2017 Supreme Court Preview, September 15th-16th
Program
The 2017 Preview featured 3 federal court of appeals judges, 16 Supreme Court advocates who have collectively argued more than 300 cases before the Supreme Court, and leading Supreme Court reporters and columnists from the nation's top newspapers. The Preview began at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 15 with a moot court on the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The issue in this case concerned the refusal of a baker to make a wedding cake for a same sex couple. The baker claimed a First Amendment religious liberty exemption from state anti discrimination laws; the Colorado Civil Rights Commission rejected that claim. John Elwood of Vinson and Elkins argued for petitioner Masterpiece Cakeshop and Beth Brinkmann of Covington argued for respondent Colorado Civil Rights Commission.
The Friday night programming also featured a panel on Trump and the Supreme Court. The panel considered the possible retirement of Kennedy, and some speculation on how Trump will fare before the Court. The Preview continued on Saturday, September 16 with panels throughout the day. In addition to considering the most interesting and important cases on the Court's docket, panels also considered the Trump presidency and preliminary impressions of Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Panelists
Bob Barnes (Washington Post)
Joan Biskupic (Reuters)
Jess Bravin (Wall Street Journal)
Beth Brinkmann (Covington & Burling)
Erwin Chemerinsky (University of California Berkley School of Law)
Paul Clement (Kirkland & Ellis)
Lyle Denniston (National Constitution Center)
John Elwood (Vinson & Elkins)
Jeff Fisher (Stanford University Law School)
Greg Garre (Latham & Watkins)
Adam Gershowitz (William & Mary Law School)
Linda Greenhouse (Yale Law School)
Tara Grove (William & Mary Law School)
Pamela Harris (U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit)
Pam Karlan (Stanford Law School)
Christopher Landau (Kirkland & Ellis)
Alli Larsen (William & Mary Law School)
Adam Liptak (New York Times)
Patricia Millett (U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit)
Erin Murphy (Kirkland & Ellis)
Andy Pincus (Mayer Brown)
David Savage (Los Angeles Times)
Kannon Shanmugam (Williams & Connolly)
Paul Smith (Campaign Legal Center)
Jeffrey Sutton (U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit)
Donald Verrilli (Munger, Tolles & Olson)
Timothy Zick (William & Mary Law School)