The Power of State Constitutional Rights

Arthur Rubloff Building
Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
375 E Chicago Ave
Chicago, IL 60611

In person and online

State courts and constitutions are increasingly in the spotlight as significant sources of rights. In areas ranging from abortion to education to property rights, many state constitutions offer protections that are distinct from and often more expansive than those found in the U.S. Constitution.

Join the Brennan Center for Justice, State Court Report, and the Northwestern University Law Review for a two-day symposium at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law exploring the future of state constitutional rights, including the substantive rights protected by state constitutions, state constitutional amendments, and emerging issues in areas such as LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights.

Produced in partnership with the Brennan Center for Justice and Northwestern University Law Review

Illinois CLE credit for this event is pending. If approved, credit will be offered to in-person participants.

Sessions

• A Conversation with Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• LGBTQ+ Rights and State Constitutions
• Unique Rights in State Constitutions
• Breakout session: Criminal Sentencing and Protections for Incarcerated People
• Breakout session: Reproductive Rights
• Breakout session: Hurdles to Vindicating State Constitutional Rights
• Federalism and Interstate Conflicts
• Voting Rights and Democracy
• Constitutional Amendments and State Conventions

Full schedule to be announced

Speakers

• Alicia Bannon, Director of Judiciary Program, Brennan Center for Justice
• Ting Ting Cheng, Director of the ERA Project at the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center, NYU School of Law
• Zachary Clopton, Interim Dean, Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
• Martha Davis, University Distinguished Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
• Akilah Deernose, Executive Director, ACLU of Montana
• Bridget Fahey, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School
• Marcus Gadson, Associate Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
• Hon. Caitlin J. Halligan, Associate Judge, New York Court of Appeals
• Andrew Hammond, Professor of Law, Harry T. Ice Faculty Fellow, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
• Brian Highsmith, Assistant Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
• Roderick M. Hills Jr., William T. Comfort III Professor of Law, NYU School of Law
• Michael Kang, Class of 1940 Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
• Diana Kasdan, Legal and Policy Director for the Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, UCLA School of Law
• Hon. Melissa A. Long, Associate Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court
• Sean Morales-Doyle, Director of Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice
• Hon. Allison Riggs, Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court
• Daniel B. Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
• Anthony Sanders, Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement, Institute for Justice
• Matthew Segal, Codirector of State Supreme Court Initiative, American Civil Liberties Union
• Miriam Seifter, Richard E. Johnson Bascom Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law School
• David Shapiro, Executive Director, MacArthur Justice Center
• Adam Sopko, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
• Julia Spiegel, Founder and CEO, GovAct
• Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton, Chief Judge, Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Deborah Tuerkheimer, Class of 1967 James B. Haddad Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
• Whit Washington, Senior Attorney for the Nonbinary and Transgender Rights Project, Lambda Legal
• Hon. Elizabeth M. Welch, Associate Justice, Michigan Supreme Court
• Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice
• Evan Wolfson, Founder and President, Freedom to Marry
• Quinn Yeargain, 1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy, Associate Professor of Law, Michigan State University College of Law

Additional speakers to be announced