman is streaming some of the events on his blog.

UPDATE: The Federalist Society is also live blogging the event at fedsocblog.com. Georgetown Professor Randy Barnett was on a health care panel this morning. Recap here.