Monday Events

I realize that there is a lot going on this Monday, so I thought I would provide a schedule and some answers to the questions I am getting.

The attire is business casual. However, I recommend you wear a suit if you have it. It goes without saying (I hope!) that whatever you wear should be clean and pressed. Business casual means that guys should wear a nice polo shirt or button down shirt and slacks. For women, it means a nice sweater or top (or button down dress shirt) with somewhat dressy pants or a knee-length skirt. No jeans or cargo pants, no t-shirts, no short skirts and no sneakers. This isn't the time to make a fashion statement, dress conservatively.

Here is a schedule of Monday's events:

1:30-2:45 Discussion with Justice Scalia (Room 237A, private event)
3:30-4:30 Reenactment of Lochner v. New York (Memorial Hall, free and open to the public)
5:00-5:45 Unveiling of the Milestones on Road to Freedom (Kennedy Hall, free and open to the public)
6:00-7:00 Dinner Honoring Justice Scalia (Tent in front of Memorial Hall, ticketed)
7:30 Justice Scalia Gives the Annual Madison Lecture (Memorial Hall, free and open to the public)

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me: fernrichardson@gmail.com. If I don't know the answer, I'll find out and get back to you. You can also check out the TWEN site Professor Eastman set up. He has linked to many different articles and other sources of information that might be of interest to students.

Week In Review: 8/22 - 8/26

EVENTS: Welcome BBQ, Jurisprudence of Justice Scalia, and Discussion of Lochner v. New York

We started off the week with our Annual BBQ on August 22, 2005. We had approximately 60 people attend the event, including a few professors and members of the faculty. Retired President and Grill-Master, Kyle Beckley, manned the grill. I'd like to especially thank Chris Wu, a good friend of Chapman's Federalist Society, for making a late-in-the-game run to the grocery store for more sodas and charcoal.

The next day we hosted Chapman Professor Donald Kochan for a discussion of the Jurisprudence of Justice Scalia. Professor Kochan touched on topics such as Justice Scalia's view of the appropriate way to interpret the Constitution (textualism) and Justice Scalia's effect on administrative law. Professor Kochan also shared a personal story about how he first met Justice Scalia. A number of students emailed me to tell me that they really enjoyed that story.

On Thursday we hosted Pacific Legal Foundation Attorney and Chapman Alumni, Tim Sandefur. Tim gave an overview of Lochner v. New York, substantive due process and economic liberty. Tim has a knack for making court cases come alive and always has an interesting point of view. I especially appreciate Tim staying for at least an hour after the event to discuss everything from whether animals have rights to gay marriage with a few Chapman students. Tim will be coming back to Chapman on September 6 to discuss public interest law with our students.

I hope that the students who came to our events this week had a good time and learned a thing or two. There were a number of students who helped set things up at events or helped clean up afterwards. I really appreciate it! I'd like to specifically thank Cat Parsons, the Fed-Soc VP, for doing whatever needed to be done without being asked. This week was particularly crazy with three events the very first week back to school, all of you who chipped in to make things run smoothly deserve a pat on the back.

If you have any suggestions, comments or ideas for future events, please email me at fernrichardson@gmail.com. I hope to see all of you on Monday at the various Justice Scalia/Lochner events!

Event Photo: What is Lochner v. New York?!

Photos from Professor Kochan/Jurisprudence of Justice Scalia Event

These are the photos I took at todays event. Click on each picture for a larger version.

Lochner v. New York

The Federalist Society, in preparation for Justice Scalia's visit, is hosting Chapman alumni Tim Sandefur who will be giving a presentation on Lochner v. New York.

WHAT: Lochner v. New York discussion
WHERE: Room 237B
WHEN: Thursday, Aug. 25th @ noon

Professor Eastman has created a special TWEN page (click on "Drop/Add Course" near the top of the page and then check the box for "Lochner v. New York Re-Enactment") with links to various sources of information on Lochner. Be sure to check it out. Also, you can click on this link to read the case.

New Treasurer & Track 3 Representitive!

I am very happy to announce that both available positions within the Federalist Society have been filled. Kristi Collins will be the Fed-Soc's Treasurer for this school year, and Niyati Shah will be the Track 3 Representitive. If you have any questions about the Federalist Society, please feel free to ask any of our officers. Also, if you're interested in becoming more invoved, we could always use a helping hand. Just let me know what you're interested in doing, and we'll put you to work!

EVENTS: Week of 8/22

We have some fun and interesting (and sometimes both) events planned for the first week of school:

Tuesday, 8/23 at noon: Welcome Back BBQ, Law School back patio.
Wednesday, 8/24 at noon: The Jurisprudence of Justice Scalia, Law School room 237A (presentation given by Chapman Law professor, Donald Kochan).
Thursday, 8/25 at noon: What is Lochner v. New York anyway?! Law School room 237A (presentation given by Chapman Alumni and Pacific Legal Foundation attorney, Tim Sandefur).

*As always, we will have free food and drinks at all of our events.

Welcome!

I hope you all had a great summer and are ready to get back into the swing of things. We have an exciting year planned out, and I hope to see you at one (or more!) of our events.

In case you're not sure what the Federalist Society is, we're a group of conservatives and libertarians who are dedicated to discussing and debating the legal topics of our day. We were founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be. If you'd like some more info, be sure to check out the national organization's website.

As you can see in the sidebar, my name is Fern Richardson and I'm the President of Chapman's chapter of the Federalist Society. Cat Parsons is our Vice President. We also have First Year Representatives, Ryan Darby and Kelsey Brown. I'm currently looking for someone to serve as our Treasurer and also a third First Year Rep for Track 3. Since these will be appointed positions, you don't need to run for office, just send me an email with a sentence or two about why you'd like the position.

The benefits of an officer position within the Federalist Society are numerous. Being involved in the Federalist Society connotes a level of seriousness towards legal/academic issues (many judges, partners in law firms, well respected attorneys and high level government appointees are members). You will also be able to put your affiliation with the Federalist Society on your resume. Doing so would show your willingness to take on leadership roles and your ability to handle the responsibility of such a role.