Public Affairs Discussion Group

U.S. Supreme Court Forecast

Jonathan Entin, J.D. - Professor of Law and Political Science at Case Western Reserve University School of Law




Jonathan Adler, J.D. - Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Business Law and Regulation at Case Western Reserve University School of Law


Friday September 3, 2010
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Crawford Hall - Room 9
Inamori Center
Case Western Reserve University

Numerous commentators have described the Supreme Court after President Bush's appointments of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Allito as the most conservative in many decades. In what sense is this true, and what might be the results? In particular, are there cases coming up that could have dramatic decisions, or does the pending case load suggest only incremental change? Might the appointment of Elena Kagan to the seat formerly held by Justice Stevens make any difference, either in the short- or long-run? Professors Adler and Entin, distinguished scholars of constitutional law and observers of both the Court's jurisprudence and politics, join us to share some observations.

Correction: The date for the "Have Special Interests and Deep Pockets Hijacked the Ohio Constitution?" program at the Cleveland City Club is September 1, 2010 and not September 11, 2010 as was incorrectly stated in last weeks newsletter. We apologize for the error.

More About Our Guests....

Jonathan Entin has taught Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Courts, Public Policy, and Social Change, and a Supreme Court Seminar. Before joining the faculty in 1984, he clerked for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (when she was on the U.S. court of Appeals) and practiced in Washington with Steptoe & Johnson. The recipient of several teaching awards and a former co-editor of the Journal of Legal Education, he is at work on a book about equal protection. Among his recent publications are "An Ohio Dilemma: Race, Equal Protection, and the Unfulfilled Promise of a State Bill of Rights," Cleveland State Law Review (2004), and "Judicial Selection and Political Culture," Capital University Law Review (2002).

Jonathan H. Adler is Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Business Law & Regulation at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he teaches courses in environmental, administrative, and constitutional law. Professor Adler is the author or editor of four books on environmental policy and over a dozen book chapters. His articles have appeared in publications ranging from the Harvard Environmental Law Review and Supreme Court Economic Review to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Professor Adler is a contributing editor to National Review Online and a regular contributor to the popular legal blog, "The Volokh Conspiracy." A 2007 study identified Professor Adler as the most cited legal academic in environmental law under age 40, and his recent article, "Money or Nothing: The Adverse Environmental Consequences of Uncompensated Land Use Controls," published in the Boston College Law Review, was selected as one of the ten best articles in land use and environmental law in 2008.

Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

September 10: Joshua Stacher, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Kent State University: Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

September 17: Jeremy Bendik-Kreymer, Associate Professor and Beamer-Schneider Chair in Philosophy: The Design of Arab Universities as a Political Act.

September 24: Dean Baker, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research (Washington DC): The Budget Deficit Panic.

October 1: Ashwini Sehgal MD, Duncan Neuhauser Professor of Community Health Improvement and Director, Center for Reducing Health Disparities, CWRU and Metrohealth: The U.S. News and World Report Hospital Rankings.

October 8: Karen Gahl-Mills, Executive Director, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture: How the Arts Levy is Spent.

October 15: Kathryn C. Lavelle, Ellen and Dixon Long Associate Professor of World Affairs: Sovereign Debt and Sovereign Default: International Institutions in the Developed and Developing Worlds.

October 22: Professor Karen Beckwith, Assistant Professor Justin Buchler, and Adjunct Assistant Professor Andrew Lucker, Department of Political Science: Midterm Elections Forecast.

October 29: Special Inamori Center Event, as part of International Peace and War Summit: see http://www.case.edu/provost/inamori/peacesummit/.

November 5: Kelly McMann, Associate Professor of Political Science: Unrest in Kyrgyzstan and Its Implications for the War in Afghanistan.

November 12: Max Mehlman, Professor of Law: Why We Need Death Panels.

November 19: Jessica Green, Assistant Professor of Political Science: Global Responses to Greenhouse Gases.

December 3: Paul Ernsberger, Associate Professor of Nutrition: Health At Any Size.

The Friday Lunch discussions are held on the lower (ground) level of Crawford Hall. Visitors with mobility issues may find it easiest to take advantage of special arrangements we have made. On most Fridays, a few parking spaces in the V.I.P. lot in between Crawford Hall and Amasa Stone Chapel are held for participants in the lunch discussion.

Visitors then can avoid walking up the hill to the first floor of Crawford by entering the building on the ground level, through the garage area under the building. The further door on the left in that garage will be left unlocked during the period before the Friday lunch. On occasion, parking will be unavailable because of other university events.

For more information about these and other Center for Policy Studies programs, please see http://policy.case.edu.

August 30, 2010

Upcoming Events

Inamori Prize Lecture: All the Cowboys Were Indians: The Story of Where RAM Began

Stan Brock – humanitarian, conservationist, and founder of Remote Area Medical (RAM) and winner of the this year's Inamori Ethics Prize

12:30 p.m. in Severance Hall on Wednesday, September 1st.  All are welcome!

This will be followed at 3:00pm by an academic symposium at the Inamori Center in Crawford Hall, which will be a lively panel discussion featuring Stan Brock, Jessica Berg and Bob Binstock from CWRU, and Danny Williams of the Cleveland Free Clinic (the symposium is also free and open to the public, but seating is limited).

For more information call 216-368-2579 or visit the Inamori Center Web site now.

Have special interests and
deep pockets hijacked the
Ohio Constitution?

September 1, 2010 at noon, Cleveland City Club

A panel discussion featuring: Jonathan Entin: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Steven Steinglass: Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus, Cleveland Marshall College of Law

Since the U.S. Constitution was written in 1787, it has been amended 27 times. In the past eight years alone, the Ohio Constitution has been amended 10 times. Jonathan Entin, Professor of Law and Political Science at Case Western Reserve University, posits that Ohioans have cluttered up the state constitution with narrow-interest, overly-technical amendments better left to the legislative process.

Since 1912, the Ohio Constitution has required that voters be given the opportunity every twenty years to call a state constitutional convention; Ohioans will vote on this question in 2012. Steven Steinglass, Dean Emeritus at Cleveland-Marshal College of Law will address the pros, cons and possible unintended consequences of calling a constitutional convention.

Tickets: $15 - Members; $25 - Guests $200/250 - Nonprofit table of 8/10 $280/350 - Corporate table of 8/10 All prices include lunch. Reservations and cancellations are required at least 24 hours in advance of the event.

For more informationcall 216-621-0082 or visit the City Club Web site now.