The
Federalist
Society
for
Law and Public Policy
Studies

2008 Annual Report
“The Courts must
declare the sense of the
law; and if they should be
disposed to exercise will
instead of JUDGMENT,
the consequences would
be the substitution of their
pleasure for that of the
legislative body.”

The Federalist 78

 THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY

L

aw schools and the legal profession are currently strongly dominated by a
form of orthodox liberal ideology which advocates a centralized and uniform
society. While some members of the academic community have dissented from
these views, by and large they are taught simultaneously with (and indeed as if they
were) the law.
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of
conservatives and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal
order. It 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 seeks both to promote an awareness of these
principles and to further their application through its activities.
This entails reordering priorities within the legal system to place a premium
on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law. It also requires
restoring the recognition of the importance of these norms among lawyers,
judges, law students and professors. In working to achieve these goals, the
Society has created a conservative intellectual network that extends to all levels of the
legal community.

 Dear Friends and Supporters:
We all know economic times are hard. But from viewing the ballroom
during any of our many panels during our Annual National Lawyers Convention last November, you would never know that. Those inside the beltway
who have never quite understood what makes the Federalist Society successful
were expecting the economy and, in their view, the election to have a negative
effect on this year’s convention. Both the mood of the gathering and the 1,400
participants (our second best only to last year’s 25th anniversary) proved them
wrong.
The reason is simple. The Federalist Society has always been about ideas.
Indeed, when asked recently about the changing Washington landscape by The
Legal Times, I said that I thought the organization would thrive in the new era
because the Federalist Society is, and always has been, about ideas. The assumption in Washington is that the closer you are to power, the more influence you
have. But, as my father told me, at the end of the day, power has the second to
last word in the affairs of men. Ideas have the last word.
With the change of Administration, the opportunity for the Federalist Society to generate critical and incisive discussion of ideas will be greater than
ever. There will be many legal issues pertaining to the financial bailout but
there will also be a vast number of other policy proposals emanating from the
new Administration. Many of these issues will be high profile, and the Federalist Society is poised to conduct significant programming and scholarship on
them. Other very important issues will undoubtedly pass under the radar.
The Federalist Society now has 4,000 active volunteers with expertise in
every nook and cranny of the law. Our volunteers may well notice key proposals that are not receiving attention and discussion. Our laws and regulations
will be far better if we assure that critical proposals receive a vigorous airing
before becoming law. Now more than ever, we will call on our volunteers for
assistance in alerting us to such proposals and then generating discussion about
them.
In our effort to change the legal culture, we will continue to bring traditional legal principles, through debate and discussion, to law students, lawyers,
and others in our ever-broadening community. Now more than ever, we must
present the best minds and the best arguments to our audiences so that all sides
of important legal questions will be brought to light.
In 2008 the Society was able to bring our programs to the largest number
of law students in our 26-year history. We are pleased to note that there is a
Federalist Society Student Chapter on every law school campus in America.
Participation in our Lawyers Chapters and Practice Groups has also expanded
throughout the country. Our State Courts and media efforts also ensure that
these principles reach far beyond the academic world. The development of our
Faculty Division will help assure a vigorous discussion of our ideas in the law
schools.
This fiscal year, which ended September 30th, our revenues increased by 15
percent, following an upward trend that began six years ago. In these uncertain

Letter from the President

Federalist Society President Eugene B. Meyer and Executive Vice President Leonard A. Leo meet
with featured speaker U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and his wife Susan, and U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. before the 2008 Annual Dinner. Pictured from left to
right: Eugene Meyer, General and Mrs. Mukasey, Leonard Leo, and Justice Alito.

economic times, we will be cautious about our commitments but we will do
everything we can to raise enough money to continue to produce Federalist
Society programs everywhere they are requested and needed at law schools, at
Lawyers Chapters, in Practice Groups and special projects across the country.
We will depend on the support of people, like you, who understand the
value of our continuing mission to introduce traditional legal principles to a
new class of law students each and every year, to keep those ideals before conservative and libertarian lawyers in all parts of the country and through our
scholarship and special projects to try to inform and educate the public on the
role of the courts.
You should know that the contributions you have made to the Federalist Society represent good value. We still get more bang for our buck than
many organizations because so many of our highly competent members
volunteer their talents to lead programs all over the country. Every dollar we
raise counts.
This will be a challenging time ahead. As discussed above, there is much
to be done and a difficult climate in which to do it. But with the help of our
members and donors, we are confident that we can continue building the next
generation and advancing the rule of law.
Sincerely,

Eugene B. Meyer
President

 STUDENT CHAPTERS ADVANCE VIGOROUS
DISCUSSION OF IDEAS ON CAMPUS

T

hanks to the hard work of the Federalist Society’s volunteer chapter leaders, ever increasing numbers of law school students are
hearing intellectually engaging discussions of conservative and
libertarian approaches to legal questions. A total of 60,000 students, professors,
and community members were exposed to our ideas at the 1,145 student chapter
events held across the country in the 2007-2008 academic year.These numbers
represent significant growth from last year, and testify to the continued vibrancy of our student program. Just a few of these events are described below.
Student chapter events discussed both timely legal issues and the perennial
questions of jurisprudence. The varied legal issues arising out of the War on
Terror continue to draw significant student interest. David Rivkin, Jr. of Baker
Hostetler debated Prof. George Fletcher before 150 students at Columbia
on the detention of suspects at Guantanamo. Prof. Michael Lewis from Ohio
Northern University took on a professor who consults for the ACLU and an
attorney for four Guantanamo detainees for a debate on “National Security
v. Civil Liberties” at Drake. Over two hundred Pennsylvania students attended a debate between author Dinesh D’Souza and Prof. Bill Burke-White
of the University of Pennsylvania Law School faculty on the question: “Does
the War on Terror Undermine Our Freedom?” Georgetown students heard
first-hand accounts of the importance of lawyers and the rule of law from
three Iraqi attorneys who are leaders in their regional bar associations. Former
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft spoke to a packed hall of over 800 at
Cornell on the politics of national security.

Former
U.S.
Solicitor
General Theodore Olson
(right) chats with students
after addressing more than
125 people at the Harvard
Chapter’s Annual Banquet
on April 11, 2008.

2

Student Chapters Programs

U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Samuel A. Alito, Jr. mingles
with Max Chiz (left)
and Brandon Thibodeaux
(right) of Tulane Law
School at the annual
Olson Barbeque during
the Student Leadership
Conference inWashington,
D.C. in July.

In a related matter, the role of international law and institutions in American law and policy drew significant discussion. Former U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations John Bolton addressed a large crowd at Columbia on the role
of international institutions in American foreign policy. Prof. John McGinnis of Northwestern Law School debated Prof. David Fontana of George
Washington University Law School before over 110 students on whether American courts should consider foreign law when interpreting the U.S.
Constitution. In a unique event, R. Ted Cruz, former Solicitor General of
Texas, and Professors Randy Barnett of Georgetown, John Baker of Louisiana
State, and Ernie Young and Elizabeth Hardy of Texas participated in a moot
Supreme Court argument on Medellin v. Texas, an important international
law case, before 100 Texas students. Sixty students turned out at California
Western to hear their Prof. William Aceves debate Prof. Ronald Rychlak
of Ole Miss on “Resolved: The International Criminal Court is an Obstacle
to Peace.”
The constitutional law surrounding the takings clause was a hot topic in
the wake of Kelo v. New London. Prof. Richard Epstein of Chicago debated
that decision at Harvard with Prof. David Barron of the faculty. Over 100
students from Georgetown attended a debate between Judge Alex Kozinski
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Chip Mellor of the
Institute for Justice (IJ), which funded the Kelo litigation. Scott Bullock, also
from IJ joined Michael Greve of the American Enterprise Institute and Prof.
Zygmunt Plater of the Boston College Law School for a panel discussion
on Kelo before 125 students of the Boston College Chapter. Bullock also

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 discussed the decision at Miami and
Rutgers–Newark.
Decisions pending before the
U.S. Supreme Court drew just
as much attention as recently
decided precedent. Student groups
sponsored a number of events focused
on affirmative action and Parents
Involved. For instance, the Duke
Chapter sponsored a panel with
Roger Clegg from the Center
for Equal Opportunity, Prof. Neil
Siegel of the Duke faculty, and AnuriFormer U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft na Bhargava of the NAACP Legal
speaks to a group of more than 200 students at Defense Fund to discuss the legal
Yale Law School in October exploring the
implications of Parents Involved. Clegg
subject of “Leadership in Difficult Times.”
participated in a similar panel before
160 students at New York University alongside Dennis Parker of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program, Prof.
Shavar Jeffries of Seton Hall University, and Prof. Kim Yuracko of NYU.
Victor Bolden, an ACLU attorney, also defended affirmative action in a
debate with Prof. Nicholas Capaldi of Loyola University (New Orleans) at
Fordham. Professors Richard Sanders of UCLA Law, Richard Lempert of
Michigan Law and Daniel Malamud of NYU participated in a panel analyzing
quantitative data on affirmative action at New York University. Prof. Sanders debated Prof. Kevin Brown of the Indiana (Bloomington) School of
Law before 210 students at that school on whether affirmative action is actually detrimental to the students who receive preference in admission. Judge
Jeffrey Sutton, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, discussed earlier
cases dealing with schools and civil rights in a speech to the Vanderbilt and
Michigan Chapters.
Students were equally interested in the District of Columbia v. Heller gun
rights litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. Co-counsel Clark Neily
of the Institute for Justice debated Prof. Mark Tushnet of the Harvard Law
faculty before nearly 100 Harvard students on the question, “Whose Right
to Bear Arms?” Fellow co-counsel Robert Levy of the Cato Institute debated
Tom Goldstein of Akin Gump on the D.C. gun ban before 100 students at
Texas, while trial counsel Alan Gura debated Prof. Jack Rakove of Stanford
before a similar-sized crowd at UCLA. Levy debated Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky at Duke on whether the Second Amendment protects a communal or
individual right to bear arms; he tackled the same topic with New York City
Councilman David Yassky before 60 students at Brooklyn.
In addition to its individual cases, the Roberts Court as a whole was
the subject of significant discussion. More than 150 Columbia students
turned out to hear M. Edward Whelan III, President of the Ethics and Public

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

Policy Center, debate Emily Bazelon
of Slate magazine on the Roberts
Court.Whelan debated the same topic
with Prof. Robert Post at Yale, while
he discussed activism on the Court at
Stanford and Santa Clara and the
impact of the 2008 election on the
Court at Harvard. Also at Harvard,
ABC News legal correspondent Jan
Crawford Greenburg previewed her
new book, Supreme Conflict:The Inside
Story of the Struggle for Control of the
Supreme Court. Joan Larsen, Richard Primus, Christine Whitman, and
Evan Carminker of the Michigan Judge J. Clifford Wallace of the U.S. Court
Law faculty gave over 200 students of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit poses with
Elsbernd (right) after a presentation
a round-up of the Court’s previous Samson
at University of the Pacific, McGeorge
term. Judges Alex Kozinski and Ste- School of Law in Sacramento.
phen Reinhardt, of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, discussed the same term at Stanford. James
Ho of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher gave a similar “Supreme Court Round-up”
at Oklahoma and Chicago, while Prof. Stephanos Bibas of the University
of Pennsylvania Law School focused on the jurisprudence of Justice Antonin
Scalia in a speech to 55 Temple students. Former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III took a step back from this particular term to ask Georgetown
students, “Would the Founding Fathers recognize today’s Supreme Court?”
Similarly, Dean Kenneth Starr of Pepperdine Law School put the Roberts
Court in a historic framework for 125 Columbia students, describing it as
“The Enduring Hamiltonian-Jeffersonian Colloquy.”
Of course, the Court’s greatest attraction is its members. Justices Anthony
Kennedy and Stephen Breyer spoke to students at Yale, while Justice Antonin
Scalia participated in a question and answer session on the Constitution with
Valparaiso students. Justice Clarence Thomas stopped at Chapman for his
book tour to discuss his autobiography, My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir.
While the day-to-day and year-to-year questions of the Court and the
law fluctuate between school years, some topics never fail to attract interested
students. For instance, Yale students turned out to hear successive speeches the same week in May by Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on “Textualism and Separation of Powers” and
by Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit on “The Role of the Judge in the Constitutional Framework.” Judge
Douglas Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit spoke
to Harvard and Northwestern students on law and economics, while
Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit spoke
to Northwestern students on judicial restraint. Ginsburg’s D.C. Circuit

Student Chapters Programs

3

 colleague, Judge Janice Rogers Brown, drew a standing room only crowd for
a speech on “Faith and Freedom in the 21st Century” before Regent students.
Approximately 230 students from Columbia turned out to hear Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit describe “How
Judges Think;” a similar number heard Judge Posner debate David Lat of Above
the Law at Chicago on judges as public figures. “Constitutional Clichés: Does
Trite Make Right?” was the question Prof. Randy Barnett from Georgetown
put to a crowd of 75 students at Kentucky. Judge Michael McConnell of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit joined Professors Jack Balkin and
Akhil Amar of the Yale faculty to talk about varieties of originalism before 100
Yale students. Yale students also heard Prof. Richard Epstein of Chicago Law
School debate Prof. Jules Coleman of the Yale faculty concerning the roles of
economics and moral reasoning in the law of torts. At Georgetown, Roger
Pilon from the Cato Institute debated Prof. Mike Seidman on whether judges
should secure unenumerated rights. Dr. Pilon gave the same talk at Baylor,
San Diego, and Arizona State.
Across the country’s 200 law schools, Federalist Society students sponsor
high-quality events like these. Such programming offers the rising generation
of attorneys and policy-makers ideas for addressing the pressing and perennial
issues facing America’s legal community that may not have been discussed in
the classroom.

Student Division Director Peter Redpath (left) and Assistant Director Kate Beer (right) organize
student volunteers from the Harvard and University of Virginia Chapters to help out at the
National Lawyers Convention in November.

SELECTED STUDENT CHAPTERS SPEAKERS
Prof. Jonathan Adler, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Prof. Hadley Arkes, Amherst College
Hon. John Ashcroft, former U.S. Attorney General
Prof. John Baker, Jr., Louisiana State University Law Center
Prof. Randy Barnett, Georgetown University Law Center
Hon. Bob Barr, former U.S. Congressman
Judge Carlos Bea, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Clint Bolick, Goldwater Institute
Hon. John Bolton, American Enterprise Institute, former U.S. Ambassador
to the United Nations
Hon. Rachel Brand, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy,
U.S. Department of Justice
Justice Stephen Breyer, U.S. Supreme Court
Judge Janice Rogers Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Scott Bullock, Institute for Justice
Judge Jay Bybee, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Judge Edith Brown Clement, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Hon. Paul Clement, former U.S. Solicitor General
Ward Connerly, American Civil Rights Institute
Justice Maura D. Corrigan, Michigan Supreme Court
Hon. R. Ted Cruz, former Texas Solicitor General
Justice Robert Edmunds, Jr., North Carolina Supreme Court
Justice Allison Eid, Colorado Supreme Court
Prof. Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Law School
Prof. Charles Fried, Harvard Law School
Prof. Nicole Garnett, Notre Dame Law School
Prof. Rick Garnett, Notre Dame Law School
Todd Gaziano, The Heritage Foundation

4

Prof. Robert P. George, Princeton University
Judge Douglas Ginsburg, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Judge Neil Gorsuch, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
Jan Crawford Greenburg, ABC News
Michael Greve, American Enterprise Institute
Judge Thomas Griffith, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Alan Gura, Gura & Possessky, PLLC
Kevin J. Hasson, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Judge Edith Jones, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Hon. Gregory Katsas, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division,
U.S. Department of Justice
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Justice Anthony Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court
Prof. Orin Kerr, George Washington University School of Law
Prof. Doug Kmiec, Pepperdine University School of Law
Judge Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Robert A. Levy, The Cato Institute
Justice Stephen Markman, Michigan Supreme Court
Judge Michael McConnell, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
Hon. Bob McDonnell,Virginia Attorney General
Prof. John McGinnis, Northwestern University School of Law
Hon. Edwin Meese III, The Heritage Foundation,
former U.S. Attorney General
Clark Neily III, Institute for Justice
Judge Paul Niemeyer, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Hon. Theodore Olson, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP,
former U.S. Solicitor General
Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Student Chapters Programs

2008

Roger Pilon, The Cato Institute
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review
Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Judge William Pryor Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Justice John Roach, Kentucky Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Harold See, Jr., Alabama Supreme Court
Judge David Sentelle, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Christina Hoff Sommers, American Enterprise Institute
Dean Kenneth Starr, Pepperdine University School of Law
Prof. Margaret D. Stock, U.S. Military Academy, West Point
Judge Jeffrey Sutton, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Justice Clifford Taylor, Michigan Supreme Court
Judge Deanell Reece Tacha, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court
Former Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky, Federal Election Commission
Judge J. Clifford Wallace, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Prof. Amy Wax, University of Pennsylvania Law School
M. Edward Whelan III, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Prof. John Yoo, University of California, Berkeley School of Law – Boalt Hall
Cathy Young, Reason Magazine
Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler, Wisconsin Supreme Court

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 RECORD-SETTING YEAR FOR LAWYERS CHAPTERS

I

n 2008, the Federalist Society’s seventy Lawyers Chapters continued their
recent success, as measured by the strength of their leadership, programming, publications, media outreach, and involvement with the Society’s
special projects, including the State Courts Project. The chapters held a
record-setting 310 events in the last fiscal year, drawing an audience of over
22,000 lawyers.
The quality of the programming continues to be at the highest level,
reflecting the Society’s strong local leadership. This programming is critical
to ensuring a strong community presence. The chapters organize programs
with a variety of formats, including speeches, debates, and panel discussions,
often in conjunction with the Practice Groups, Student Division, and the
State Courts Project.
One of the highlights of the past programming year occurred in October
2008, when the Cincinnati Lawyers Chapter co-hosted a conference with
the John M. Ashbrook Center on the “Presidency and the Courts” headlined by President George W. Bush. Over 600 people attended the President’s
speech, which reflected on his legacy of judicial appointments. The conference included two panel discussions and a luncheon address by former U.S.
Attorney General Edwin Meese III. Panelists included Ethics & Public Policy
President M. Edward Whelan III, Wendy Long of the Judicial Confirmation
Network, and Dean Louis D. Bilionis of the University of Cincinnati College
of Law who discussed the interplay between the Executive and the Court,
including how the President shaped the Court through appointments (and
in some cases, threats of changing the number of justices on the Court), and
in turn how the Court shaped the implementation of administration policy
through its decisions. The second panel, featuring former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, Prof. David Forte of the Cleveland-Marshall College of
Law, Robert Alt of the Heritage Foundation, and Prof. Michael J. Gerhardt of
the University of North Carolina School of Law explored how the Founders understood the role of the U.S. Supreme Court. Discussion focused on
the renewed emphasis on originalism and a comparison of originalism to the
other interpretive methodologies practiced by the Court.
In addition to this conference, Lawyers Chapters were actively involved
in other aspects of the Society’s Role of the Courts Project in 2008. The
project focused attention on the U.S. Supreme Court, using as the backdrop the importance of issues surrounding the proper role of the courts as
well as the judicial confirmation process. Chapters focused on two major
components of this project. First, chapters organized programming on the
U.S. Supreme Court and its role, on the current business before the Court
and emerging trends, and on the importance of the respective roles of the

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

Pepperdine Dean Kenneth Starr and Prof. Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz of the Georgetown
University Law Center were invited to lead a discussion on “the Authority of Kings, Presidents
and Judges” after a reading of King Lear. Members of the Federalist Society Boston Chapter
joined other Massachusetts lawyers for their annual Shakespeare reading last spring.

President and Congress in the nomination and confirmation of judges.
Chapters in Indiana, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, Missouri,
Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and Colorado raised
these issues in panels, debates, and speeches throughout 2008. Chapters also
discussed the Court’s jurisprudence. Many chapters hosted speeches and
debates on District of Columbia v. Heller (the “D.C. Gun Ban” case) throughout
the spring.
“U.S. Supreme Court Round-Ups” and “Previews” were once again highlighted events for Lawyers Chapters around the country. As in previous years,
former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement attracted large audiences of local
attorneys in Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Former U.S. Solicitor General
Theodore Olson delivered his annual speech reviewing the past term of the
U.S. Supreme Court before more than 500 Washington, D.C. attorneys. The
Minneapolis, San Francisco, Houston, Orange County, Austin, Montgomery, Nashville, and Indianapolis Chapters hosted similar programs.
The Lawyers Chapters have taken critical roles in organizing State Court
Project initiatives. Chapters in Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Texas were among those that

Lawyers Chapters Programs

5

 U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia meets with the officers of the Philadelphia Lawyers
Chapter after one of four lectures on his recently published book, Making Your Case: The Art
of Persuading Judges. He also spoke to the Chicago, Colorado, and Boston Chapters. Lisa
Budzynski Ezell, Director of Lawyers Chapters, is at the far left.

took leading roles in 2008 in hosting programs with state and appellate court
judges, drafting White Papers and articles on state court jurisprudence for
Docket Watch, identifying media experts and local scholars, and taking a leading role in the discussion on the proper role of the state courts. Several other
chapters sponsored programs debating state judicial selection methods, judicial
free speech restrictions, judicial activism vs. judicial restraint, and state supreme
court jurisprudence. California Lawyers Chapters held a series of programs
discussing the repercussions of that state’s supreme court decision in legalizing
gay marriage.
This year, the Lawyers Chapters were honored to host several programs
featuring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Justice Scalia spoke
about his recently published book, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, to chapters in Washington, D.C., Denver, Chicago, Boston,
and Philadelphia. These events drew an average of over 400 attendees.
Following brief remarks, Justice Scalia answered questions from the audience.
Questions covered diverse topics such as his judicial philosophy, how he selects
law clerks, and how he regards his tenure as a Justice. Justice Scalia also spoke
to chapters in Memphis and Baltimore in the past year.
The Second Annual Western Regional Conference took place at the
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Over 200
lawyers and students from across California attended the day-long program
on February 23 on “Direct Democracy:Voice of the People or Undermining

6

Lawyers Chapters Programs

Representative Government?” Featured speakers included Ward Connerly,
former California Governor Pete Wilson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit Judges Alex Kozinski and Stephen Reinhardt, and Pepperdine School
of Law Dean Kenneth Starr. Attendees also took the opportunity to tour the
museum and grounds of the library.
The Boston Chapter held its annual Shakespeare Play in May. Over 350
attended the staged reading of “King Lear.” Pepperdine School of Law Dean
Kenneth Starr hosted a post-performance discussion on issues of national sovereignty and the independence and authority of the branches of government.
K&L Gates Partner and former American Bar Association President Michael
S. Greco starred as King Lear. Former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci; Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Judges Robert Cordy and Judith
Cowin; U.S. District Court Judges Nathaniel Gorton, Patti Saris, F. Dennis
Saylor IV, Douglas Woodlock, and Rya Zobel; and many other leading Boston
attorneys participated in the reading at the Cutler Majestic Theater.
Annual chapter dinners and meetings are other highlighted events from
this past year. Many of these special events recognize lawyers and judges
who have served as an inspiration to chapter members, and these events offer
the opportunity to thank these Federalists for their service. The New York
City Chapter held its annual dinner in June to honor its long-time chapter
chairman Nicholas Stathis with its James Madison Award. Over 100 attorneys attended the sold-out dinner at Fraunces Tavern, the site of President
George Washington’s farewell to his officers. Author David O. Stewart offered
some remarks about his book, The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented

U.S. Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona (left) poses with officers of the Phoenix Chapter the week of the
elections when he addressed their concerns about President-Elect Obama’s judicial philosophy
and how it could affect the courts.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 President George W. Bush greets
a Marine in the audience at a
conference co-sponsored by the
Federalist Society Cincinnati Lawyers
Chapter and the Ashbrook Center.
Entitled “The Presidency and the
Courts,” the conference attracted more
than 600 participants last fall to hear the
President speak about the legacy of his
judicial appointments.

the Constitution. The Michigan Chapter hosted its annual dinner honoring
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young, Jr. with its Joseph D. Grano
Award. His colleagues on the Michigan Supreme Court, Chief Justice Clifford Taylor and Justices Stephen Markman and Maura Corrigan, also attended.
U.S. Congressman Thaddeus G. McCotter of Michigan offered the keynote
remarks. The San Diego Chapter hosted former U.S.Attorney General Edwin
Special honors were presented to leading Florida lawyers
at the Florida Chapter reception in Boca Raton.
Honorees included General Counsel to the Governor
Jason Gonzalez (left), Chapter leader Alan Orantes Forst
(center) and Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul
Cantero III (right).

Judge Carlos Bea of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit was the featured speaker at an Orange
County Chapter banquet hosted in the spring.

Meese III at the Chapter’s 15th Anniversary Dinner. General Meese received
the Chapter’s Professor Bernie Siegan Award. Assemblyman Joel Anderson’s
office presented a resolution adopted by the California State Assembly
honoring the Chapter for 15 years of service at the dinner. The Orange
County Chapter also hosted an annual dinner with special guest Judge Carlos Bea of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The chapter also
honored local Student Chapter presidents at the dinner. The Florida Lawyers
Chapters organized a reception during the annual meeting of the Florida
Bar in Boca Raton on June 19. There were approximately 100 people in
attendance, including a substantial number of judges. Special Madison Honors
were presented to leading Florida lawyers for their “public service and
furtherance of the rule of law.” Honorees included interim U.S.
Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Robert O’Neill, Florida
Deputy Attorney General Joe Jacquot, General Counsel to the Governor
Jason Gonzalez, Chairman Alan Orantes Forst, and Florida Supreme Court
Justices Raoul Cantero III, and Kenneth Bell.

SELECTED LAWYERS CHAPTERS SPEAKERS
Hon. Paul Atkins, former U.S. Securities & Exchange Commissioner
Prof. Randy Barnett, Georgetown University Law Center
Judge Carlos Bea, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
John Bolton, American Enterprise Institute, former U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations
Hon. Rachel Brand, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Policy,
U.S. Department of Justice
Judge Janice Rogers Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Linda Chavez, Center for Equal Opportunity
Justice Ming W. Chin, California Supreme Court
Prof. Jesse H. Choper, University of California, Berkeley School of Law—
Boalt Hall
Hon. Paul Clement, former U.S. Solicitor General
Ward Connerly, American Civil Rights Institute
Hon. Charles Cooper, Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
Hon. R. Ted Cruz, former Texas Solicitor General

2008

Federalist Society

Dean John Eastman, Chapman University School of Law
Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Prof. Richard Epstein, University of Chicago Law School
John Fund, The Wall Street Journal
Alan Gura, Gura & Possessky, PLLC
Judge Douglas Ginsburg, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Michael Greco, Past President of ABA and Partner, K&L Gates LLP
Jan Crawford Greenburg, ABC News
Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, Texas Supreme Court
Judge Edith Jones, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Prof. Neal K. Katyal, Georgetown University Law Center
Judge Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Judge Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Prof. Sanford Levinson, University of Texas Law School
Robert A. Levy, The Cato Institute
Prof. John McGinnis, Northwestern University School of Law

Annual Report

Hon. Thaddeus McCotter, U.S. House of Representatives
Hon. Edwin Meese III, The Heritage Foundation,
former U.S. Attorney General
Hon. Theodore Olson, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP,
former U.S. Solicitor General
Alfred S. Regnery, The American Spectator
Justice Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court
Judge Laurence Silberman, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Hon. Arlen Specter, U.S. Senate
Dean Kenneth Starr, Pepperdine University School of Law
Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Ohio Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court
Judge John Daniel Tinder, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Kenneth Wainstein, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security
and Counterterrorism
M. Edward Whelan III, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Lawyers Chapters Programs

7

 FACULTY DIVISION FOSTERS BROADER DIALOGUE
IN THE LEGAL ACADEMY

E

xpanding the range of ideas seriously discussed at American law schools
has been one of the Federalist Society’s key objectives since it was
founded 26 years ago. While law professors have always been central
to the Society’s efforts, our programming and activities directed specifically to
faculty members have until recently been fairly limited.
In 2007, however, with the hiring of Lee Liberman Otis, one of the
Society’s Founding Directors, as Senior Vice President, the Society launched a
major expansion of the Faculty Division. This past year has seen the fruits of
this expansion with major new programming aimed at promoting a broader
and deeper range of discussion within all levels of the law faculties themselves.
Special emphasis was placed on ideas like the original understanding of the
Constitution, the separation of powers, and the importance of property rights
and markets to a successful legal regime.
The new programs are also designed to foster dialogue and build esprit de
corps and confidence among faculty members interested in these kinds of ideas.
They should also help diminish poorly informed, politically-based antagonism
on the part of many law professors toward these concepts and those who are
interested in them. They will also help identify strong faculty candidates to
encourage and assist them in honing the skills they need to be successful legal
academics. Finally, they will also help develop mentoring structures among
older faculty, younger faculty, and law students who share these ideas and are
also interested in the academy.
Specifically, over the course of the last year and a half, we have launched or
enhanced the following interrelated efforts to accomplish these goals:
SUBJECT MATTER COLLOQUIA
Since its inception, the Federalist Society has sought to promote ideas
about law primarily through debate and discussion. This approach is even
more warranted in the academic context. Accordingly, we have launched
a series of subject matter colloquia designed to bring together up to fifteen
professors from a variety of law schools, at different points in their careers, and
with varying points of view, to discuss a particular issue. We also invite to each
colloquium several individuals with strong scholarly promise who have an
interest in teaching law and have done academic work relevant to the colloquium topic.The colloquia are intended to help define the scope and terms of
academic legal debate and deepen the participants’ understanding of the issues

8

Faculty Programs

Faculty Division Director Lee Liberman Otis (left) and Prof. Ilya Somin of George Mason
University School of Law discuss the Faculty Division at the National Lawyers Convention.

presented, as well as to forge professional relationships, create a community of
scholars, and foster a better understanding of competing points of view.
Our first colloquium, “What is Intellectual Property?,” held July 1718, outside Seattle, considered different conceptions of intellectual property,
including minority approaches grounded in both economic efficiency and
normative principles that would give intellectual property more thoroughgoing protection similar to that accorded other kinds of property. We held
our second colloquium, “Rethinking Securities Law,” on October 10 at New
York University School of Law. Participants discussed potential reform to the
securities litigation regime, the form and function of the Securities &
Exchange Commission, and causes of and solutions to the current financial crisis. The discussion was first-rate and the response to both events was
enthusiastic. We plan to build upon these successes further with next
year’s colloquia.
ANNUAL FACULTY CONFERENCE
The most recent Faculty Conference, held January 8-9, 2009 in San
Diego, marked the eleventh consecutive year the Federalist Society has
provided a unique setting for discourse and for fostering the development
of quality scholarship among law school faculty. A full report of the Faculty
Conference can be found on page 15.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 •

Prof. John McGinnis of Northwestern University School of Law (center) moderated the featured
debate between Prof. Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School (right) and Prof.
Roderick Hills of New York University School of Law (left) at the 2009 Faculty Conference in
San Diego on FDA Regulation vs. State Tort Liability.

SEARLE JUNIOR SCHOLARS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
The Searle Junior Scholars Research Fellowship, established in 2007 and
awarded for the first time in the fall of 2008, is designed to enable up to two
current faculty members in their second to fifth year of teaching at schools
with relatively heavy teaching loads and lower research budgets to take a
semester-long research leave and work on a significant piece of scholarship.
The fellowship and the work the fellows produce should also enhance their
professional standing and reputation, including opportunities for them to
move to other schools where their voices will be amplified. We received 24
applications. Our selection committee of distinguished academics recently
awarded the fellowships to Prof. Robert Miller,Villanova University School of
Law, and Prof. Jason Yackee, University of Wisconsin Law School.
RESOURCES FOR PROSPECTIVE FACULTY MEMBERS
• Olin/Searle/Smith Fellowship
The Faculty Division continues to offer the Olin/Searle/Smith Fellowships in Law to law school graduates interested in teaching as a profession.
These one-year fellowships provide a $50,000 stipend to fellows who have
strong academic qualifications and seem likely to contribute to intellectual diversity in the legal academy. The fellows spend their time at a top
school working on academic scholarship. Two-thirds of past recipients
have ended up in tenure-track positions at law schools including George
Mason, Georgetown, Harvard, Rutgers, Missouri, and many others. This
year’s recipients were Steven Erickson (who will complete his fellowship
at the University of Pennsylvania), Joshua Kleinfeld (at the University
of Frankfurt), Jeffrey Pojanowski (at the University of Virginia), Carrie
Severino (at Georgetown), and Nathaniel Stewart (at Yale).

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Federalist Society

Annual Report

•

Job Talk Workshop and Related Efforts
We hosted our first Faculty Division Job Talk Workshop in Chicago. Ten
candidates for academic jobs in fall 2008 participated as presenters, and an
additional ten future candidates (including several of our Olin Fellows for
the coming year) participated as observers. At the workshop, each 2008
candidate had the opportunity to present his or her job talk before a panel
of professor-commentators with different political and philosophical perspectives as well as different subject matter and methodological expertise.
Presenters received both substantive and stylistic feedback on their talks,
including tips about how to manage potential ideological discrimination
from hiring committees. They also had the opportunity to participate in
mock interviews and receive input about their resumes and related materials. In addition to the Chicago workshop, we have also worked individually with job candidates residing in the Washington, D.C. area to set
up mock interviews and job talks before groups of D.C.-based professors,
and have worked to make introductions between job market candidates
and current faculty members who may be interested in their work.
Panel at Student Symposium
The past two years we have also held a panel at the annual Student
Symposium for promising students, primarily at top schools, who are
interested in an academic career to receive early advice. Prof. Rick Garnett
of Notre Dame Law School, Prof. Thomas Merrill of Yale Law School,
and Lecturer Joan Larsen of the University of Michigan Law School were
the panel participants this year.

ALUMNI OUTREACH EFFORT LAUNCHED
The Federalist Society hosted a series of law school specific breakfasts for alumni at
the National Lawyers Convention. These events provided an opportunity for alumni,
current students, and faculty of different schools to reminisce and renew ties. Alumni from
13 law schools including Catholic, Chicago, Columbia, George Mason, George Washington,
Georgetown, Harvard, Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford, Texas,Virginia, and Yale gathered
for different breakfasts at this year’s Convention.
The early morning meetings included short talks by prominent alumni, current faculty
members, and student chapter leaders. The trend is expected to grow as alumni from
several additional law schools have expressed an interest in organizing similar events at next
year’s Convention.
The success of these breakfasts and other efforts by various student chapters to maintain
ties with alumni involved in the Society when they were students has prompted interest in
other ways to stay in touch and build relationships with each other and with their school
on a more regular basis. The Society’s Membership Director will also serve as the Director
of Alumni Relations and will work with interested alumni and students to facilitate
the effort.

Faculty Programs

9

 NATIONAL LAWYERS CONFERENCE DRAWS
NEARLY 1,500
for the Tenth Circuit, and Richard Posner, U. S. Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit, and moderated by Prof. Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz of
the Georgetown University Law Center. Mark Steyn, outspoken columnist
and author of America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It, was warmly
welcomed by a standing room only crowd on Friday afternoon and did not
disappoint the audience.
The more than 25 panels and speeches featured nearly 100 distinguished
members of the legal and policy community to discuss law and public policy
issues within the framework of the Convention’s theme, “The People and
the Judiciary.” Showcase panels on that theme included, “Judicial Selection:
Federal and State,” “Judicial Tenure: Life Tenure or Fixed Nonrenewable
Terms?” “Second Look Doctrines: Should Congress be Empowered to
Override the Court? Should Voters in State Initiatives and Referenda be Able
to Override State Supreme Courts?” and “Regulation of Judicial Conduct:
Silencing Judges or Avoiding Improper Influence?”

Federalist Society President Eugene B. Meyer (right) meets with former U.S. Solicitor General
Theodore Olson (left) and Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, just
before she gave the Eighth Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture on Limited Government
and the Spirit of Freedom.

T

he Federalist Society’s 2008 National Lawyers Convention, which
took place last November at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington,
D.C., was once again the showcase of the organization’s year, with
nearly 1,500 individuals taking part in one or more of the events. More than
1,200 people were in attendance at the Annual Dinner on the first night of
the Convention when the keynote speaker, U.S. Attorney General Michael B.
Mukasey, gave a thoughtful and heartfelt address reviewing the Administration’s
record on War on Terror issues, assessing the challenges the new Administration will face, and calling for a continuation of the Administration’s policies in
this area.
Other highlights included a conversation with U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia to close the Convention, the Barbara K. Olson Memorial
Lecture on Friday evening, delivered this year by Judge Edith Jones, U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the First Annual Rosenkranz Discussion,
featuring distinguished jurists Michael W. McConnell, U.S. Court of Appeals

10

National Conferences

Well-known jurists Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (left)
and Michael McConnell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (center) were
featured in the First Annual Rosenkranz Discussion at lunch on Saturday of the Convention.
The event was moderated by Prof. Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz of the Georgetown University
Law Center (right).

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 sentiment that the law is not the answer to every problem, which dovetails
nicely with the Federalist Society’s founding principle that it is the province
of the judiciary to say what the law is – not what it should be.
The students heard the country’s best and brightest academics and
jurists tackle some compelling panels on subjects including “The Merits of
Electing Our Judges,” “Tradition and the People’s Constitution,” “Is Law
and Economics Anti-Democratic?” “Kelo, Grutter, and Popular Response to
Unpopular Decisions,” “Judicial Interference and Community Values,” and
“An Originalist Judge and the Media.”
The State of Michigan was well-represented by its Supreme Court
Chief Justice Clifford Taylor, and Justices Maura Corrigan, Stephen
Markman, and Robert Young, Jr.Also participating were faculty members from
the University of Michigan Law School, including Prof. Sherman Clark,
Lecturer Joan Larsen, Prof. Douglas Laycock, Prof. Richard Primus, and Prof.
A.W. Brian Simpson.
A small but determined group of activists showed up Saturday morning
to protest the appearance of one of the speakers – Ward Connerly, founder
The Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention featured more than 25 panels and
speeches involving over 100 distinguished speakers from the bench, bar, legal academy and
business world. Nearly 1,500 participants attended one or more convention events.

The mix of diverse legal minds from the bar, the court, and the
academy with many of the leading practicing attorneys from across the
country never fails to produce lively and thought-provoking sessions at
the Convention and this year was no different. Growing numbers of participants come to Washington, D.C. every year to exchange ideas with their peers
and hear what the leading legal minds are saying about cutting edge legal
topics. One convention-goer said, “I work on these problems day after day.
I come here once a year to recharge my intellectual batteries and remember
why I’m arguing like I do for my clients and my principles.”
HEARTY LAW STUDENTS TREK TO STUDENT
SYMPOSIUM
The 26th Annual Federalist Society Student Symposium “The People and
the Courts” was brought to order on March 7th by Craig Chosiad, President
of the University of Michigan Student Chapter, who welcomed the more
than 500 students who trekked to the snowy Ann Arbor campus in the middle
of a winter storm with the phrase oft repeated by the late William F. Buckley, “Don’t immanentize the eschaton!” which simply means: “Do not try to
make that which belongs to the afterlife happen here ...” or “Don’t expect
heaven on earth.” He was using this phrase to convey Buckley’s anti-utopian

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

Hon. Larry Thompson, General Counsel of PepsiCo and former Deputy Attorney General
of the U.S. Department of Justice (left) talks with Prof. Richard Epstein of the University of
Chicago Law School at the Lawyers Convention.

National Conferences

11

  

 

of Law, who argued that direct democracy risks the rank majoritarianism that
republicanism is supposed to remedy.
The Symposium ended Saturday evening with a cocktail reception,
banquet, and keynote address by Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Judge Brown spoke movingly on the necessity of defending the Constitution which defends us all. She referred to Judge
Learned Hand’s speech, “The Spirit of Liberty,” in which he said, “Liberty
lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no
law, no court can save it. While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law,
no court to save it.” She encouraged her listeners to pledge their allegiance
to America’s exceptionalism, and its shared sense of destiny – ideas that are
becoming embarrassing in popular culture and even legal cultures; for example, the U.S. Supreme Court increasingly cites foreign law, seemingly insecure
about America’s uniqueness in the world. Judge Brown located American
exceptionalism in culture and creed – a fidelity to human nature that has been
absent in the other revolutionary regimes of the past three centuries. She
warned that freedom must be taught over and over again, and charged her
audience to decide whether the city on the hill will remain a beacon.

James and Allyson Ho of Dallas greet Bob Levy of the Cato Institute (right) and Chip Mellor
of the Institute for Justice (center) at the book signing for their new book, The Dirty Dozen:
How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom, during the
National Lawyers Convention. Levy is a member of the Federalist Society’s Board of Visitors.

and chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute who participated in
the panel examining “Kelo, Grutter, and Popular Responses to Unpopular
Decisions.” The panel focused on plebiscite responses to unpopular judicial decisions in the context of Michigan’s history of successful referenda
following the unpopular decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo which
raised fears about the expansive scope of the government’s power and barring
affirmative action in public education.
Connerly, a national figure who was influential in Michigan’s anti-affirmative action initiative, defended the limited use of popular referenda in
those circumstances where representative government fails. He said the U.S.
Supreme Court’s decision in Grutter was a direct contradiction of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which adopted “colorblindness” as a national policy
explicitly stating that individuals shall be treated as equals “without regard to
race, color, or national origin.” Connerly’s ideas were opposed by both Prof.
Sherman Clark of the University of Michigan who said that referenda do
not necessarily represent the will of the people because of the overwhelming
influence of special interests, and Prof. Marci Hamilton of Cardozo School

14

National Conferences

Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (left) talks with James
Madison Club member Nora Barry of Milwaukee.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 Division has been credited to these summer sessions which not only train new
leaders but present opportunities for student officers from all over the country
to meet each other and form friendships and working relationships for the
upcoming academic year.

Former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and Founding Director of the Society
Spencer Abraham (left), visits with Daniel Kelly (center) and Paul Cellucci, the former governor
of Massachusetts (right), at the National Lawyers Convention. Cellucci and Kelly both practice
at McCarter & English in Boston.

ANNUAL FACULTY CONFERENCE ENERGIZES
ACADEMICS
This year’s Annual Faculty Conference took place on January 8-9, 2009,
in San Diego to coincide, as usual, with the annual American Association of
Law Schools (AALS) convention. More than 50 faculty members from at
least 40 different law schools who attended contributed to the thoughtful
discussion by experts with differing views on such subjects as the “Lessons of
the Subprime-Mortgage Crisis,” “Guantanamo Bay: the Problem of Judicial
Review Post-Boumediene,” and “The Road Ahead for Climate Change Regulation.” Video and audio of the panels, debates and speeches may be found at
www.fed-soc.org/publications.
The Conference lunch featured a debate between Prof. Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School and Prof. Roderick Hills of
New York University School of Law on “When Should the FDA Regulation
Preempt State Tort Liability?” The lively exchange was moderated by Prof.
John McGinnis of Northwestern University School of Law.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE INSPIRES
INCOMING OFFICERS
Each summer, the National Office hosts a training conference to prepare
incoming Student Chapter presidents for their leadership duties. Nearly 200
chapter presidents representing almost every law school in the country come
to Washington, D.C. in July for three days of seminars and social functions.
Some of the conference’s highlights this year included an opening address by
Kate O’Beirne, President of the National Review Institute; a panel on public
interest litigation featuring Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund, Kevin
Hasson of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and the Institute for Justice’s
Clark Neily; and a reception at the home of former U.S. Solicitor General
and long-time friend of the Federalist Society, Theodore Olson. Also present
at the Olson party interacting with the students were U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Judge Robert H. Bork, and many other distinguished members of the
Federalist Society’s Washington legal community. The conference concluded
with an address by former U.S. Congressman and Federalist Society Founding Director David McIntosh, who gave a motivating speech on inspired
leadership in the legal community. The incoming chapter presidents left energized and well-equipped to plan and execute successful chapter programs on
their campuses this year. Much of the growth and development in the Student

Prof. Lino Graglia from the University of Texas (left) and Judge Robert H. Bork talked about old
times when they ran into each other at the Convention in November.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

National Conferences

15

 Mark Steyn, popular National Review columnist and author of the book deemed “provocative” by
the Canadian government, America Alone (left), talks with Prof. Steven Calabresi of Northwestern
University Law School before he speaks at the Convention on Friday. Prof. Calabresi is one of
the Founding Directors of the Federalist Society and chairs the Board of Directors.

Ward Connerly of the American Civil Rights Institute (left) greets Michigan Supreme Court
Justice Robert P. Young, Jr. at the 2008 Student Symposium held at the University of Michigan
Law School, where both men spoke.

In addition to the panels featuring well-known legal academics, there
were two sessions where junior faculty members were invited to give sevenminute presentations on their works in progress on subjects ranging from
“Trademark Meaning” to “Parental Rights Facing a Perfect Storm – and
the Constitutional Levee That Can Save Them.” Feedback from attendees
continues to affirm the Society’s belief that the opportunity for these young
professors to exchange ideas and scholarship with each other and more
seasoned academics is invaluable.
The Annual Faculty Conference has become a focal point of the Faculty
Division’s efforts to provide meaningful Federalist Society programs and services to conservative and libertarian professors across the country. The annual
Conference energized the attendees, who deal daily with the biases of many
of their colleagues in the legal academy. Most importantly, it offered the
opportunity for the interchange of ideas and the review of each other’s work
that is so vital for serious scholars.
This year’s Annual Dinner took place on the first evening of the Convention at the Marriott
Wardman Park. More than 1,200 people attended the dinner and heard remarks by U.S.Attorney
General Michael B. Mukasey. Of the 120 tables of ten, 33 were purchased by national law firms
so their associates and clients could attend.

16

National Conferences

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 PRACTICE GROUP EVENTS EXPLORE
CURRENT LEGAL THEMES

T

his year, the Practice Groups hosted or co-hosted 152 events around
the country, covering not only the legal landscape but the geographical landscape as well. Importantly, in an effort to expand the reach of
its programming, the Practice Groups published, or received commitments
to publish, transcripts from over 75 of its most significant panel discussions in
various law reviews. As always, the Practice Groups also played the key role
in planning the Society’s National Lawyers Convention.
The ever-increasing number of events put on by the Federalist Society’s
Practice Groups followed certain legal themes which were emerging across
the country in 2008. The Practice Groups are volunteer-driven and concentrate programs and scholarship on legal issues in each of 15 different legal
subject matters. Practice Group members communicate with each other
across the country by email and national conference calls. Each Practice
Group boasts some of the country’s top lawyers in that particular field.

CIVIL RIGHTS & RELIGIOUS LIBERTIES
This year the Practice Groups addressed
several high-profile and emerging civil rights and
religious liberties issues, examining the limits of
personal freedom and responsibility. The Civil
Rights Practice Group hosted a panel with The
Heritage Foundation focusing on hate crimes
legislation. It also sponsored a discussion on the
proposed Akaka Bill featuring U.S. Congressman Steve King of Alabama and Joe Matal,
Counsel to U.S. Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona
on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In June,
the Religious Liberties Practice Group,
jointly with the Pew Forum on Religion and
Public Life and with the Constitution ProjJudge Timothy M. Tymkovich,
ect, held a panel discussion on the effects of
U.S. Court of Appeals for the
the U.S. Supreme Court holding in Hein v.
Tenth Circuit, moderated a
Freedom
From Religion Foundation that taxpayers
panel on “Labor Initiatives in
lack standing to pursue a lawsuit claiming that
the New Administration” for
the Labor & Employment
conferences administered under the Bush
Law Practice Group.
Administration’s Office of Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives violated the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, since the program

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

involved discretionary exHon. Gregor y Katsas,
ecutive branch spending.
Assistant Attorney General,
The issue of gay marriage
C i v i l D i v i s i o n , U. S .
and the role of the judicial
Department of Justice,
discussed “Civil Litigation
branch was also a topic
Under the Roberts Court”
of great interest to our
on a panel put together by
Practice Groups, which
the Litigation Practice
sponsored events not only
Group.
in Washington, D.C.,
but also held multiple debates and panel discussions
around the country with
our Lawyers Chapters and Student Chapters. The Court’s decision in District of
Columbia v. Heller, striking down a restrictive gun control statute as a violation
of the Second Amendment, was the subject for the Civil Rights Practice
Group at the National Lawyers Convention. To continue the debate, the
Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group recently hosted an event with
the Chicago Lawyers Chapter featuring a discussion of subsequent litigation
in Chicago. Other pressing civil rights issues our Practice Groups plan to
address this year include the Employee Free Choice Act, the Voting Rights
Act, comparable worth, and more.

Hon. Walter Dellinger III of Duke University School of Law and former Acting U.S. Solicitor
General (left), Hon. Paul Clement of Georgetown University Law Center (center) and former
U.S. Solicitor General, and Dean John Eastman of Chapman University School of Law (right)
expressed wide-ranging opinions when they participated in the Federalism & Separation of
Powers Practice Group panel examining the Roberts Court.

Practice Groups

17

 Hon. Alice Fisher, Latham & Watkins LLP and
former Assistant Attorney General, Criminal
Division, U.S. Department of Justice, spoke on the
topic of “Prosecution of Public Corruption” for the
Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group.

WAR ON TERROR
In addition to hosting events in Washington, D.C., our Practice
Groups partnered with the Lawyers Division and Student Division in early
2008 to address federalism and other legal questions surrounding the
War on Terror. For instance, the Chicago Lawyers Chapter sponsored
with the International & National Security Law Practice Group a
panel discussion examining the role of specialized courts, which featured David Rivkin, Jr. of Baker &
Hostetler, Prof. Neal K. Katyal of the
Georgetown University Law Center,
Prof. Joseph Margulies of Northwestern
University School of Law, and Prof.
Glenn Sulmasy of the U.S. Coast Guard
Academy. The event was moderated by
Judge Frank H. Easterbrook of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
At an event co-sponsored with the Austin,
Texas Lawyers Chapter in February,
University of Virginia School of Law
Prof. Robert F. Turner debated University
of Texas School of Law Prof. Sanford
Prof. Neal K. Katyal, the Georgetown
Levinson on the question of national
University Law Center, appeared
security within constitutional constraints.
on a panel on specialized courts
Other Practice Group programs addressed
in Chicago in May for the
the issues surrounding the National SecuriInternational & National Security
Law Practice Group.
ty Agency’s (NSA’s) wiretapping program
and the use of international and foreign
law in Constitutional interpretation.

18

Practice Groups

M. Edward Whelan III participated in a panel
keynoted by U.S. Senator Arlen Specter of
Pennsylvania on judicial confirmations sponsored in
January by the Telecommunications & Electronic
Media Practice Group and the D.C. Lawyers
Chapter.

FEDERALISM
The Federalist Society’s Practice Groups also presented several programs
discussing the recurring issue of the proper division of power between the
federal and state governments.
The Federalism & Separation
of Powers Practice Group cosponsored an all-day conference with
the American Enterprise Institute
(AEI) discussing the “Future of
Federalism.” Judge William Pryor
Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Eleventh Circuit, offered the
keynote address. The conference also
included three panels. The first panel,
“Competitive and Cooperative Federalism,” considered whether we should
strive for a system in which states
compete with each other and with
the federal government, or whether
Judge Frank H. Easterbrook, U.S. Court
we should instead work to strengthof Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (left),
en cooperation among the states
chats with Prof. F. Scott Kieff, Washington
University School of Law. Prof. Kieff
and between federal and state governis active in the Intellectual Property
ments. The second panel discussed
Practice Group and Judge Easterbrook is a
the appropriate level of judicial review
popular speaker for Federalist Society
and the role of the judicial branch
Practice Group events.
in adjudicating disputes over the
scope of federal and state power.
The third panel looked at the relevance
of federalism in two hot-button

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 public policy issues: health care and the
environment.
The Environmental Law & Property
Rights Practice Group co-sponsored a
program with the Birmingham Lawyers
Chapter on the “Federal Regulation of
Water Transfers.” As local communities look
to water transfers as a means of supplying
water for municipal and industrial purposes,
questions arise about the application of the
Clean Water Act. The panel discussed the
extension of federal regulation and whether
it encroaches on the traditional role of states
Hon. Eileen J. O’Connor, former
to allocate water resources, threatens the
Assistant Attorney General, Tax
important balance of cooperative federalism,
Division, U.S. Department of
imposes unnecessary administrative burdens
Justice, moderated a panel for
the A dm i n i s trati ve L a w &
upon water managers, and diverts resources
Regulation Practice Group.
from other priorities.
The Litigation Practice Group
co-sponsored a program with AEI discussing
“Federal Preemption and the Supreme Court,” in which several recent U.S.
Supreme Court cases were featured, including Warner-Lambert v. Kent, Wyeth v.
Levine, Altria v. Good, and Riegel v. Medtronic. Panelists discussed the appropriate
relationship between federal regulation and state tort law, the pros and cons
of preemption, and the impact these cases have on product liability litigation
and product safety.
FINANCIAL SERVICES CRISIS
Several of the Practice Groups were involved in activities monitoring
the crisis in the financial services industry and its connection to other areas of
law and public policy. The Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice
Group held a half-day Consumer Credit Protection conference this year.
The conference examined, among other things, the U.S. Senate hearings
on “Turmoil in U.S. Credit Markets,” the American Housing Rescue and
Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, the Neighborhood Stabilization
Act of 2008, and proposed legislation to regulate the credit card companies.
A panel on “Subprime Lending” discussed whether legislative or regulatory
reform was required or even advisable, or if government intervention was
necessary to stabilize the housing market and perhaps even the general economy. Six months later, the Practice Group’s National Lawyers Convention
panel debated “The Latest in the Financial Services Crises of 2008: Government Control vs. the Free Markets.” The panel discussed the unprecedented
and far-reaching steps the federal government has taken in response to the
financial system crises. The panelists debated if these steps were necessary,

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

The Litigation Practice Group hosted a panel
examining civil litigation under the Roberts
Court which featured Roger Pilon of the Cato
Institute. Dr. Pilon remains one of the most
sought-after speakers for both the Society’s
Student and Lawyers Divisions.

wise, what the moral-hazard risks are associated with these bailouts and what
the consequences – intended or not – of the government’s actions will be.
The Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Practice Group focused
on “The SEC and the Financial Services Crisis of 2008.” Critics complain
that a number of SEC actions and inactions contributed to the crisis, while
others defend the Commission’s actions. The panel engaged in a retrospective discussion of the Commission’s performance, took a look forward to
consider possible regulatory reforms that may be undertaken by the
Commission, and changes in the financial bureaucracy that may affect the
Commission. In particular, the panel discussed whether it would be appropriate to
merge the Commission and other financial regulators into one or two oversight
agencies.
As a new Administration begins to
make its own recommendations for reform in this area, the Federalist Society’s
Practice Groups will continue to monitor,
report, and provide timely programming
on these issues.
MORE PRACTICE GROUP NEWS
The Administrative Law &
Regulation Practice Group hosted
a day-long conference on tax policy
in early May entitled, “Our Nation’s Founding Principles and Our
Tax Code: Consistent or In Conflict?”
Panels examined tax policy concerns,
healthcare, charitable giving, and social

Judge Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Court
of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit,
moderated a panel on “The FCC
and the First Amendment” for
the Telecommunications &
Electronic Media Practice
Group.

Practice Groups

19

 Former White House Associate Counsel Rachel Brand greets Judge William Pryor Jr., U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, after a special session on judicial independence at
the Convention. Both regularly contribute to Practice Group events.

Former Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Chairman Michael K. Powell spoke
at the recent Telecommunications &
Electronic Media Pratice Group event
discussing the future of the FCC.

20

Practice Groups

policy. The conference featured
Hon. Eileen O’Connor, a partner at Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw,
Pittman LLP and a former Assistant Attorney General for the
Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Michael F.
Cannon of the Cato Institute,
Kevin J. Hasson of the Becket Fund,
Prof. Lily Batchelder of New York
University School of Law and
Leonard E. Burman of the UrbanBrookings Tax Policy Center.
In anticipation of the current
U.S. Supreme Court term, which
promised to be one of the most
important in years for labor and
employment issues, the Labor
& Employment Law Practice
Group held a panel in April to
discuss the relevant upcoming
cases. Moderated by Eugene Scalia, the former Solicitor of the U.S.

Department of Labor, the panel included
employment law experts Eric S. Dreiband
of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
LLP, Willis J. Goldsmith of Jones Day, Prof.
Michael H. Gottesman of the Georgetown
University Law Center and Joseph M. Sellers of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll,
PLLC.
The Intellectual Property Practice
Group hosted a discussion at the National Lawyers Convention on “Specialized
Courts: Lessons from the Federal Circuit.”
The panel included Prof. F. Scott Kieff,
Prof. Eugene Volokh, University of
Washington University School of Law in
California, Los Angeles School of
St. Louis, Don W. Martens, Knobbe MarLaw, spoke on “Freedom of Speech
tens Olson & Bear LLP, Prof. Arti K. Rau
vs. Anti-Discrimination Laws” for
of Duke University School of Law, and
the Free Speech & Election Law
moderator Judge Randall R. Rader, U.S.
Practice Group.
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The Telecommunications & Electronic Media Practice Group hosted a
lively exchange between two former Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Chairmen, Michael K. Powell, senior advisor at Providence Equity
Partners, and Reed E. Hundt, a principal at Charles Ross Partners. Powell
and Hundt commented on the issues likely to confront the FCC under the
new Administration.
The Professional Responsibility & Legal Education Practice
Group hosted U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, ranking minority member of
the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, who spoke on judicial confirmations and was followed by an insightful panel discussion. The panel featured
Ethics and Public Policy Center President M. Edward Whelan III, Alliance
for Justice Legal Director Simon Heller, and University of North Carolina
School of Law Prof. Michael J. Gerhardt. Los Angeles Times Supreme Court
reporter David G. Savage moderated the discussion.
The Free Speech & Election Law Practice Group had a daylong election law conference, with panels on voter fraud, the scope
of the franchise, and the intricacies of campaign finance. Notable participants included James Bopp of Bopp, Coleson & Bostrom, former
Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chairman Bradley A. Smith, former
FEC Commissioner Scott E. Thomas, and John Fund of the Wall Street
Journal.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 SOCIETY TACKLES RULE OF LAW IN STATE COURTS

T

he Federalist Society’s State Courts Project has expanded substantially
since its launch in 2006 and is creating unprecedented levels of public
debate about the proper role of the state supreme courts. The Project
began as an initiative to spark robust public debate about the proper role of
the state supreme courts as well as to motivate opinion leaders, press, and the
general public to be more engaged on debating and highlighting issues of
state judicial selection.The State Courts Project accomplishes its broad goal of
educating the public, elected officials, and opinion leaders through legal experts, white papers and events.
In 2008, the State Courts Project which was active in a record number
of states (15), reached more media, non-profits, public officials and lawyers as
well as members of the general public than ever before. We were able to train
dozens of media experts who then returned to their home states, and, with
the help of many Society state-level volunteers, generated millions of dollars
worth of print, radio and television media.
LEGAL EXPERTS PROGRAM
The State Courts Legal Experts Program offers media training to local
legal experts who are interested in discussing issues surrounding state supreme
court elections, the proper role of the courts, judicial activism, and judicial
selection reforms. In-state volunteers more than tripled in 2008, from 35
to 110, an increase of more than 200%. The legal experts act as featured
guests on radio and television, meet with editorial boards and print reporters,
and publish op-eds and letters to the editor. Although their appearances are
coordinated by the Project, these experts speak for themselves and not for the
Society.
The Society was able to increase dramatically the level of substantive
debate regarding the role of state courts. Our media impressions nearly
doubled in 2008, from 22.19 million to 39.3 million, an increase of 77%,
a notable accomplishment for state level activity.
Additionally:
• Polling results show the Society’s media coverage is being absorbed by the
public and having an impact on how they think through role of courts
issues. Approximately 10% to 20% of voters saw and recalled information
the Society generated.
• More people recall and understand the basic “role of courts” terminology, and their preferences about the proper judicial role seem to clarify
considerably after our educational efforts. These efforts are resulting in
more and more people who appreciate a limited judicial role in our sys-

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

•

•

•

tem of separation of powers. There is generally
a 5% to 15% increase in appreciation for the
limited judicial role after intensive earned media
education.
When presented with definitions of judicial
activism and judicial restraint, an overwhelming majority prefer judges to evaluate a law’s
constitutionality, rather than “allow for new or
evolving meaning of the law over time.”
The Society is playing a key role in addressing glaring “information underload” about
judges. People want more, not less informa- Former Alabama Supreme
tion, about judges. This is a highly unusual Court Justice Harold See, Jr.,
response, and the preference is high, at 50% to an expert on judicial selection
60%.
issues, has debated the merits
A 41% minority agreed (just 13% strongly) of the Missouri Plan and
with the language that “we need somebody judicial speech in venues
who’s got the empathy to understand what across the country as part of
it’s like to be poor, or African-American, or the State Courts Project.
gay, or disabled, or old” on the bench, while a
54% majority agreed (46% strongly) with the statement that judges should
apply the law equally to all—“regardless of an individual’s background or
cultural or economic circumstances.”

WHITE PAPERS
In 2008, the Federalist Society issued 12 state level White Papers and issue
reports.
• West Virginia: Kristen M. Leddy, Russell S. Sobel, and Matthew T. Yanni,
Should We Keep this Court? An Economic Examination of Recent Decisions
Made by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
• Ohio: Jonathan H. Adler and Christina M. Adler, A More Modest Court:
The Ohio Supreme Court’s Newfound Judicial Restraint.
• Mississippi: Kyle Duncan, On the Side of Angels: Updating the Mississippi
Supreme Court’s View of the Judicial Role, 2004-2008.
• Alabama: E. Berton Spence, Alabama Supreme Court Justice Harold See:
His Twelve-Year Legacy.
• North Carolina: Scott Gaylord and Joshua Davey, The North Carolina
Supreme Court: A Special Issue Report.

Special Projects - State Courts

21

 •
•
•
•
•
•
•

Michigan: Matthew Schneider, Michigan’s Big Four: An Analysis of the
Modern Michigan Supreme Court.
California: Damien Schiff and Timothy Sandefur, The Modern California
Supreme Court: Progressivism and Practical Constraints.
Louisiana: John S. Baker, Jr. and Jason Dore, The Louisiana Supreme Court:
Interpreting the Law or Making Policy?
Texas: Aaron Streett, The Supreme Court of Texas: A Balanced Court.
Washington: David K. DeWolf, Andrew C. Cook, and Seth L. Cooper,
The State of the Washington Supreme Court: A 2008 Update.
Wisconsin: Rick Esenberg, Everyone’s Business: Emerging Issues in the
Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Tennessee: Brian Fitzpatrick, A Report on Reauthorization of the Tennessee
Plan.

EVENTS
Concurrent with the release of the White Papers and legal experts’ commentary, panel discussions are sponsored by local Federalist Society chapters.
These events are critical opportunities for public education and media attention. These events are almost always structured as debates in order to help
facilitate open dialogue, as is the normal Federalist Society practice.
Some 2008 State Highlights
Missouri
Missouri is the birthplace of the so-called “Missouri Plan,” the blueprint
for merit selection of state judges. Missourians have been aggressively debating whether judges should be picked this way or whether direct elections
or the federal model would be better. In order to further open the debate,
the Federalist Society has engaged in a highly effective educational program
focused on the public’s knowledge about who selects judges in Missouri, the
composition of the selection committee, whether those polled are happy
with that composition, the retention process, the extent to which lawyers are
involved in the Missouri Plan, and the concepts of “judicial activism” and
“judicial restraint” generally.
Importantly, Missourians are increasingly weighing in on judicial selection
issues. The Society’s legal experts authored opinion pieces in papers across the
state, including the Kansas City Star, emphasizing the importance of judicial
selection, and, as a result, Missouri media now rely on the Society’s members
and experts for commentary on the issues of the day concerning the legal
culture.
The Missouri Plan is now undoubtedly the top issue of discussion in Missouri’s legal community. In total, Missouri educational efforts amounted to

22

Special Projects - State Courts

18,244,203 total impressions (in a state with a population of roughly 6 million people), reaching Missouri voters across the state and fostering stronger
relationships with state and local media that firmly branded our spokespeople
as unbiased legal experts.
Ohio
In 2008, the Society experienced great success using two state supreme
court races to educate Ohio citizens about the impact of their state courts.
The project began with an expert media training session in mid-September
2008.The team of experts included practicing attorneys, scholars, and the former Chairman of the Federal Elections Commission. Case Western Reserve
University Law Prof. Jonathan Adler released a very well-received White Paper that enabled Prof. Adler and the Federalist Society’s public relations firm,
CRC Public Relations, to reach thousands of Ohioans.
The Federalist Society also commissioned The Polling Company to conduct a statewide survey of 502 likely Ohio voters to assess the Ohio Supreme
Court and the state’s current system of judicial selection. A 51% majority of
respondents indicated that they will look for a “candidate who will interpret
the law as written,” in sharp contrast to the 6% who said they would choose “a
candidate who will take into account his personal views and experiences.”
When asked questions about judicial selection, 83% of likely voters in
Ohio approved of the current method of non-partisan elections of supreme
court justices.
In total, Ohio educational efforts amounted to 325,548 total impressions.
During this time, legal experts authored opinion pieces in the state’s two largest daily newspapers, and Ohio media proactively sought their commentary,
resulting in radio, print, and TV coverage.

Media
Impressions

Publicity Value

1,812,032 (Internet)
88,027 (TV)

$24,733 (TV)
$358, 351 (Internet)

673,994
(Radio)

$401, 571 (Radio)
$1,270,264 (Print)

Total= $2,054,919

36,734,456 (Print)

Total= 39,308,509

By assisting with the placement of editorials and the arrangement of media interviews for select
legal experts with television, print, radio and online news reporters, the Federalist Society has raised
public awareness on important legal issues in individual states through the State Courts Project.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 SOCIETY CONTINUES TO EXAMINE INTERNATIONAL
LAW AND AMERICAN SOVEREIGNTY

I

ssues relating to international law and the principles of sovereignty continue to be a major focus for the Federalist Society. The use of international
and foreign sources of law in our courts and in other ways has encouraged the Society to redouble its work studying and monitoring these trends
through its International Law and Sovereignty Project. From the launching of
our Global Governance Watch® project and our expanded networking efforts
with like-minded Europeans, to our presence at several major international
conferences, the Society has become a leader in studying and educating others
on current issues in international law.
The Project continues to have two main goals. The first is to monitor attempts to incorporate international law into the American legal system.
The Federalist Society and its European volunteers observe and participate
in various meetings convened by the United Nations and other international
organizations, generating reports on the activities and the agendas that are
pushed. In an effort to make this quiet process transparent, information collected is transmitted to policy leaders, think tanks, businesses, scholars, and the
press. The second goal of the Project consists of balancing the debate about

François-Henri Briard, president of the Federalist Society’s Paris Chapter (far left), led a delegation
of distinguished lawyers and justices from France to the 2008 National Lawyers Convention.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

adopting international legal norms by adding another voice to an often onedimensional discussion, a voice which reminds people of the indispensability
of sovereignty principles. We take action by sponsoring speeches, panels, and
debates, as well as by publishing articles and scholarship meant to provoke
thought and encourage dialogue. Importantly, since earned media has a multiplier effect, we prioritize the media training and mobilization of experts
who can articulate the impact of these legal trends, thereby disseminating
much-needed, timely information.
The Federalist Society’s chapters in Europe – located in Paris, London,
and Brussels – are invaluable resources for accomplishing the stated purposes
of the project. Our chapters are designed to help foster the traditional ideas
of Western identity that the U.S. and Europe share by creating a network of
transnational law and policy leaders who can advance those ideas in the public
square. This is done both through the chapter model mentioned above, and
by nurturing and partnering with already existing European organizations
who know local conditions, have already identified some useful mechanisms
of support and salient issues to explore, and understand how issues translate
into their political parlance. After identifying these groups, the Federalist Society makes every effort to send one or more of its members to meet with
them. This helps us gain a better understanding of the problems and prospects
in individual nations. Our emissaries also recruit individuals to be part of
our network of volunteer experts, who can impart valuable knowledge of the
features, such as the organizational structure and student orientation, that have
made the Federalist Society so successful over the years. Finally, the Federalist Society undertakes joint projects with these groups largely in the area of
international organizations and international law.
François-Henri Briard in particular has continued to provide excellent
leadership for our Paris chapter, organizing a reception in May for French
and American lawyers, judges, and law students. This event provided an
excellent opportunity for extended informal conversations to take place
between the Americans and French in attendance regarding legal, political,
and philosophical issues of interest and concern to the two groups. The evening event also served as a nice prelude to a brief meeting between Briard and
President George W. Bush on the President’s visit to France only twelve
days later. President Bush was pleasantly surprised to learn from Briard of
the Federalist Society’s activities in Paris. Additionally, the Paris Chapter
helped to host a Federalist Society conference in December marking the 60th
Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The conference

Special Projects - International

23

 was held in Strasbourg and featured two roundtable discussions on “International Human Rights Law and the Freedom of Speech” and “International
Human Rights Law and Positive Discrimination.”
In addition to our three established European chapters, the Society has
expanded its outreach efforts into Central Europe. In October, Prof. Nathan
Sales of George Mason University School of Law met with several professors,
judges and policy makers in Poland and the Czech Republic to introduce
them to the Society’s work. The response to the Federalist Society’s mission and founding principles was encouraging, and we are looking forward
to deepening our involvement with like-minded individuals in this part of
Europe.
The Federalist Society remains very active in monitoring the activities of various international organizations in order to ensure that there is a
fair hearing for such issues as intellectual property protection principles, the
international regulation of human rights, and corporate social responsibility. In July, Prof. Mark Schultz of Southern Illinois University served as the
Federalist Society’s official representative to the World Intellectual Property
Organization’s (WIPO’s) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property meetings. Alyssa Luttjohann, Deputy Director of the Society’s
International Law Project, was also present at three major international human
rights conferences in Europe which discussed such issues as the global regulation of human rights education, corporate social responsibility, and city-level
human rights efforts. Observations from each meeting or conference were
published on the Global Governance Watch® website and sent to key policy
makers and leaders. Finally, Leonard A. Leo, Executive Vice President of the
Federalist Society, was recently appointed to succeed James P. Kelly III as the
Federalist Society’s representative to the U.S. National Commission to the
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
and as Chair of the National Commission’s Social and Human Sciences
Committee.
The Society has also furthered its connections with prominent European
judges, lawyers, and policy makers. For the first time, a delegation from the
Paris chapter attended the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention
in Washington, D.C. Members of the delegation included the Solicitor General of the Cour de cassation (the French Judiciary Supreme Court) and the
President of the French Administrative Courts. Additionally, Leonard A. Leo
led a Federalist Society delegation including Judge Edith H. Jones, U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge A. Raymond Randolph, U.S. Court
of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, to visit the European Court of Human Rights
and the European Court of Justice and met with several judges there.
In April, the Federalist Society, in partnership with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), officially launched its Global Governance Watch®
website with a program entitled “Dictating Norms: Who Decides What Is

24

Special Projects - International

Justice Jeannette Bougrab of the French
Supreme Court was a featured speaker at
the Strasbourg Conference which was
sponsored by the International Law &
Sovereignty Project. A number of other
justices and scholars from France, Poland,
the Czech Republic, Spain, Norway, Ireland
and the UK were in attendance for the
Federalist Society’s meetings. Strasbourg is
an historical French city and the home of
the European Court of Human Rights.

Right for the World?” and featuring keynote speaker Ambassador John Bolton.
The new Global Governance Watch® website, which focuses on four topical issue areas – Human Security, National Security, Global Regulations, and
Development – seeks to provide its visitors with a greater understanding of
what constitutes global governance, and why it is important. Since its launch,
the website has reported on several important global governance developments including the world food crisis, climate change issues, corporate social
responsibility developments, regulation of human rights education, and the
right to health. The Global Governance Watch® website can be accessed at
www.globalgovernancewatch.org.

The new Global
Governance Watch®
website seeks to provide
its visitors with a greater
understanding of what
constitutes global
governance, and
why it is important.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 PUBLICATIONS AND WEBSITE
DELIVER FEDERALIST SOCIETY
MESSAGE
The

Project of the
E.L. Wiegand
Practice Groups

of the

SUPREME COURT RETROSPECTIVE
NOTA BENE
Federal Preemption at the Supreme Court
by Daniel E. Troy & Rebecca K. Wood

Justice Kennedy’s Stricter Scrutiny
and the Future of Racial Diversity Promotion
by Nelson Lund

The Supreme Court’s 2005-2008 Securities Law Trio
by Allen Ferrell

The Supreme Court’s 21st Century Trajectory in Criminal Cases
by Tom Gede, Kent Scheidegger & Ron Rychlak
International or Foreign Law as an Interpretive
Aid in Supreme Court Jurisprudence
by Roger P. Alford

Debunking the Myth of a Pro-Employer Supreme Court
by Daniel J. Davis
The 2008 Presidential Election, the Supreme Court,
and the Relationship of Church and State
by Steffen Johnson & Adele Auxier

BOOK REVIEWS
The Dirty Dozen by Robert A. Levy & William Mellor
The Rise of the Conservative Legal Movement by Steven M. Teles
Volume 9, Issue 3

Federalist Society

C OURT

DocketWatch

FALL 2008
®

Supreme Court of Missouri Expands Tort Liability
Strait v. Treasurer

T

he Missouri Supreme Court recently
expanded on its 2007 holding in
Schoemehl v. Treasurer of the State
of Missouri that the surviving dependents
of a dead employee can continue to collect
workers’ compensation, despite Missouri
statutory law stating that benefits should
be paid only “during the continuance
of such disability for the lifetime of the
employee...” In 2008, the Missouri General
Assembly abrogated Schoemehl to clarify
that permanent total disability benefits must
expire upon the injured employee’s unrelated
death.
On July 15, 2008, Chief Justice Stith,
writing for the court, held in Strait v.
Treasurer of Missouri that Missouri must
provide disability benefits to deceased
employees’ dependents, even if the dead
employee’s claim is still pending at the time
of the employee’s death.
Rosalyn Strait was injured on the
job in August 2002. On January 12,
2007, the Labor and Industrial Relations
Commission (“Commission”) awarded Ms.
Strait permanent disability benefits for life.
On January 27, 2007, Ms. Strait died of
injuries unrelated to her work accident. The
Commission dismissed Ms. Strait’s children’s

by Jennifer Wolsing
claim to Ms. Strait’s disability benefits for
“lack of jurisdiction.”
On appeal, the Supreme Court held
that because the Strait children’s case was
still pending when Schoemehl issued, the
Schoemehl decision applied to the Strait
children’s case. The court reversed the
Commission’s decision and remanded the
case to grant benefits to the Strait children
as of the date of Ms. Strait’s death.
In dissent, Judge Stephen Limbaugh
explains that Schoemehl holds that the
disability payments are not tied to the
employee’s death, but continue to the
employee’s dependents, who are then
themselves considered the employees.
“But if that is true,” Limbaugh reasoned,
“there is no basis to tie the payments in
this case to the fact that the employee died
while the case was still pending.”
Jarrett v. Jones

Florida Court
Snapshot

On July 29, 2008, Patricia
Breckinridge, writing for the Missouri
Supreme Court, held that an automobile
driver negligently inflicted emotional
distress on a fellow motorist when the
unconscious driver allowed the other
... continued page 14

Challenging Tennessee’s Unauthorized Substance Tax
by Justin Owen

T

ennessee’s Unauthorized Substances Tax is currently facing its first major
constitutional challenge. Since 2005, the Tennessee Department of Revenue
(“Department”) has attempted to collect an excise tax on all “unauthorized substances,”
defined by state law as controlled substances, low-street-value drugs, and certain illicit
alcoholic beverages.1 The Tennessee Supreme Court recently heard Waters v. Chumley
to determine the constitutionality of this drug tax, as it is commonly known, and
should issue its opinion in the coming weeks.2

Serving God
Taxes and
Textualism:
Due Weight
Deference to the
Wisconsin Tax
Appeals Commission

Recommendations on Racial Profiling,
International Criminal Court, and Medical Care
To Be Considered at ABA Annual Meeting

he American Bar Association’s
House of Delegates will consider a
number of resolutions at its annual
meeting in New York City on August 11
and 12. If adopted, these resolutions become
official policy of the Association. The ABA,
maintaining that it serves as the national
representative of the legal profession, may
then engage in lobbying or advocacy of these
policies on behalf of its members. What
follows is a summary of these proposals.
Medical Care

Recommendation 117B, proposed by
the Individual Rights and Responsibilities
Section, urges the ABA to oppose “all federal,
state, and territorial legislation and policies
that interfere with a medical provider’s
ability to recommend and provide, with
the patient’s informed consent, medical
procedures that, in accordance with
reasonable medical judgment, best protect
the patient’s health.”
The recommendation is offered in light
of recent legislative attempts “to interfere
with a patient’s ability to receive medically
appropriate care.” The Terri Schiavo

case and Gonzales v. Carhart are offered as
examples of such attempts. The sponsor notes,
“The Carhart decision marked the first time
that the Court has ever held that physicians
can be prohibited from using an otherwise
lawful medical procedure deemed necessary
by the physician to benefit the patient’s
health.” While the recommendation “does not
categorically oppose Congressional authority
to outlaw specific medical procedures…it
argues that whatever authority Congress (or
any governmental entity) may have, it should
not be exercised in ways that harm the health
of patients.” The sponsor emphasizes in the
recommendation’s accompanying report, “The
legal and ethical principles at the foundation of
the recommendation are well-settled and not
controversial.”
In providing a historical and legal context
for this recommendation, the sponsor details
the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that
legalized abortion, clarified the right to privacy,
and affirmed the right of physicians to use
their “medical judgment for the preservation
of the life or the health of the mother.” The

continued on page 6

The American Bar Association and Gun Control

AUGUST
2008

Attorneys Fee
Negotiations
pg. 2

ABA Reacts to
Boumediene
Decision
pg. 3

The American Bar Association, under the auspices of its Special Committee on Gun
Violence, has actively promoted gun control in its lobbying on Capitol Hill and in its
proposals before the ABA House of Delegates. In early 2008, the Association’s amicus
brief in District of Columbia v. Heller called for the reversal of the D.C. Circuit decision to
end the Washington, D.C. gun ban and affirmation of the individual right to bear arms.
ABA Watch offers an overview of the ABA’s policies and lobbying efforts concerning
gun control and discusses what actions may be taken in light of the decision in Heller.

Judicial
Nominations
pg. 6

continued on page 12

CLASS ACTION WATCH
Published to apprise both Society membership
and the public at large of recent trends and cases
in class action litigation, Class Action Watch is an
occasional newsletter mailed to experts in the field
and those members who are interested. This year, it
has focused on Cy Pres settlements, the Stoneridge
case, FACTA, reverse bifurcation, class action tolling,
medical monitoring, and public nuisance cases.

Class
Action Watch
The Supreme Court Sets New Punitive Damage
Limits Under Federal Common Law

A

s it has done consistently for more
than a decade, during the last Term
the United States Supreme Court
handed down a highly significant decision in
the area of punitive damages jurisprudence.
As virtually its last act of the Term, the Court
issued its decision in Exxon Shipping Co. v.
1
Baker, clarifying the standards for review of
punitive damages under federal common-law.
In the process, the Court vacated a $2.5 billion
punitive damages award as excessive under
federal maritime common law, and imposed an
upper limit on such awards of a 1:1 punitiveto-compensatory damages ratio. Among other
things, Baker is significant for its clear signal of
the Court’s increasing concerns with the stark
unpredictability and potential unfairness of
punitive damage awards.
I. Background
Baker arose out of the well-documented
and catastrophic events of March 24,
1989—when the supertanker Exxon Valdez,
captained by Joseph Hazelwood, ran into a
reef off the Alaskan coast, fracturing its hull
and spilling millions of gallons of crude oil
into Prince William Sound. The plaintiffs in
Baker were a class of commercial fisherman

by William E. Thomson
& Kahn A. Scolnick
and native Alaskans dependent on Prince
William Sound for their livelihood. They
sued to recover economic losses caused by the
spill. (Exxon settled state and federal claims
for environmental damage for more than $1
billon, and spent about $2.1 billion in cleanup
efforts.)
In the district court, Exxon stipulated
to its negligence and ensuing liability for
compensatory damages, and the district court
divided the trial into three phases. Phase I
concerned Exxon’s recklessness, and thus
potential for punitive liability; the jury found
Exxon reckless based on the acts of Hazelwood,
its managerial employee. In Phase II, the jury
awarded nearly $300 million in compensatory
damages. (After subtracting out released claims,
settlements, and other payments, the balance
was approximately $20 million.) In Phase
III, the jury awarded $5 billion in punitive
damages against Exxon. The Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals subsequently reduced the
amount of punitive damages to $2.5 billion, a
punitive-to-compensatory damages ratio of 5:1

A Colossal Class Action

I

continued page 14

by Jim Copland

n antiquity, the Colossus of Rhodes was one of the seven “wonders of the world”; built
in the 4th-century B.C., the statue stood some 110 feet, roughly the size of the Statue of
Liberty. Today, a different Colossus is making legal headlines. This Colossus is at the center
of what has been dubbed “the largest class-action lawsuit ever filed in America”, a sprawling suit
in Texarkana, Arkansas, that has targeted over 500 insurance companies and already snared over
$300 million in settlements—and $70 million in legal fees for the plaintiffs’ bar—from only
a small percentage of the defendants sued. And today’s Colossus is, like its forebear, not only
massive but also archaic: even as settlement negotiations proceed, the Colossus suit is the last
of its breed, the state-court, national class-action lawsuit now made obsolete by 2005’s Class
Action Fairness Act.
continued page 11

OCTOBER

2008

INSIDE

2008

S T A T E

INSIDE

STATE COURT DOCKET WATCH
This newsletter, appearing four times each
year and largely composed by members of the
Society’s nationwide Lawyers Chapters, reports
on noteworthy trends, interesting decisions, and
controversial cases that are of interest outside
their respective jurisdictions. For that reason, the
newsletter is mailed to every state appellate judge
and state attorney general, many trial judges, and
an extensive list of corporate general counsels.
Issues covered this year include same-sex marriage,
campaign finance, and civil liability reform, among
others.

October 2008

ABA WATCH
One of the Society’s most popular publications,
aba watch
ABA Watch is a semiannual newsletter, timed to
coincide with the American Bar Association’s
T
mid-year and annual meetings, and meant to help
readers form an independent opinion of the organization. The winter issue featured an interview with
President-elect H. Thomas Wells, Jr., an overview of
the ABA’s death penalty moratorium project, recent
amicus brief activity by the organization, and a
digest of the proceedings of the House of Delegates.
August saw reports on resolutions to be considered
at the upcoming ABA meeting on gun control,
attorneys fee negotiations, judicial nominations,
the Boumediene decision, and ABA recommendations on racial profiling, the
International Criminal Court, and medical care. ABA Watch will continue to
provide information on the Association, to assist others in making their own
assessment of its role and influence in America’s legal culture.
INSIDE

ENGAGE
Engage appears three times a year in printJournal
bound or electronic format. Ideas are generated
Federalist Society
Practice Groups
by our fifteen Practice Groups. Articles in 2008
Special Issue:
discussed climate change litigation, the effort to
accord House representation to the District of
Columbia, the return of the Equal Rights Amendment, the housing and financial crisis, Google’s
book project, state voter ID cases, state judicial
selection, and other topics. In addition, we regularly
review many exciting book titles in the journal, and
occasionally present special issues framed around a
general theme, such as October’s Supreme Court
Retrospective. The National Lawyers Convention
issue, which formerly presented the edited transcripts of all the speeches and
panels from that three-day conference, is now dispersed among law reviews
across the country in an attempt to reach a wider audience. That change and
other efforts begun in 2007 helped place nearly 100 transcripts of Federalist
Society events in over 30 law journals.

The Federalist Society has always placed a very high premium on its ability
to bring debate and scholarship to the public. To that end, the publications
arm of the organization has grown apace with the organization itself, so that
there are now three regular newsletters dealing with various legal institutions
and issues: a scholarly journal of considerable length, a member magazine,
and frequent White Papers on a variety of topics.

Arkansas Supreme
Court Holds that
Potential Conflicts of
Law Cannot Defeat
Class Certification
New Jersey Supreme
Court Rejects
Medical Monitoring
in Product Liability
Claims
The Selection of Lead
Plaintiff and Lead
Counsel in Securities
Class Actions
Rhode Island
Supreme Court
Joins Other State
Courts in Rejecting
Product-Based Public
Nuisance Claims
Grand Theft Auto
Class Action:
Game Over

Ohio Update:
Ackison v. Anchor
Packing Co.

... continued page 14

Annual Report

Publications

25

 N
IO
T •
EN E
V U
N ISS
CO •

THE FEDERALIST PAPER
The in-house magazine of the Federalist
Society, the Federalist Paper comes out in the
winter, summer, and fall. Highlighting some
of the activities and events of Society Chapters, Practice Groups, and individual members,
the glossy magazine is meant to give members
a sense of the kind of engagements occupying particularly active chapters, students, and
lawyers. Each division reports on some of the
more noteworthy events of the past season,
including such things as the annual Student
Symposium and Lawyers Convention. The
State Courts and International Law Divisions
provide updates on their respective activities
as well.

February 2008

www.fed-soc.org

SEPTEMBER 2008

ER •
E

T
IN U
W ISS
•

25 Anniversary
25th
National Lawyers
Convention:

www.fed-soc.org

Chief Justice
John Roberts
2008 National
Delivers Barbara K.
President Bush and
Lawyers Convention
Olson
Justices Alito, Thomas Photo Highlights Lecture
January 2009

and Scalia Featured
Speakers at Gala
Banquet

in the organization’s publications are those of the authors, not necessarily of
the Society itself, and readers are encouraged to respond to what appears in
those publications and to submit ideas or articles about trends and developments in the law themselves.

www.fed-soc.org

INSIDE:
Inside:
Student, Lawyers &
Faculty, Lawyers & Student
Faculty Division
Division Updates
Updates

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY
The Lawyers and Faculty Divisions are developing original programming designed to foster substantially greater use of the Federalist Society’s
website:www.fed-soc.org. We have also made much better use of the web to disseminate
information about our programs and the programs
themselves in an effort to extend our message and
create more of a virtual community among people
with shared interests. Our website now features:

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Wisconsin.These reports discussed the
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past orientation and change in direcMI
tion of the jurisprudential philosophy
of each court in an effort to raise awareNC
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jurisprudence in American life. A
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number of White Papers focused on
state supreme courts including
topics on the judicial role of these
courts, updates of recent court activity, and economic impacts of court
rulings. These White Papers are meant to generate a higher level of debate
about important matters of law and policy.
The organization seeks to produce material that will encourage discussion
about timely legal and public policy developments; however, it is important to
note that the Society takes no position on particular issues. Opinions expressed
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26

Publications

•

“SCOTUScasts,” i.e. podcasts of digital
recordings of expert commentary on U.S.
Supreme Court cases as they are argued
and issued that may be downloaded from
our website and listened to on MP3 players
and computers.
The Originally Speaking series, where
experts from different sides of the ideological
spectrum come together to debate the
most recent legal topics in an online,
written forum.
An ongoing major update to the
Conservative/Libertarian Bibliography, a
topically-organized reading list for entering
law students intended to provide a foundation in conservative/libertarian legal
thinking. This bibliography is also being
made available in separate online segments that can be accessed and updated
by subject area online rather than exclusively as a single printed document.
Audio and video from our National Lawyers Convention, Student Symposium,
Faculty Division Conference, and other programs conducted by Practice
Groups, Lawyers Chapters, and Student Chapters likely to be of interest to
a broader audience.
Opportunities to register online for all major programs.

The additional content on our webpage has caused a remarkable increase in
web traffic. Media downloads have gone from just over 20,000 in June 2007 to
over 40,000 downloads in October 2008. Meanwhile page views have more than
doubled, from approximately 229,000 to almost 700,000, and unique visits to our
website are up 28 percent as well. Our event podcasts and SCOTUScasts are
regularly among the top thirty non-profit public affairs podcasts on the digital media
application iTunes and frequently rank higher.

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 BOTH OLD AND NEW
DONORS CONTRIBUTE
TO RISING REVENUE
2008 JAMES MADISON
CLUB ROSTER
Madison Club Platinum
($100,000 or more)
Lawrence Auriana
Lynde & Harry Bradley
Foundation
The Challenge Foundation
Arthur and Carlyse Ciocca
Charitable Foundation
Cortopassi Institute
Donor’s Capital Fund
Donor’s Trust, Inc.
The Holman Supporting
Foundation
Virginia James
Koch Industries, Inc.
David Koch
The Claude Lambe
Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Levy
Lilly Endowment, Inc.
The Marcus Foundation, Inc.
John M. Olin Foundation,
Inc.
Pfizer Inc
Philanthropy Roundtable
T. Boone Pickens
The Rosenkranz Foundation
Thomas A. Saunders

2008

The Federalist Society’s loyal long-time supporters and a lengthening list of new donors have
contributed to our increasing revenues, allowing us to add to the number and quality of programs
we provided for law students and lawyers across the country for the past 26 years. Again this
year, we grew by about 15 percent and reached a new all-time record of raising more than $10.6
million in FY 2008. Many of our long-time supporters are now members of the James Madison
Club, which means they contribute $1,000 or more annually to the Society. In recognition of the
commitment of those individuals, foundations, and corporations, a list of the current members of
the James Madison Club appears below.

Sarah Scaife Foundation
Searle Freedom Trust
The William Simon
Foundation
Paul Singer
The John Templeton
Foundation
The Thiel Foundation
Trof, Inc.
Verizon Communications
Madison Club Gold
($50,000 to $99,999)
Anonymous (4)
Baker & Hostetler LLP
Coca-Cola Bottlers’
Association
George and Kellyanne
Conway*
E.L. Craig Foundation
The Shelby Cullom Davis
Foundation
The Earhart Foundation
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Foundation
The Roger and Susan Hertog
Charitable Fund
John Patrick Humphreys
Foundation
IFPMA

Federalist Society

Annual Report

JM Freedom Foundation
Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation
Mark and Anla Cheng
Kingdon Foundation
The F.M. Kirby Foundation,
Inc.
Charles G. Koch Charitable
Foundation
Law Enforcement Legal
Defense Fund
Jay H. Newman
The John William Pope
Foundation
The Stuart Family
Foundation
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Madison Club Silver
($25,000 to $49,999)
Anonymous (1)
Robin and Cherie Arkley
Michael and Lillian BeVier*
The Chrysler Foundation
Civil Justice Reform Group
The Kathryn W. Davis
Foundation
The William F. Donner
Foundation
The Edgerly Foundation
Pierre & Enid Goodrich
Foundation
Hunton & Williams
The JM Foundation
Kenneth and Frayda Levy
Robert Luddy
Philip M. McKenna
Foundation
Merck & Co., Inc.
Progress for America Voter
Fund
John and Carol Saeman
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
William Lanham Walton
Yancey Bros. Co.

James Madison Club members Brad
Berenson (left), John and Mary Lee
Malcolm (center) and Susanna Dokupil
(right) pose together at the Annual
Dinner.

Benefactors

27

 Madison Club Benefactors
($10,000 to $24,999)
Anonymous (1)
Achelis Foundation
Aflac, Inc.
Alston & Bird, LLP
The Anschutz Foundation
The Apgar Foundation, Inc.
Austin Community Foundation
Bancroft Associates, PLLC
Leslie and Brian Brille*
Ceres Foundation
Chase Foundation of Virginia
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC
Douglas R. Cox
The Hugh and Hazel Darling
Foundation
Richard & Helen DeVos
Foundation
DLA Piper
Michael and Susanna Dokupil
J. Christopher Donahue
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Federated Investors Foundation,
Inc.
Goodwin Procter
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Gulton Foundation
Christopher Damon Haig
Hawk Family Foundation
The Grover Hermann
Foundation
Margaret M. Hill Foundation
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Howrey LLP
Jewish Communal Fund
Jones Day
Michael & Rosalind Keiser
Charitable Trust
Randy Parris Kendrick
Kirkland & Ellis Foundation
Lakeside Foundation
Mayer Brown LLP
McCarter & English LLP

28

Benefactors

Cherie Arkley (left) and Ann Corkery
visit at the James Madison Club
Reception.

Francis Menton, Jr.*
National Mining Association
Jack Overstreet
Patton Boggs LLP
Paul, Hastings, Jonofsky &
Walker LLP
Adam and Tara Ross
Daniel Shuchman
Sidley Austin LLP
Robert S. and Dian G. Smith*
Spriggs & Hollingsworth
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
The Hatton Sumners
Foundation
Nicholas J. Swenson
Time Warner, Inc.
Troutman Sanders LLP
Venable, LLP
Sheila and Gerald Walpin*
White & Case LLP
Wiley Rein LLP
WilmerHale
Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich &
Rosati
Fred Young

Madison Club Sustaining
Members
($5,000 to $9,999)
Anonymous (1)
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer &
Feld LLP
Emil Arca
The Armstrong Foundation
Wendell Bird
Robert H. and Mary Ellen Bork
Susan Braden
Roger Brooks
William M. Carey
Ying Chen
Coca-Cola Bottling Company
United, Inc.
The G.L.Connelly Foundation
Contran Corporation
Covington & Burling
Dick & Betsy DeVos
Foundation*
ED Foundation
Joseph McLaughlin
Joanne and Fred Medero
The Modzelewski Endowment
William and Kathleen Mumma
Carl W. Nuessle
Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
William and Lee Otis*
Raytheon Company
The Roe Foundation
Sheldon Rose*
Gene Schaerr
Joseph and Mary Smith
Swire Coca-Cola USA
Herbert W.Vaughan*
The Shaw & Betty Walker
Foundation
Winston & Strawn LLP

2008

Madison Club Supporting
Members ($2,000-$4,999)
Anonymous (4)
Amerisure Insurance
Edward C. Anderson
Jodi S. Balsam
Barbara Bruin
Gregory S. Coleman
The George E. Coleman, Jr.
Foundation
Jack David
Robert J. Ernst III
Daniel R. Finley
Robert J. Giuffra, Jr.
Lois Haight Herrington*
Karl J. Hirshman
Mark V. Holmes
Judith Jacobs*
Thomas P. Ogden
Theodore B. Olson*
San W. Orr, Jr.
Robert P. Parker
Mark A. Perry
Thomas Phillips
Roger Pilon
Paul E. Pisano
Raymond Wm. Leyden
Sara Church Reese
Wm. Bradford Reynolds*
David B. Rivkin, Jr.
James M. Rockett
Leslie Rose*
The Rodney Fund
Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP
Andrew Siff
Paula M. Stannard*
James M. Stoneman Foundation
Frank B. Strickland
Bonnie K. Wachtel*
Richard K. Willard*
John Witten
Zappala Family Foundation

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 Madison Club members Gerald and Sheila Walpin (left) and Judith Jacobs (center) talk
to pollster and television personality Kellyanne Conway (right) at the Barbara K. Olson
Memorial Lecture.

Madison Club Members
($1,000 - $1,999)
Anonymous (3)
Alden F. Abbott
Mike K. Ain
American Council of Life Insurers
Douglas W. Anderson
Fred Anton III
David L. Applegate
Adrienne Atkinson
John S. Baker, Jr.
Clayton Robert Barker
Randy E. Barnett
James and Nora Barry
Gregory L. Barton
Charles H. Bell, Jr.
Bradford Berenson
Jan Coxe Berlage
Lawrence Bernheim
George W. Bermant
Erika C. Birg
Stuart R. Birn
James F. Blackstock
Francis S. Blake*
C.H. Boyle Foundation
Rachel L. Brand and Jonathan
Cohn
John W. Brewer
William Brooke

2008

Barbara Bruin
John Stewart Bryan III*
William Burgess
Arthur Burke
W. Stephan Cannon
Williard Z. Carr, Jr.
Paul G. Cellupica
Will Chou
Roger Clegg
Andrew Richard Cochran
Shannen W. Coffin
Sean C. Connors
James A. Cooke
Charles J. Cooper
Matthew Cooper
Theodore Cooperstein*
Trevor K. Copeland
Stephen John Cox
James C. Creigh
Richard J. Cummins
Nina Cunningham
Alexander R. Dahl
Paul E. Dans
Anthony D’Auria
Paul and Antoinette DeCamp
John L. Dodd
Elizabeth K. Dorminey
Douglas Dunn
Pete and Elise DuPont
Chris W. Ekren

Federalist Society

Annual Report

Anne Eldridge
William J. Emanuel
Epstein Becker & Green, PC
Richard M. Esenberg
L. Jackson Etheridge*
Nolly S. Evans
Thomas A. Farr
R. Scott Feldmann
Michael C. Flynn
William Edward Ford
Nathan Forrester
David F. Forte
Theodore Frank
George S. Frazza
Sandra S. Froman
Christopher and Courtenay
Gabriel
Paul V. Gadola
William L. Garwood
Thomas F. Gede
George J. Gillespie III
Paul Glenchur
Elizabeth Dallas Gobeil
Shannon L. Goessling
John A. Gose
James L. Graham
Dorothy Gray*
Thomas P. Griesa
Gregory Grimsal

David Martin of the Law Enforcement
Legal Defense Fund and his wife Diane
arrive at the Annual Dinner.

Board of Visitors Member Andrew
Redleaf of Minnesota (left) catches
up with Judge Jerry Smith of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit at
the Convention.

Alan Gura
Eric D. Hargan*
Elizabeth Harmer-Dionne
R. Britt Harris, Jr.
Marion Edwyn Harrison
Brent O. Hatch
Robert C. Hawk
Benjamin P. Hayek
Jim Haynes
Sandra J. Hecker
Gail Heriot
John Hilton
Robert Hishon
James and Allyson Ho
Joe G. Hollingsworth
James Huffman
J.C. Huizenga
Thomas G. Hungar
William T. Huston*
Charles Hwang
Nancy Iredale
Erik S. Jaffe
Eric J. Kadel, Jr.
Paul J. Kaleta
David and Alida Kass
Thomas J. Kavaler
Lawrence Keane
James P. Kelly III
Manuel S. Klausner
Howard J. Klein
Helen Krieble

Benefactors

29

 Michael Wiggins of Atlanta (left), Adam Ross of Dallas, (center) and Ted Cooperstein,
currently stationed in Florida, and his wife Wipada, (right) enjoy the Annual Dinner.

Jeffrey C. Kubin
Raymond J. LaJeunesse, Jr.
Grant Lally*
Glen Lavy
Steven J. Law
Robert H. and Anita Q. Lawe
Foundation
Kenneth K. Lee
Andrew W. Lester*
Raymond William Leyden
Elizabeth Locke
Robert L. Lofts
Robert A. Lonergan
Wendy E. Long
Karen Lugo
Letty G. Lutzker*
Gregory Maier
MaryRose Manczak
Karen L. Manos
Edmund R. Manwell
David H. Martin
Brian J. Maas
Michael C. Massengale
Steve A. Matthews
Randolph J. May
Douglas Kirk Mayer
Letty McAdams
Sean M. McAvoy
Jennifer R. McCain

30

Benefactors

Robert D. McCallum
Gregory McNeal
Simone Mele
Matthew D. Michael
Roger Milliken
Mark D. Mittleman
Robert Montgomery
Hashim Mooppan
Edward A. Moritz
Richard Morrison
Peter Mulloney
David Murray
Eliza P. Nagle
Jeffrey T. Neilson
Douglas T. Nelson
Larry Neubauer
Dennis R. Nolan
David J. Novak
Coleman A. Nutter*
James O’Connell, Jr.
John C. O’Quinn
John E. O’Neill
Dwight D. Opperman
Hugh Overholt
Kevin and Dawn O’Scannlain
Donald L. Padgitt
R. Hewitt Pate
Nicole and Scott Pearson
Eric J. Pelton

Lovett Peters
Stephen D. Poss
George Priest
Alfred E. Putnam, Jr.
Alan Charles Raul
Ronald D. Rotunda
Lee and Soraya Rudofsky
Charles F. (Rick) Rule
John L. Ryder
Robert Scarborough
Peter Carey Schaumber
Maimon Schwarzschild
Ilya Shapiro
Donald Shawler
Robert P. Sheils, Jr.
Brandon Simmons
Loren A. Smith
Douglas G. Smith
Mark W. Smith
Stephen C. Smith
John A. Smyth III
Abraham D. Sofaer*
John J. Soroko*
Jeffrey Spears
Cheryl Stanton
Charles Henry Still, Sr.
Robert L. Strickland*
Jane L. Stone
J. Robert Suffoletta, Jr.
Glenn M. Sulmasy
Thomas Milburn Sweeney
Heath Price Tarbert
David H. Thompson
Larry D. Thompson
Michael and Janet Tierney
Eric W. Treene
G.L. Jidge Verity
Vincent J.Vitkowsky
David J.Volk
Michael B. Wallace
John L. Warden
Lynn D. Wardle
Richard E. Weicher
Donn Weinberg
David Weinstein
Hill B. Wellford
Steadman H. Westergaard

2008

James Q. Whitaker
Ketia Wick
Rando Wick
Michael Wiggins
Richard E. Wiley
William Reynolds Williams*

D.C. Lawyers Chapter President Doug
Cox (left) and R. Ted Cruz, former
Solicitor General of Texas, visit at the
Convention.

Edwin D. Williamson*
M. Craig Wolf/Wine and Spirits
Wholesalers of America
Woodford Foundation
Christopher A. Wray
Moin A.Yahya
James W. Ziglar
Julius J. Zschau
*Denotes individuals who are founding
members of the James Madison Club.

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 

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2008 FEDERALIST SOCIETY Annual Report Financial Statements 31

THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY FOR LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES
STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
SEPTEMBER 30. 2008 AND 200?

ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents 2.626.019
Investments 2,686.80? 3.243.965
Grants receivable 1 .'192.450 535.000
Contributions receivable 363.243 200,305
Other receivables 13.350 1?.704
Supplies inventory 1 1 E483 156.63?
Other current assets 86.392 66.983

8.181.481 
GRANT CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVABLE - LONG-TERM

Grants receivable 9??.040
Contributions receivable 412.345

1 $333,355
FIXED ASSETS

Computer equipment 163.?33
Office furniture and equipment 04.653
Leasehold improvements 15.388
273.779 255.4?0?

Accumulated depreciation and amortization _1'15'5.140' _'165.0'18}
113.633 120.452
OTHER ASSETS 10 000 10.000



TOTAL ASSETS 9.093.499 3 1850.943

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

CURRENT LIABILITIES

Accounts payable and accrued expenses 521.82? 333.519
Deferred revenue 170.55? 2?2.045

T013531 611.164
NET ASSETS

Unrestricted 5.006.854 4,94 3.86?
Tern porarily restricted 3.975.231 2.285.531?
Permanentiy restricted 10.000 10.000

TOTAL NET ASSETS 3.99.2.1 15 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS 9.003.499 1550.948

Sea Notes to Financial Slatemerits -

 

THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY FOR LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES
STATEMENTS OF ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30. 2000 AND 200?

2008 2001r
Temporarily Temporarily Permanently
Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Total Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Total
REVENUE

Gra 8 3.491095 5 3.514913 5 5 7.012.008 5 1.449.851 3 1.185.404 5 - 2.835.055
Registration fees 845.48? - - 845.48? 529.193 - - 529.193
Membership dues 22?.512 22?.812 21 1,2?5 - 21?.2?5
Contributions 4.408.809 12.043 - 4.480.852 2.988.285 1.140.998 - 4.129.284
Investment income [00.194] - {85.194} 430,02? - - 430.02?
Miscellaneous income 15.??8 15.??8 18.498 18.498

8.?08.58?? 3,040,950 - 12.355.543 5.032.930 2,320,402 - 1959.332

NET ASSETS RELEASED FROM RESTRICTIONS
Satisfaction of reslriclions 1 .951012 (1 951012} 3.011892 (3.011802) 
10.000.199 1.089.344 - 12.355.543 9.250.022 {1,291.490) - 1959.332
EXPENSES

Program services
General program 836.82? 835.82? 945.3?1? - 9453??
Fellows program 8T1 .000 - 871.000 410.030 - - 410.830
Student Chapter and Membership Services 0013?1 001321 422.422 - - 422.422
Student Speakers Bureau 1.458.528 - 1.458.528 1.252.580 - - 1.252.580
Student National Symposium 130.818 130.818 198.324 198.324

Lawyers Division Chapter and Membership Services 4123.051 - 413.051 410.217Ir - - 410.21?
Lawyers Division Speakers Bureau 843.951 843.951 881.935 - - 881.935
Lawyers National Conference 1.321453 - 1.321453 803.950 - - 803.950
State Courts 1.500.958 1.588.955 922.421 9112.421
Practice aclivities 1.003.928 1 .003.9T8 914.909 - - 914.909

Other conferences 345.811 345.81 1 429.520 - - 429.520
9.424.350 9.474.350 1504.505 - - 1504.505

General and administrative 482.322 - 402.322 419.015 - - 419.015
Fundraieing 040.540 040.540 003.502 - - 003.562

10.003212 - 10.003.212 8.521082 - - 0.521882
IN NET ASSETS 02.90? 1.009.344 - 1352.331 722.940 (1,291,490) - {500.550}
NET ASSETS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR 4.943 801' 2,285.91? 10.000 1239.?84 4.220.92? 3.5?140? 10.000 1808.334
NET ASSETS AT END OF YEAR 5.006.854 3.925.201 10.000 31 0.992.115 8 4.943.130? 3 2,285.91? 3 10,000 3 1239.?84

 

 

 

See Notes to Financial Statements

 

THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY FOR LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30. 2003 AND 2007

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

Change in net assets
Adjustments to reconcile change in net assets to net
cash provided {used} by operating activities
Depreciation and amortization
Net [appreciation] depreciation in tair value ol investments
Donation of securities
Amortization of present value discounts on contributions received
{Increase} decrease in
Grants receivabte
Contributions receivable
Other receivables
Supplies inventory
Other current assets
Increase {decrease} in
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
Deferred revenue

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES

Purchase of investments
Proceeds from sale of investments
Purchase affixed assets

INCREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR
CASH AND EQUIVALENTS AT ENDI OF YEAR

Non-cash contributions

See Notes to Financial Statements

26-03

1,752,331

29.1380
31. .230
(541.5?1 I

{28.522}

[1.454.963]
'1 43.540
4.344
39.154

{19.409}

183.306

338.428

{939.553}


?2.260
?5?.239
1.09566?

3321.746

541.5?1

2'00?

IF {568.550}

26.405
{152.352}
{9.671 1

169.393
{540.537}
{4.201}
{154.502}
H.306

{9.31 3}
2.3?0



[2.0543330]
900.302

?19,?59
(1.130.137!


4.975.553
2 626.0?9

9.6?1

 

END OF AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

2008

Federalist S
Society

Annual Report

Financial Statements

35

 FEDERALIST SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
Local and National Involvement

FEDERALIST SOCIETY PROGRAM GROWTH
1,600

Practice Groups

50,000

Lawyers Chapters

1,400

Student Chapters
1,200

40,000

1,000

Members

Total
Number of 800
Programs

30,000

600
20,000

400
200

10,000
2004

2005

2006

2007

0

2008

2004

Calendar Year

FEDERALIST SOCIETY REVENUE GROWTH

2005
2006
2007
Calendar Year

2008

FEDERALIST SOCIETY EXPENDITURES-FISCAL YEAR 2008

$10,000,000
General Management
$9,000,000

Development

$8,000,000

5%

6%

Programming

$7,000,000
$6,000,000
Revenue
$5,000,000

89%

$4,000,000
$3,000,000
$2,000,000
$1,000,000
0

2004

2005
2006
Calendar Year

2007

2008

Student Chapters Programs

2008

Federalist Society

Annual Report

 FOUNDING DIRECTORS

STAFF

Hon. E. Spencer Abraham
Steven G. Calabresi
Hon. David M. McIntosh
Hon. Lee Liberman Otis

President
Eugene B. Meyer

DIRECTORS/OFFICERS
Steven G. Calabresi, Chairman
Hon. David M. McIntosh,
Vice Chairman
Gary S. Lawson, Secretary
Brent O. Hatch, Treasurer
Eugene B. Meyer, President
• • •

Hon. T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., Counselor

BOARD OF VISITORS
Hon. Robert H. Bork, Co-Chairman
Hon. Orrin G. Hatch, Co-Chairman
Lillian BeVier
Hon. C. Boyden Gray
Hon. Lois Haight Herrington
Hon. Donald Paul Hodel
Hon. Frank Keating
Harvey C. Koch
Robert A. Levy
Hon. Edwin Meese III
Hon. Gale Norton
Hon. Theodore B. Olson
Andrew J. Redleaf
Hon. Wm. Bradford Reynolds
Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz
The Federalist Society
1015 18th Street, N.W., Suite 425
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 822-8138
info@fed-soc.org
www.fed-soc.org

Executive Vice President
Leonard A. Leo

Senior Vice President & Faculty Division Director
Lee Liberman Otis

Lawyers Division
Dean A. Reuter, Practice Groups Director
Juli A. Nix, Deputy Director,
Practice Groups
Hannah DeGuzman, Assistant Director,
Practice Groups
Lisa Budzynski Ezell, Lawyers
Chapters Director
Jonathan Bunch, State Courts Project
Director
Sarah Field, Deputy Director, State Courts
Project
Alyssa Luttjohann, Deputy Director,
International Affairs
David C.F. Ray, Associate Director
Alicia Luschei, Assistant Director
Alexander Reynolds, Assistant Director

Faculty Division
Erin Sheley, Deputy Director
Andrew Olson, Assistant Director

Development
Patty Price, Director
Emily Kuebler, Associate Director
Thomas Kraemer, Assistant Director

Office Management
Rhonda Moaland, Office Manager
Matthew Nix, Assistant Office Manager

Independent Consultants
James P. Kelly III, International Affairs
Margaret Little, Pro Bono Center

Finance Director
Douglas C. Ubben

Student Division
Peter Redpath, Director
Daniel Suhr, Deputy Director
Elizabeth LeRoy, Associate Director
Kate Beer, Assistant Director

IT Director
C. David Smith

Publications Director
Peter Aigner

Membership Director
Erica Morbeck

 The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
1015 18th Street, N.W. • Suite 425 • Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 822-8138 • info@fed-soc.org • www.fed-soc.org