Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA) Newsletter Winter 2017

Page 1

t h e n e w s l e t t e r o f t h e i n s t i t u t e o f j u d i c i a l a d m i n i s t r at i o n at t h e n y u s c h o o l o f l aw

IN THIS ISSUE

1

Justice Goodwin Liu Delivers IJA’s Brennan Lecture on State Courts and Social Justice

2

Annual Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges

3

Remembrances:

Kenneth P. Thompson

Remembered by Doug Wigdor,

Wigdor LLP

4

Sheila Abdus-Salaam Remembered by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, New York Court of Appeals

5

IJA’s 59th Annual Appellate Judges Seminar

22

Spotlight on IJA 2017 Summer Fellows

23

News from Board, Faculty, and Friends of IJA

24

Support IJA!

IJA in 2018! March 8 (Thursday)

IJA’s 24th Annual Brennan Lecture on State Courts and Social Justice, featuring Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, New York Court of Appeals

winter 2017

State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights: A Reappraisal Justice Goodwin Liu, California Supreme Court, Delivers the IJA’s 23rd Annual Brennan Lecture on State Courts and Social Justice

O

n March 23, 2017, Justice Goodwin

transcends state boundaries. This redundancy

Liu of the California Supreme Court

in interpretative authority is one way that our

discussed the role of state constitu­

system of government channels disagreement

tionalism in American jurisprudence.

in our diverse democracy. My contention is that

Liu focused on the legitimacy of

the legitimacy of state consti­

state courts interpreting state

tutionalism mainly turns on a

constitutional rights more

proper understanding of the

expansively than federal consti­

structure of our federal system,

tutional rights. He touched on

not on matters of interpretative

state courts resorting to unique

methodology.” He then went on

state sources, such as distinc­

to explore this contention with

tive text, purpose, or history of

the audience.

the state constitutional provi­

IJA’s annual lecture series

sion, then focused on whether

celebrating state courts honors

a state court can simply dis-

Justice William Brennan, who served five years on the New

agree with US Supreme Court interpretations of a protected right and adopt a

Jersey Supreme Court before his appointment

“dissenting” view as a matter of state constitu­

to the US Supreme Court. Brennan urged state

tional law. Examining the latter approach, which

courts to engage in robust and independent inter­

has become more prevalent, Liu remarked that

pretation of the individual rights guaranteed

“when there is no state-specific text or history to

in state constitutions. Liu’s “reappraisal” was

guide the analysis, it is no embarrassment for a

delivered during the 40th anniversary of Bren­

state court to disagree with federal precedent

nan’s classic article “State Constitutions and

on the basis of constitutional reasoning that

Continued on page 2.

March 21-23 (Wednesday-Friday)

21st Annual Employment Law Workshop for Federal Judges, co-sponsored with the Federal Judicial Center and the NYU Center for Labor and Employment Law

April 13 (Friday)

Effective Appellate Advocacy: Views from the Bench and the Bar, Washington DC

July 15-20 (Sunday-Friday) IJA’s 60th Annual New Appellate Judges Seminar. For information and reg­ istration: www.law.nyu. edu/centers/judicial/ appellatejudgesseminar


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Institute of Judicial Administration (IJA) Newsletter Winter 2017 by NYU Institute of Judicial Administration - Issuu