The Constitution in 2020
April 8-10, 2005 • Yale Law School
A conference bringing together leading figures in American law to catalyze debate among progressives about the Constitution's future.
It is time for progressives to set a constitutional agenda for the 21st Century. In 1987-88, the Reagan Justice Department produced a white paper known as “
The Constitution in 2000” which, by taking a long view rather than focusing on the immediate issues of the day, was immensely successful in influencing the Constitution under which we now live. If progressives are to rehabilitate that Constitution, they must now, more than ever, articulate constitutional ideals capable of inspiring the next generation. The goal is to set forth a positive constitutional vision for tomorrow, rather than merely to respond to the crises of today. Accordingly the Yale chapter of the American Constitution Society, the Yale Law School, Yale's Arthur Liman Public Interest Program, the American Constitution Society, the Open Society Institute and the Center for American Progress invite you to a conference on “The Constitution in 2020.”
Click here for a printable brochure about the conference.
Click here for information about technology use at the conference.
Faculty Organizers
Reva Siegel (Chair)
Bruce Ackerman • Jack Balkin • Drew Days
William Eskridge • Paul Gewirtz • Robert Gordon
Robert Post • Judith Resnik
Student Organizers
Joey Fishkin
(President)
Seth Grossman & Chad Golder
(Conference Co-Chairs)
Justin Florence • Matt Spence • Karen Dunn
(ACS Board)
Marie Boyd • Julia Martinez • Jonathan Schmidt
(Student Outreach)
Karen Dunn • Alicia Bannon • Justin Florence • Dan Freeman
(Publicity)
David Tannenbaum & Lindell Toombs
(Housing)
Dan Freeman
(Student Events)
Ian Bassin • Sarah Lipton-Lubet • Matthew Spence
(Reading Group)
America in the World: Ariel Lavinbuk, Matt Spence, Nick Stephanopoulos
Liberties & Communities: Sameera Fazili, Leah Fletcher, Sarah Lipton-Lubet
New Politics: Ian Bassin, Justin Florence, Christine Parker
Social & Economic Inequality: Lea Bishop, Anisha Dasgupta, Joey Fishkin
Themes of the Conference
America in the World: This theme addresses the challenges posed by the dual issues of terrorism and globalization. Critical issues include: the tension between democracy and globalization, national security, warmaking, immigration, and the interaction of foreign law with the U.S. Constitution.
Liberties and Communities: The questions encompassed by this theme include the relationship between the Constitution and the broader social fabric of the United States, and in particular the constitutional protections provided to individuals acting alone and as members of various groups. Critical issues include: family, religion, federalism, and crime.
New Politics: This theme focuses on the challenges to democratic processes in an age of economic and technological change. Critical issues include: money in politics, voting rights, media concentration, gerrymandering, and the constitution of the public sphere in a digital age.
Social and Economic Inequality: This theme concerns the constitutional obligations of the government to protect against discrimination and to guarantee minimum standards of living. Critical issues include: the nature of constitutional equality, the causes and remedies of inequality, the disparate roles of courts and Congress in vindicating rights of equal citizenship.
