Constitutional Law

Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17th each year. That is the day the Constitution was signed during the Constitutional Convention. More information and events can be found on the Consitution Day website of the National Constitution Center. Here is a brief history of the celebration of Constitution Day at Ithaca College:

• Constitution Day 2023: A Supreme Court Unlike Any Other; Prof. Kevin McMahon, John R. Reitemeyer Professor of Political Science at Trinity College, discussed the distinctive nature of the current Supreme Court and the challenges it presents for We the People.
• Constitution Day 2022: Is there Really a Constitutional Right to Abortion? A talk by Craig Duncan, Legal Studies Coordinator, Professor of Philosophy, Ithaca College.  7 pm, September 21, 2022, Williams 323, Ithaca College. 
• Constitution Day 2021: Exploring the Boundaries of Constitutionality from Multiple Perspectives (A Legal Studies Program Showcase) (9/18/2021 Prof. Carlos Figueroa, moderator; Cathy Michael, History &Meaning of Constiution Day, co-moderators: Serah Lawal  & Crlos Abreu, Prof. Amy Rothschild, "Human Rights in Timor-Leste's Struggle for Independence from Indonesia"; Prof. Angela Rulffes, "How the US Legal System mediates silencing"; Prof. Craig Duncan, "The Fortunes of Legal Order"; Prof. Michael Trotti, "White Juries: Shifts in Laws of the American South after the Civil War"; Prof. Scott Thompson, "Constitutional Questions in Competitive Debate."
• Constitution Day 2020: National Constitution Center Events.  I posted the events from the National Constitution Center with an opportunity to drop into my Zoom Room for a discussion.  Other events that day included a Student Town Hall with Justice Neil Gorsuch, and, in the evening, Justice Ginsburg recieved the Liberty Medal.  Finally, FLEFF & the PCIM discussed Professor Idrissou Mora Kpai's documentary America Street. 
• Confronting the Rise of Hate Crimes and White Supremacy (8/30/19, Guest Speaker: Kristen Clarke, president & executive director of the National Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law).  Also:  "What is Democracy? A Film and Interactive Experience" (9/16/19: selections of the Common Experience film with Q & As facilitated by Professors Jonathan Ablard (History) and Carlos Figueroa (Politics).
• Locking up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America (9/13/18, Guest Speaker: Pulizer Prize winning author and Yale Law Professor, James Forman, Jr.)
• Mighty Times: The First Amendment & Civic Action (9/19/17, Guest Speaker: Mary Beth Tinker of the free speech in schools case Tinker v. Des Moines School District, 393 US 503, 1969).
• Rights of the Accused: Fact or Fiction?  An In depth look at Constitutional Protections of Criminal Defendants (9/14/16, Guest Speakers:  Tom Kertscher, reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel who covered the Steven Avery trial in the Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer; Brad Rudin, J.D., Assistant DA for Tompkins County; Joe Joch, J.D., trial lawyer).
• The Carceral State: Race, Citizenship and American Life in the 21st Century  (9/17/15, Guest Speakers:  Maria Gottschalk and Adolph Reed, Jr.; moderated by Carlos Figueroa)
• Targeted Killings, the Constitution, and You: U.S. Drone Policy and Citizens' Rights (9/17/14, Guest Speaker: Jens David Ohlin; moderated by Carlos Figueroa)
• Reproductive Justice: Celebrating and defending Roe at 40 (9/24/2013, Guest Speaker: Zillah Eisenstein and her daughter, Dr. Stumbar).
• Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and the First Amendment  (9/27/2012, Guest Speaker:  Shayana Kadidal) 
• Citizens United: Corporate Speech, Political Ads and the Law  Guide done in collaboration with Maura Stephens, Associate Director, Park Center for Independent Media (9/27/2011, Guest Speaker: John Nichols)
• Immigration: Constitutional Issues created for: Crossing the Boarder: Where does the Constitution Stand (9/27/2010, Panelists: Luis Argueta, Shaianne Osterreich, Mary Jo Dudley). The event included an excerpt form Luis Argueta's documentary, abUSed: The Postville Raid
• Gay Marriage: Legal and Constitutional Issues created for: Approaching the Constitutional Threshold: Ending the Heterosexual Marriage Monopoly?  (9/23/2009, Panelists: Mariette Geldenhuys, L. Richard Stumbar, and Sybil Conrad).
• Struggles for Racial Justice.  (9/17/2008: Speakers: Martin Brownstein, Shelley Keeling, Beth Harris, and Bryna Fireside). This event honored the works of Professor Emeritus Harvey Fireside who taught in the Department of Politics. It included with a screening of The Jena 6.