FedSoc Forums

On April 25, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Trump v. Hawaii, the latest iteration of Hawaii’s challenge to President Trump’s Executive Order suspending immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the country by citizens of specific countries. While the original order banned entry of citizens from seven majority Muslim countries, it was superseded by the current order which affects citizens from other countries as well, such as Chad, North Korea and Venezuela. Steve Giaier attended oral argument and will join us to share his observations.
Featuring:
Steven Giaier, General Counsel, House Committee on Homeland Security

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In Lucia v. SEC, the SEC fined the petitioner Raymond J. Lucia $300,000 and barred him from working as an investment advisor for anti-fraud violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act. The petitioner requested SEC review, arguing that the administrative proceedings were invalid, as the administrative law judge (ALJ) who decided his case was unconstitutionally appointed. ALJs are appointed by SEC staff in a manner that Lucia claimed violated the Appointments Clause under Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution. When the SEC ruled against Lucia, he appealed to the D.C. Circuit which denied the petition for review by a divided court, issuing a new decision affirming the SEC's decision as required under D.C. Circuit Rule 35(d).
Kevin Muhlendorf of Wiley Rein and Professor Gregory Dolin of the University of Baltimore School of Law join us to give their impressions of the oral argument of this important case.
Featuring:
Professor Gregory Dolin, Co-director of the Center for Medicine and Law, University of Baltimore School of Law
Kevin B. Muhlendorf, Partner, Wiley Rein LLP

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

Criminal justice reform has been a hot political topic for several years now, bringing together otherwise strange bedfellows in a common cause to address issues such as over-criminalization and mass incarceration. Although some academics have participated in reform discussions, their engagement has tended to be intermittent and their scholarship has been inaccessible to policymakers and reform proponents. Recently, however, a coalition of scholars known as the “Academy for Justice” has sought to help bridge the wide gap between scholarship on the books and the reform of criminal justice on the ground, with the goal of making the law and literature accessible to policymakers, practitioners, and the public. In this Teleforum, three scholars involved in the project will discuss the Academy’s new report on the criminal justice system, the relevance of academic scholarship for real-world policy, and the prospects for bipartisan reform efforts.

Featuring:

Paul G. Cassell, Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Professor of Criminal Law and University Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Utah, and former U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Utah
Brandon L. Garrett, Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law and White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs, University of Virginia
Moderator: Erik Luna, Amelia D. Lewis Professor of Constitutional & Criminal Law, Arizona State University, and Director of the Academy for Justice


Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

State Attorneys General often investigate antitrust violations – ranging from price fixing to anticompetitive mergers – in conjunction with the federal antitrust enforcement agencies (the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission). But recently the nation’s AGs have more frequently taken the lead, conducting their own investigations and initiating independent enforcement actions. Are these examples of state AGs merely utilizing their own statutory authority to protect their constituents? Are they filling a vacuum when federal authorities choose not to act? Or are they becoming the equivalent of national regulators? An experienced panel of antitrust practitioners and representatives from state AG offices will share their perspectives on the impact of increased antitrust enforcement by the state AGs and what businesses and their counsel need to understand about it.
Featuring:
Vic Domen, Senior Antitrust Counsel, Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, Nashville, TN (Chair, National Association of Attorneys General Multistate Antitrust Task Force)
Jennifer Thomson, Senior Deputy Attorney General, Antitrust Section, Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, Harrisburg, PA
Jeffrey Oliver, Senior Associate, Baker Botts L.L.P., Washington, DC
Ian Conner, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, Washington DC
Moderator: Adam Biegel, Co-chair, Antitrust Team, and Partner, Alston & Bird LLP, Washington, DC
Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

Former Minority Staff Director and General Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Michael Bahar, Former General Counsel Michael Geffroy of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Former Minority Staff Director for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Heather Molino will join us to discuss the role of Congressional Intelligence Committees. How well are they able to discharge their duties in the present environment? Has the Russian investigation impeded their functionality? Are they able to provide effective oversight? What could be improved?
Featuring:
Michael Bahar, Former Minority Staff Director, General Counsel, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Michael Geffroy, Former General Counsel for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Matthew R. A. Heiman, Vice President, Corporate Secretary & Associate General Counsel, Johnson Controls
Heather Molino, Former Minority Staff Director, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

On April 25, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Trump v. Hawaii, the latest iteration of Hawaii’s challenge to President Trump’s Executive Order suspending immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the country by citizens of specific countries. While the original order banned entry of citizens from seven majority Muslim countries, it was superseded by the current order which affects citizens from other countries as well, such as Chad, North Korea and Venezuela. Ilya Somin and Josh Blackman will join us to preview the case.
Featuring:

Prof. Josh Blackman, Associate Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law, Houston
Prof. Ilya Somin, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University


Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Heller v. District of Columbia. Before Heller, courts had split on whether the Second Amendment recognized an individual right to keep and bear arms or if that right was limited only to those citizens participating in organized militias. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, held that the Second Amendment recognized a right of individuals to keep and bear arms for private self-defense. In the wake of Heller, most lower courts have rejected Second Amendment challenges to state and federal gun control laws. The decision, however, left many questions unanswered concerning the scope of the Second Amendment.
In this Telefoum, Professors Nelson Lund and Darrell Miller will debate the original meaning of the Second Amendment, whether Heller was correctly decided, whether lower courts are faithfully applying Heller, and how Heller might apply to future legislation regarding the right to keep and bear arms.
Featuring:
Prof. Nelson Lund, University Professor, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Prof. Darrel Miller, Melvin G. Shimm Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law
Moderator: Dr. Robert Leider, Associate, Arnold & Porter DC, Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University School of Law
Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

On March 26, the Commerce Department announced that the 2020 census will include a question about U.S. citizenship. The Commerce Department was acting in response to a December request from the Justice Department to include the question for the stated purpose of better enforcement of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. 17 state attorneys general and 7 cities filed a lawsuit on April 3 against the federal government claiming that the citizenship question would depress the number of responses from noncitizens, therefore unconstitutionally decreasing the population count used to determine representation in Congress for states with high non-citizen populations. Dr. John S. Baker, Jr. Visiting Professor of Georgetown Law will join us to discuss recent developments.
Featuring:

Dr. John S. Baker, Jr., Visiting Professor, Georgetown Law


Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

Hearings have been held recently in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on so-called “beneficial ownership” legislation to fight terrorism and money laundering by compelling both newly formed and already existing corporations and limited liability companies to disclose to the government every individual who “directly or indirectly” has “a substantial interest in or receives substantial economic benefits from” or exercises “substantial control” over the entity. The legislation under consideration in the House of Representatives is Section 9 of the Counter Terrorism and Illicit Finance Act, and the Senate legislation is S. 1454. The legislation requires people responsible for new and existing corporations and LLCs to report the name, address and an unexpired driver’s license or passport number to the government for every individual who meets this standard, as it may be ultimately defined by regulators. These bills require updates within 60 days of the occurrence of any change in the list of people meeting one of these definitions, or any of the identifying information previously disclosed about them. The legislation includes criminal penalties. These legislative proposals have engendered considerable debate on Capitol Hill for many years. Clay Fuller of AEI and David Burton of Heritage will join us to discuss the new legislation and what it would mean for American businesses.
Featuring:
David R. Burton, Senior Fellow in Economic Policy, Roe institute for Economic Policy Studies, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, The Heritage Foundation
Clay R. Fuller, AEI Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

On March 28, 2018, the Supreme Court heard Benisek v. Lamone, the second partisan gerrymandering case of the Term. Under review in Benisek is the Maryland redistricting map, drawn to favor Democrats running for election. The first partisan gerrymandering case from earlier in the Term involved the Wisconsin redistricting, arguably favoring Republicans running for election. Court watchers are left wondering whether the Court will, for the first time, strike down redistricting maps as overly partisan. Join us as Wisconsin Solicitor General recaps the Benisek oral argument.
Featuring:
Misha Tseytlin, Solicitor General, Wisconsin Department of Justice

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.