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Federalist Society
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The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives and libertarians seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with an originalist interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalist Society began at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School in 1982 as a student organization that challenged what its members perceived as the orthodox American liberal ideology found in most law schools.
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The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, is an organization of conservatives and libertarians seeking reform of the current American legal system in accordance with an originalist interpretation of the Constitution. The Federalist Society began at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School in 1982 as a student organization that challenged what its members perceived as the orthodox American liberal ideology found in most law schools. The Society "is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."
The Society currently has chapters at over 180 United States law schools and claims a membership of over 20,000 practicing attorneys (organized as "alumni chapters" within the Society's "Lawyers Division") in sixty cities. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Through speaking events, lectures, and other activities, the Federalist Society provides a forum
for legal experts of opposing views to interact with members of the legal profession, the judiciary, law students, and academics.
Background
The Society looks to Federalist Paper Number 78 for an articulation of the virtue of judicial restraint, as written by Alexander Hamilton: "It can be of no weight to say that the courts, on the pretense of a repugnancy, may substitute their own pleasure to the constitutional intentions of the legislature.... The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise WILL instead of JUDGMENT, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body."
Its logo is a silhouette of former President and Constitution author James Madison, who co-wrote the Federalist Papers. Commissioner Paul S. Atkins of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission considered Federalist Society members "the heirs of James Madison's legacy" in a speech he gave in January 2008 to the Federalist Society Lawyers' Chapter of Dallas, Texas. Madison is generally credited as the father of the Constitution and became the fourth President of the United States.
The Society's name is said to have been based on the 18th-century Federalist Party; however, James Madison associated with Thomas Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party in opposition to Federalist Party policies borne from a loose interpretation of the Commerce Clause. The Federalist Society's views are more associated with the general meaning of Federalism (particularly the New Federalism) and the content of the Federalist Papers than with the later Federalist Party.
Funding and history
The Federalist Society is funded by member dues and by grants.
The society was begun by a group including Edwin Meese, Robert Bork, Ted Olson and Steven Calabresi, and its members have included Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Jr. and Samuel Alito.
Aims and membership
In working to promote the ideology set forth in its "Statement of Principles", the Society has created a network of intellectuals that extends to all levels of the legal community. The Student Division has more than 5,000 law students as members and, through the national office's network of legal experts, the Society provides speakers for differing viewpoints at law school events. The activities of the Student Division are complemented by the activities of the Lawyers Division, which comprises more than 20,000 legal professionals, and the Faculty Division, which includes many in the academic legal community.
The Society seeks to debate constitutional issues and public policy questions, and this commitment extends to inviting speakers who do not agree with the society's principles. For example, past invitees include Justice Stephen Breyer and law professor Alan Dershowitz, two legal authorities who disagree with many of the Society's views. Society member and UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh explained this willingness to discuss other views by writing, "We think that a fair debate between us and our liberal adversaries will win more converts for our positions than for the other side’s." In the words of Dan Lowenstein, a Democrat and political appointee of former California governor Jerry Brown, "The Federalist Society is one of the few student organizations putting on public events that contribute to the intellectual life of the law school." The Federalist Society's guide to forming and running a chapter of the society claims that the organization "creates an informal network of people with shared views which can provide assistance in job placement."
Federalist Society members helped to encourage President George W. Bush’s decision to terminate the American Bar Association’s nearly half-century-old monopoly on rating judicial nominees' qualifications for office. Since the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American Bar Association has provided the service to presidents of both parties and the nation by vetting the qualifications of those under consideration for lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary. The Federalist Society believed the ABA showed a liberal bias in its recommendations.
For example, while former Supreme Court clerks nominated to the Court of Appeals by Democrats had an average rating of slightly below "well qualified," similar Republican nominees were rated on average as only "qualified/well qualified."
In addition the ABA gave Ronald Reagan's judicial nominees Richard Posner and Frank H. Easterbrook its lowest possible ratings of "qualified/not qualified".
Judges Posner and Easterbrook have gone on to become the two most highly-cited judges in the federal appellate judiciary.
=Members
The Society has many prominent conservative members including:
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The Society also has many prominent libertarians who are members and frequent speakers at Society events, such as:
Other members include:
While not necessarily members, several figures in the public eye have written for Federalist Society publications:
Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts was reported to be a member of the Federalist Society during the 2005 confirmation process, but Roberts's membership status was never definitively established. Deputy White House press secretary Dana Perino said Roberts "has no recollection of ever being a member."
The Washington Post later located the Federalist Society Lawyers' Division Leadership Directory, 1997-1998, which listed Roberts as a member of the Washington chapter steering committee.
Membership in the Society is not a necessary condition for being listed in the leadership directory.
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Further reading
See also
External links
- from the official website
- New York Times, August 1, 2005,
- Federalist Society
- Washington Post, July 29, 2005,
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