Federalist Society: Difference between revisions
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==Aims and membership== |
==Aims and membership== |
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The Society seeks to promote the [[ideology]] set forth in its "Statement of Principles" through its activities. In working to achieve these goals, the Society has created a network of [[ |
The Society seeks to promote the [[ideology]] set forth in its "Statement of Principles" through its activities. In working to achieve these goals, the Society has created a network of [[conservative]] adherents 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. |
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Under [[United States Code]], the Federalist Society is legally organized as a [[tax-exempt]] [[nonprofit organization]] and is expressly forbidden[http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=96099,00.html] to engage in "political and lobbying activities"[http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=120703,00.html]. |
Under [[United States Code]], the Federalist Society is legally organized as a [[tax-exempt]] [[nonprofit organization]] and is expressly forbidden[http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=96099,00.html] to engage in "political and lobbying activities"[http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=120703,00.html]. |
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Members of the society have debated the abolition of the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]], limiting the power of the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] and other agencies, |
Members of the society have debated the abolition of the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]], limiting the power of the [[Environmental Protection Agency]] and other agencies, limiting the reach of gender equity laws (Title IX) and voting rights laws, and expanded powers of war-time presidents. The organization also hosts panels discussing recent [[Supreme Court]] decisions, the constitutionality of [[school vouchers]], and the scope of the [[commerce clause]]. The Federalist Society does not officially lobby and does not litigate cases; instead, its membership does expend considerable energy in creating position papers and talking points on issues of interest. |
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The Federalist Society is an organization that seeks to debate constitutional issues and public policy questions, a commitment which extends to inviting speakers who do not agree with the society's principles; past invitees include Justice [[Stephen Breyer]] and law professor [[Alan Dershowitz]], as trenchant opponents of the Federalist Society's goals as could be imagined. UCLA law professor [[Eugene Volokh]] explains this openness to dissenting voices by saying that "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." [http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/fedsoc.htm] On the merits of some issues, such as [[drug legalization]] and [[abortion]], there is a clear split in opinion between conservative and libertarian Society members, though in keeping with federalism, both groups think these matters should be left to the states. |
The Federalist Society is an organization that seeks to debate constitutional issues and public policy questions, a commitment which extends to inviting speakers who do not agree with the society's principles; past invitees include Justice [[Stephen Breyer]] and law professor [[Alan Dershowitz]], as trenchant opponents of the Federalist Society's goals as could be imagined. UCLA law professor [[Eugene Volokh]] explains this openness to dissenting voices by saying that "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." [http://www.law.ucla.edu/volokh/fedsoc.htm] On the merits of some issues, such as [[drug legalization]] and [[abortion]], there is a clear split in opinion between conservative and libertarian Society members, though in keeping with federalism, both groups think these matters should be left to the states, though with the Republican party now controlling every branch of the federal government, those attitudes seems to have changed for many. |
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===Members=== |
===Members=== |
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Revision as of 03:32, 14 August 2006
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply 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 it saw as the orthodox American liberal ideology found in most law schools. In its Statement of Principles, the Society states that it is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of powers is central to the United States' constitutional form of government, and that the role of the judicial branch is to say what the law is, not what the law should be.
The Society currently has chapters at 145 United States law schools, including all of those U.S. News & World Report ranks among the top 20 [1]. The Federalist Society also serves as a parent organization for conservatives and libertarians who are interested in the current state of the legal order, though there is no official "litmus test" for membership [2]. Its headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
Background
The Society’s name is a reference to the principle of Federalism, as stated in Federalist Paper Number 78: "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 judgement, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body."
Therefore, the Society's name is also a reference to the Federalist Papers, a series of articles intended to explain the new Constitution to the residents of New York state and persuade them to ratify it. A compilation of the Papers, called The Federalist, was published in 1788. The articles were secretly written under the pseudonym "Publius" by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and, to a considerably lesser extent, John Jay.
Due to the strong influence of James Madison on the Society’s philosophy, the Federalist Society considers Madison to be their patriarch, hence the use of Madison’s silhouette in the Society’s official logo. Madison is generally credited as the father of the Constitution and became the fourth President of the United States.
Aims and membership
The Society seeks to promote the ideology set forth in its "Statement of Principles" through its activities. In working to achieve these goals, the Society has created a network of conservative adherents 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.
Under United States Code, the Federalist Society is legally organized as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and is expressly forbidden[3] to engage in "political and lobbying activities"[4].
Members of the society have debated the abolition of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, limiting the reach of gender equity laws (Title IX) and voting rights laws, and expanded powers of war-time presidents. The organization also hosts panels discussing recent Supreme Court decisions, the constitutionality of school vouchers, and the scope of the commerce clause. The Federalist Society does not officially lobby and does not litigate cases; instead, its membership does expend considerable energy in creating position papers and talking points on issues of interest.
The Federalist Society is an organization that seeks to debate constitutional issues and public policy questions, a commitment which extends to inviting speakers who do not agree with the society's principles; past invitees include Justice Stephen Breyer and law professor Alan Dershowitz, as trenchant opponents of the Federalist Society's goals as could be imagined. UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh explains this openness to dissenting voices by saying that "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." [5] On the merits of some issues, such as drug legalization and abortion, there is a clear split in opinion between conservative and libertarian Society members, though in keeping with federalism, both groups think these matters should be left to the states, though with the Republican party now controlling every branch of the federal government, those attitudes seems to have changed for many.
Members
The Society has many prominent conservative members, including United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia (who served as the original faculty advisor to the organization), Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, former United States Circuit Court Judge Robert Bork, former United States Attorney General Edwin Meese, fomer United States Solicitor General Ted Olson, Senator Orrin Hatch, and former California Attorney General Dan Lungren.
The Society also has many prominent libertarians who are members and frequent speakers at Society events, such as Professor Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School, Professor Randy Barnett of Georgetown University Law Center, Bradley Smith, a professor at Capital University Law School who formerly served as Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and Roger Pilon, Director of Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute. Other members include Michael Chertoff, Leonard Leo and C. Boyden Gray, and Columbia Law School Dean David Schizer.
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, "He [Roberts] has no recollection of ever being a member." [6]. 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, but membership in the Society is not a necessary condition for being listed in the "leadership directory." [7] Like other private organizations, including the NAACP and the ACLU, the Federalist Society does not publish a membership list or otherwise disclose the identity of its members, preferring instead to let members publicly identify themselves with the Society if they so choose.
See also
External links
- New York Times, August 1, 2005, "Debating the Subtle Sway of the Federalist Society"
- Federalist Society response to August 1, 2005, New York Times article
- Washington Post, July 29, 2005, "What the Federalist Society Stands For"
- CNN.com, July 18, 2005, "Society a must for conservative lawyers"
- Washington Monthly, March 2000, "The Federalist Society: The Conservative Cabal That's Transforming American Law"
- Martin Garbus. The American Prophet, March 1, 2003, Vol 14. Issue 3, A Hostile Takeover: "How the Federalist Society is capturing the federal courts".