Law School Welcomes Justice Kennedy for Law Review Symposium
Dean Lawrence gave a brief welcome to the audience, remarking, "I have no illusions that you're here to hear me speak." Dean Lawrence noted the connections that the school has to the Court, pointing out that Justice Kennedy, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan in 1988, has the largest number of former clerks on the faculty, among them Professors Gregory Maggs, Orin Kerr, and Renee Lettow Lerner. Dean Lawrence pointed out that Justice Roberts has referred to the current court as the "Kennedy Court" because of his role in many close decisions and emphasized how proud the school was to host Justice Kennedy.
Professor Lerner went on to give the introduction to Justice Kennedy. Professor Lerner was instrumental in soliciting Justice Kennedy to come speak, as she proposed the topic of judicial review for the symposium topic and requested that he come speak to the law school's students. In her introduction, she said that he has always been a "perfect gentleman," who treats everyone with the same courtesy. She also noted that he is a warm and passionate speaker and teacher who cares deeply about the law, an insight that was confirmed when Justice Kennedy took the stage.
Justice Kennedy appeared relaxed, declining to use the podium and instead walking freely around the stage, gesturing fluidly to make his points. He compared the subject of judicial review with the idea of judicial independence, saying that judicial review "is an awful power in the sense that it is grave." He traced the history of judicial independence, starting with the English common law and marking the effect of major events such as the Magna Carta, Enlightenment, and the American Revolution. He noted that, as all law students have read, Marbury v. Madison established judicial review, though it did not appear that it would be used often until the litigation explosion of the twentieth century.
Though some may criticize the frequent exercise of this power, Kennedy said that he did not think that it meant that the Constitution failed in its purpose because other countries were using the American Constitution as a model and including provisions for judicial review. A professor of constitutional law for twenty-five years - competing with Monday Night Football, he joked - Justice Kennedy said that he never thought he would be advising other countries on the writing of constitutions. He also said that what justifies judicial review is that the law itself checks the courts, as it is ascertainable and embodied in the Constitution. He noted that judges have to give reasons for what they do and the adversarial system keeps them in check.
"It is important to find cases where the Constitution is meaningful in our time." He said that the allegiance that judicial decisions inspire is important to preserve judicial review for the next generation because it creates confidence in the law and its process.
After his formal talk, Justice Kennedy took questions from the audiences, expanding on his personal views on making judicial decisions. "Your philosophy should not inform the cases," he said bluntly. "Cases inform what a good philosophy should be."
Afterward, students shared what they thought of the Justice's speech, agreeing that the speech was a rare educational opportunity. 3L Terry Schoone-Jongen said, "Justice Kennedy's speech was thoroughly enjoyable. He has an entertaining way of putting words together, he is a great storyteller, and he is thought-provoking, but not in a combative way." He went on to say, "I think the fact that GW Law can get Justice Kennedy to come speak at this symposium says a lot about the reputation of the Law Review. I'm sure Justice Kennedy receives many invitations to speak at similar events, but he chose ours. It's an honor, but it's also a compliment."
Mark Taticchi, Editor-in-Chief of Law Review, remarked that the symposium itself went "extremely well" and that his favorite part was Justice Kennedy's speech. "The reason he came to GW was so he could talk to students. We have an incredible faculty and very distinguished symposium panelists . . . but Justice Kennedy came here because he wanted a conversation with our students. That's a rare and wonderful thing."
He continued, "I most enjoyed listening to him talk about the Court and the judiciary as institutions. His discussion of cert petitions is one example of that, and his reference to the Court's relationship to public opinion is another. So much of what we hear about the Court in Law School is several degrees of separation removed from actual events. They're cases that don't necessarily tell the story of how the Justices reached their decision or what inspired each of them to vote as they did. (On top of that, the case could be decades--or even centuries--old.) The memoirs or archived papers that do purport to give a more complete picture of things are also often far removed from the situations they describe. On October 15th, we talked with someone who lives in that world every day. He shared several quick glimpses into that world; gaining that insight was my favorite part."
Taticchi added, "I want to say thanks to Professor Lerner and the Dean's Office for their tireless efforts not only regarding Justice Kennedy's visit but also with the rest of the symposium. We had a dozen panelists, some of whom traveled from as far away as Wisconsin and Ontario to be at the symposium. It was a great event for the Law Review and GW Law, and it would not have been possible without their support."
