The Rule of Law: Controlling Government

Seminar in Contemporary Legal Thought

Guest Speakers

Fall 2009

Professor A.E. Dick Howard

On November 9 Professor Howard will guest lecture on the spread of constitutionalism and democracy. Widely acknowledged as an expert in the fields of constitutional law, comparative constitutionalism, and the Supreme Court, A. E. Dick Howard is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Professor Howard is the author of a number of books, articles, and monographs. These include The Road from Runnymede: Magna Carta and Constitutionalism in America and Commentaries on the Constitution of Virginia, which won a Phi Beta Kappa prize. More recent works include Democracy's Dawn and Constitution-making in Eastern Europe. In January 1994, Washingtonian magazine named Professor Howard as one of the most respected educators in the nation. In 2007, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Library of Virginia included Professor Howard on their list of the "greatest Virginians" of the 20th century.

Professor James Buchanan

On October 19, Professor James Buchanan will be a guest speaker for the class on The Theory of Government Failure. Professor Buchanan received the Nobel Prize for economics in 1986. He is best known for developing "public choice theory," which changed the way economists analyze political decision making. Professor Buchanan's work opened the door for the examination of how politicians' self-interest and non-economic forces affect government policy. James M. Buchanan Center for Political Economy.

Professor John Harrison

On October 26 Professor Harrison will guest lecture on theories of constitutional interpretation. John C. Harrison joined the UVA Law School faculty in 1993 as an associate professor of law after a distinguished career with the U.S. Department of Justice. His teaching subjects include Constitutional History, Federal Courts, Remedies, Corporations, Civil Procedure, Legislation, and Property. During 2008 he was on leave to serve as counselor on international law in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. A 1977 graduate of the University of Virginia, Harrison earned his law degree in 1980 at Yale. He was an associate at Patton Boggs & Blow in Washington, D.C., and clerked for the Honorable Robert Bork on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He worked with the Department of Justice from 1983-93, serving in numerous capacities, including deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel (1990-93).

The Innocence Project

On November 2, Ms. Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project, will be the featured speaker. Topic: policing the criminal justice system. http://www.exonerate.org/~~http://www.innocenceproject.org/

Professor Bradley A. Smith

On November 16, Professor Bradley A. Smith from Capital University Law School will speak on the issue of campaign finance reform. One of the nation’s leading authorities on Election Law and Campaign Finance, Professor Smith recently returned to Capital University after five years in Washington, DC, where he served as Commissioner, Vice Chairman, and Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Nominated by President Clinton in February of 2000 to fill a Republican-designated seat on the Commission, Professor Smith was confirmed by the Senate in May of 2000 and took his seat the following month. Prior to his nomination, Smith had become a fixture in the national discussion on campaign finance, and was called “the most sought after witness” when Congress considered campaign finance issues. In 2005 he founded the Center for Competitive Politics. http://www.campaignfreedom.org/

Mr. Peter Ferrara

On November 23, Mr. Peter Ferrara will address the class on Social Security reform and related issues. Peter Ferrara is Director of the International Center for Law and Economics and President of the Virginia Club for Growth. He served as a senior staff member in the White House Office of Policy Development under President Reagan and as Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States under the first President Bush. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and has practiced law with firms on Wall Street and in Washington, DC. Bio & link to Institute for Policy Innovation.