The School of Law will join more than 100 other U.S. law schools in a nationwide discussion of judicial independence as part of the country’s second annual Constitution Day observance Monday, Sept. 18.
Catherine Perry
“Our participation in a national dialogue focused on the Constitution and judicial independence underscores our commitment to foster understanding of the critical role of the courts,” said Kent D. Syverud, J.D., dean and the Ethan A.H. Shepley University Professor. “I am deeply concerned about attacks on the judiciary and about the need in our society for greater appreciation of the benefits of an independent judiciary.”
At noon Sept. 18, the law school will host students, faculty, staff and others at a video presentation that features retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Anthony M. Kennedy speaking on judicial independence and the role of the courts.
The video and its simulcast at American law schools was a project jointly promoted by the WUSTL School of Law, the Cornell Law School, the University of Arizona Law School and the American Bar Association.
Judge Catherine Perry, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, will discuss the meaning of judicial independence following the simulcast, scheduled in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in Anheuser-Busch Hall.
“I am honored to be asked to talk about judicial independence and the essential separation of powers,” said Perry, J.D., a 1980 alumna of the WUSTL law school. “I believe these constitutional concepts are frequently misunderstood, and they are among the most important in our democratic system.”
Discussion topics planned for the event include: the reasons for and responsibilities of an independent judiciary; historical responses of presidents to Supreme Court decisions; recent congressional efforts to dispel perceived judicial activism; and the election of state court judges.
Titled “A Conversation on the Constitution: Judicial Independence,” the video was produced by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands and the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania as part of an ongoing civics education initiative in support of the Constitution Day observance.