Necessary & Proper Podcast

On November 17, 2020, the Federalist Society's Article I Initiative and the Little Rock Lawyers Chapter co-hosted a webinar on Supreme Court nominations and the perils of court-packing.
Featuring:

Dan McLaughlin, Senior Writer, National Review Online
Introduction: Chad Pekron, Lead Counsel – Appellate, Walmart

On November 2, 2020, the Federalist Society's Illinois Student Chapter hosted Logan Beirne for a discussion of the history of presidential power.

Logan Beirne is a Clinical Lecturer in Law and a Faculty Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Matterhorn Transactions, Inc., a legal information services company that provides transaction term language and market trend analytics across the US, UK, and Canada.

Featuring:
- Logan Beirne, Clinical Lecturer in Law and Faculty Fellow, Information Society Project, Yale Law School

On October 29, the Penn and Temple Student Chapters of the Federalist Society hosted former officemates and leading scholars of presidential power for a debate on the true extent of presidential power. In his new book, "Defender in Chief," John Yoo argues that Trump, despite his populism, is more often the defender rather than the opponent of the original Constitution. In "The Living Presidency," however, Sai Prakash counters that Trump, like many modern presidents, has violated the Constitution's grant of executive power. The debate was moderated by Temple Law's Professor Craig Green.

Featuring:
- Saikrishna B. Prakash, James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law and Paul G. Mahoney Research Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
- John C. Yoo, Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law; Co-Faculty Director, Korea Law Center; and Director, Public Law & Policy Program, UC Berkeley School of Law
- [Moderator] Craig Green, Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law

To celebrate Constitution Day, the Rutgers Law School chapter of the Federalist Society hosted Dr. Colleen Sheehan, one of the nation's leading Madison scholars, to discuss the constitutional thought of James Madison and his role as the "Father of the Constitution."

Dr. Sheehan is the Director of Graduate Studies at the Arizona State School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. She is author of the Cambridge Companion to The Federalist, co-edited with Jack Rakove (Cambridge, 2020), The Mind of James Madison: The Legacy of Classical Republicanism (Cambridge, 2015), James Madison and the Spirit of Republican Self-Government (Cambridge, 2009), and Friends of the Constitution: Writings of the "Other" Federalists, 1787-88 (with Gary L. McDowell, Liberty Fund, 1998).

Featuring:
- Dr. Colleen Sheehan, Director of Graduate Studies, Arizona State School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

Recently we were saddened to learn of the passing of Senator Tom Coburn. In this episode we bring you some highlights from a panel he participated in at the Federalist Society’s 2015 National Lawyers Convention. The panel was titled, Agency Rule: How Congress Can Reclaim its Legislative Authority. Senator Coburn spoke about a range of topics including Congressional leadership, limited government, federal debt, and the importance of debate. We hope you enjoy Senator Coburn’s reflections.

Senator Tom Coburn, Former United States Senator, Oklahoma.

On March 14, 2020, the Federalist Society held its 39th National Student Symposium. The Symposium was originally scheduled to be held at the University of Michigan's Law School but was rescheduled as a digital conference. The second panel explored "The Proper Role of the Senate".
Much has changed concerning the Senate since the adoption of the Constitution. It is now directly elected. The nature of its power has changed with the passage of the 16th Amendment. And its unique role in confirmations and treaties and the nature of its role protecting smaller states all have undergone much discussion. The Senate has always played a key role in balancing purely democratic power. It has also protected the states and possibly served to defuse otherwise hostile geographical battles. Does or should this role change in our modern democracy? If so, how?

Prof. Lynn A. Baker, Frederick M. Baron Chair in Law and Co-Director of the Center on Lawyers, Civil Justice and the Media, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
Prof. Sanford V. Levinson, W. St. John Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial Chair in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
Ms. Amanda Neely, General Counsel, Office of Senator Rob Portman
Prof. John Yoo, Emanuel Heller Professor of Law and director of the Korea Law Center, University of California at Berkeley School of Law
Moderator: Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

Description: On January 16 Penn State Law's Federalist Society Chapter co-hosted an impeachment dicussion featuring Professors Heidi Kitrosser and Keith E. Whittington. Kitrosser is a Robins Kaplan Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School and Whittington is a William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University. We hope you enjoy it!

Featuring:
- Keith Whittingon, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University
- Heidi Kitrosser, Robins Kaplan Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School

Jason Foster of Good Government Now shares his experiences as counsel to four congressional committees in the U.S. House and Senate, where he directed fact-finding inquiries to inform their oversight and legislative functions.

Can Congress enforce subpoenas they issue? Dr. William Murphy, Founder and President of Good Government Now, joins the Article I Initiative podcast to discuss their proposed rule changes that would enhance Congressional oversight and investigative powers.

A discussion of National Security and Executive Power, recorded on October 10 at the Georgetown Law Center.