John P. Frank Memorial Lecture Series

"States' Rights in the 21st Century: Immigration, Health Care and Gay Marriage"
Monday, Feb. 20, 2012
 

Mark your calendars for the 13th annual John P. Frank Memorial Lecture, which will be held Monday, February 20, 2012 at 7 p.m. The event will feature Erwin Chemerinsky, Founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law in the School of Law at the University of California, Irvine.

His remarks will be focused on the use of "states' rights" arguments against progressive social change. 

"Some of the most contentious social and constitutional issues today -- the constitutionality of Arizona's SB 1070, of the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, and of prohibitions of marriage equality for gays and lesbians -- are ultimately being fought over as issues of federalism. This is not unusual for the United States," writes Chemerinsky. 

"Throughout American history, crucial questions have been argued over in terms of states' rights. This is because federalism arguments give opponents of progressive change a way to challenge it while not arguing the merits. But these challenges should be no more persuasive today than they were in opposing the abolition of slavery, the New Deal, or the end of segregation."

About Erwin Chemerinsky

Inspired by U.S. civil rights lawyers of the 1950s and 1960s and how they transformed society, Erwin Chemerinsky pursued a law career with the belief that law is the most powerful tool for social change—a belief he still holds today.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Chemerinsky served on the law faculties at DePaul, USC, and Duke before joining the University of California, Irvine School of Law in 2008—with the titles of Founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law and a determination to build from the ground up a law curriculum for the 21^st century.

Chemerinsky holds expertise in Constitutional law, federal practice, civil rights and civil liberties, and appellate litigation. He has authored seven books, most recently The Conservative Assault on the Constitution (Simon & Schuster, 2010), and nearly 200 law review articles. In addition, Professor Chemerinsky writes regular columns for California Lawyer, Los Angeles Daily Journal and Trial Magazine, and is a frequent contributor to and commentator on legal issues for national and local media.

He regularly argues criminal and civil appellate cases pro bono in the Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and state supreme courts. In his early career Chemerinsky served as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Washington firm of Dobrovir, Oakes & Gebhardt. 

Learn about other Justice and Social Inquiry-hosted special events surrounding Dean Erwin Chemerinsky's visit. 

On February 11, 2011, Justice and Social Inquiry was proud to host the 12th annual John. P. Frank Memorial Lecture:

"A Conversation with Nina Totenberg," award-winning legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio

(facilitated by attorney and former  KAET-TV "Horizon" anchor Michael Grant)

12th annual John P. Frank Memorial Lecture from Keith Jennings on Vimeo.

Nina Totenberg's coverage of the Supreme Court and legal affairs has won her widespread recognition. In 1991, her ground-breaking report about law professor Anita Hill's allegations of sexual harassment by judge Clarence Thomas caused the Senate Judiciary committee to re-open Thomas's Supreme Court confirmation hearings. NPR received the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for its gavel-to-gavel coverage – anchored by Totenberg – of the hearings as well as subsequent reports and Totenberg's exclusive interview with Hill. 

Her many industry honors also include earning the Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the National Press Foundation in 1998 – when she became the first radio journalist to be named Broadcaster of the Year – and seven Silver Gavel awards from the American Bar Association for excellence in legal reporting.

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Read Nina Totenberg's full bio sketch on the National Public Radio website.

Read or listen to Ms. Totenberg's coverage of the arguments heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in December 2010 in the case testing the legality of Arizona's 2007 immigration law.

Missed the 2010 Frank Lecture?  

View the lecture now.

The 11th annual John P. Frank Memorial Lecture 

Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and former Governor of Arizona

"Meeting New and Evolving Threats to our National Security"

In March 2010 the John P. Frank Memorial Lecture featured Janet Napolitano, the third Secretary of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security and former Governor of Arizona, whom John Frank mentored and was a good friend to for many years. Napolitano was the first woman to chair the National Governors Association and was named one of the top five governors in the country by Time magazine. 

 ASU news story     Event flyer    Arizona Republic newspaper article