Schedule of Events

Sessions will be held in Room 119 with overflow in Room 120 unless otherwise specified. Except for the greenroom, all panels will be recorded and live streamed on Zoom.*

*The moot court and the Friday evening panel will both be held in the McGlothlin courtroom. All panelists are welcome to sit in the courtroom. Paid registrants may sit in the courtroom on a first-come, first-serve basis. All students, without a special invitation, should be seated in the classroom.

Friday, September 16, 2022
Greenroom with Students

Brief Description:  Available panelists will meet with registered W&M students to talk about their lives in the law and to give advice they wish they had been given when in law school.

2:30 PM
Welcome: 
  •  Alli Larsen and Ben Spencer

4:00 PM
Moot Court
Moore v. Harper (the independent state legislature case)

Brief Description: The Supreme Court will hear a case arising from North Carolina’s efforts to draw new congressional maps in response to the 2020 census. Petitioners invoke the “independent state legislature doctrine” which is the idea that, under the U.S. Constitution, only the state legislature has the power to regulate federal elections, without interference from state courts.

  • Advocates: Luke McCloud and Morgan Ratner
  • Justices: Joan Biskupic (Chief), Kevin Newsom, Toby Heytens, Bob Barnes, Jess Bravin, Katherine Mims Crocker, Bertrall Ross, Meaghan VerGow, Jeff Wall

 

 

 

 

4:05 PM 

 

 

 

 
The Roberts Court after a Seismic Term: What comes next, whose influence is paramount, and will the fallout from the leak have lasting implications?

Brief Description: Journalists ran out of adjectives—landmark, sweeping, historic—to describe the decisions made in the 2021-22 Term. What comes next for the Roberts Court after a Term like that? Are we at the beginning of a new era or will the Justices (or some of the Justices) pump the brakes? And how will the fallout from the Dobbs leak or the 2022 midterm elections affect the answer to that question?

  • Moderator: Adam Liptak
  • Panelists: Melissa Murray, Roman Martinez, Erin Murphy, Jeff Fisher, Irv Gornstein

 

 

 

5:30 PM 

 

 

 
Saturday, September 17, 2021

 
The Court and Limits on the Administrative State

Brief Description: This Court does not seem shy about limiting the power of administrative agencies, including limits on agency authority and agency structure, all in the name of preserving separation of powers. This panel will discuss what comes next: pending appointments challenges to the FTC and SEC, the major questions doctrine, and in general the broad direction of the Court’s limitations on the administrative state.

  • Moderator: Aaron Bruhl
  • Panelists: Carter Philips, James Stern, Beth Brinkmann, Andy Pincus, Irv Gornstein

9:00 AM
The Roberts Court and Race

Brief Description: The Supreme Court has already granted several cases that deal explicitly with race: the Harvard/UNC affirmative action cases, the Alabama Voting Rights Act case, and the Indian Child Welfare Act cases, to name a few. This panel will forecast what will come in those cases, contemplate potential surprises or unusual vote lineups, and explore what broader conclusions can be drawn about the Roberts Court and race.

  • Moderator: Joan Biskupic
  • Panelists: Pam Karlan, Erwin Chemerinsky, Jeff Wall, Pratik Shah, Janai Nelson (on Zoom)

10:00 AM
Judging Hard Cases:
What factors make cases particularly difficult to decide and can the Court do anything about it?

Brief Description: A panel of distinguished federal appellate judges will take us behind the scenes to address the variables that make for the most challenging cases they hear and offer ideas on ways to mitigate the difficulty.

  • Moderator: Neal Devins
  • Panelists: Judge Pam Harris, Judge Stephanos Bibas, Judge Kevin Newsom, Judge Toby Heytens

11:15 AM
Lunch Break 

12:15 PM
Docket Deep Dives (3 choices in 3 different rooms):  
  • Election Law:
    • Moderators: Margaret Hu & Rebecca Green
    • Panelists: Paul Smith, Betrall Ross, Pam Karlan
  • Business Docket:
    • Moderator: Jess Bravin
    • Panelists: Carter Philips, Pratik Shah, Greg Stohr, Beth Brinkmann
  • Criminal Law Docket:
    • Moderator: Martina Stewart
    • Panelists: Jeff Fisher, Meaghan VerGow, Stephanos Bibas, Erwin Chemerinsky

1:00 PM
The Court and Religion

Brief Description: The 2021-22 Term brought significant victories for religious liberty petitioners: a high school football coach disciplined for midfield after-game prayers, a Christian group requesting to fly its flag at city hall when secular flags had been allowed, and families seeking for Maine to pay public tuition grants to religious schools. This panel will address what religious liberty claims are likely to be victorious next Term, including the possible expansion of religious exemptions for wedding vendors in same-sex weddings. The panelists will also explore more broadly what theory the Roberts Courts sees for religion and public life under the US Constitution.

  • Moderator: David Savage
  • Panelists: Paul Smith, Erin Murphy, Willy Jay, Andy Pincus

2:00 PM
Abortion Litigation and Second Amendment Litigation After Dobbs and Bruen

Brief Description: With its landmark decisions in Dobbs (overruling Roe v. Wade) and Bruen (vindicating a Second Amendment right to carry a gun outside the home), the Court spoke with a tone of finality. Quickly thereafter, however, many complicated legal issues have arisen in the wake of both Dobbs and Bruen —including questions on the right to travel, federal/state authority over access to abortion medication, and new challenges to gun regulations, like California’s ban on high-capacity magazines. This panel will discuss which issues are likely to reach the Court first and will predict whether and how the Justices will handle them.

  • Moderator: Bob Barnes
  • Panelists: Erin Murphy, Pam Karlan, Tim Zick, Willy Jay, Adam Liptak

3:15 PM
Concluding Remarks

4:15 PM