Law School to Host 15 Guest Scholars, Public Officials for Annual Symposium

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State Constitutional Change featuring Dean Vikram Amar

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas School of Law's Arkansas Law Review along with Richard Albert, associate professor at Boston College Law School, and Jonathan Marshfield, assistant professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, present the annual Arkansas Law Review Symposium.

The symposium, State Constitutional Change: Traditions, Trends and Theory, will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in the law school's E.J. Ball Courtroom and will feature a keynote address by Vikram Amar, dean of the University of Illinois College of Law.

Amar, 10 guest scholars, five public officials and five University of Arkansas faculty members, will explore the distinctive nature of state constitutional change. Panels will address topics such as the theory and practice of formal state constitutional amendment, the relationship between formal amendment and judicial interpretation of state constitutions, unconstitutional constitutional amendments in the state tradition and modern state constitutional conventions and commissions. Contributors will focus on the structural, normative and contextual factors that distinguish state constitutions from their federal counterpart and the effects that these differences may have on the nature and significance of state constitutional change

Symposium attendance is worth up to 6.75 hours of continuing legal education credit. Attendance is free of charge, but registration is required. Register here to reserve your seat.

Sessions, Speakers, Moderators

8:45-9 a.m. – Welcome by Jonathan Marshfield, assistant professor, University of Arkansas School of Law

9-10:30 a.m. – Panel I: The Modalities of State Constitutional Change

• James Gardner, Practice-Driven Changes to Constitutional 
Structures of Governance, interim dean, the Bridget and Thomas Black Professor and a Distinguished Professor, State University of New York, Buffalo Law School
• Mark Graber, State Constitutions as National Constitutions, Jacob A. France Professor of Constitutionalism, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law 

• Justin R. Long, Guns, Gays and Ganja, associate professor of law, Wayne State University 

• Kate Shaw, State Administrative Constitutionalism, assistant professor, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
• Mark Killenbeck, moderator, Wylie H. Davis Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Arkansas School of Law

10:30-10:45 a.m. – Break

10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – Panel II: (Re)Designing State Constitutional Amendment Processes

• John Dinan, 21st Century Debates and Developments Regarding 
the Design of State Amendment Processes, professor of politics and international relations, Wake Forest University 

• Jonathan L. Marshfield, Improving Amendment, assistant professor of law, University of Arkansas School of Law 

• Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Fighting for Fair Representation in Illinois, assistant professor, The Law School, University of Chicago
• Robert F. Williams, The Evolving State Constitutional Processes of 
Adoption, Revision and Amendment: Looking Forward, Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for State Constitutional Studies, Rutgers University
• Rob Leflar, moderator, professor of law, University of Arkansas School of Law

12:15-1:15 p.m. – Break for Lunch

1:15-2:15 p.m. – State Constitutional Change by Direct Democracy: …

• Richard Albert, introduction, associate professor and Dean's Research Scholar, …
• Vikram Amar, keynote address, dean, University of Illinois College of Law

2:15-3:45 p.m. – Panel III: State Constitutional Change in "Comparative" Perspective

• Richard Albert, American Exceptionalism in Constitutional Amendment, associate professor and Dean's Research Scholar, Boston College Law School
• Lawrence Friedman, The Potentially Unamendable Core of a State Constitution, professor of law, New England Law
• David Landau, Towards a Theory of Unconstitutional 
Constitutional Amendments in State Constitutional Law and Comparative Constitutional Law, associate dean for international programs and Mason Ladd Professor, Florida State University College of Law
• Lisa Alavos, moderator, assistant professor, University of Arkansas School of Law

3:45-4:00 p.m. - Break

4:00-5:15 p.m. - Panel IV: State Constitutional Change in Arkansas

• Wendell Griffen, circuit judge, Arkansas 6th Judicial Circuit, 5th Division 

• Jeremy Hutchinson, senator, District 33, Arkansas General Assembly

• Matthew Shepherd, representative, District 6, Arkansas General Assembly
• Annabelle Imber Tuck, retired justice, Arkansas Supreme Court 

• Chief Justice Howard Brill, moderator, Vincent Foster Professor of Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, University of Arkansas School of Law

5:15-5:30 p.m. – Closing Remarks by the Arkansas Law Review Executive Committee

About University of Arkansas School of Law: The University of Arkansas School of Law prepares students for success through a challenging curriculum taught by nationally recognized faculty, unique service opportunities and a close-knit community that puts students first. With alumni in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, two territories and 20 countries, it has been ranked among the top 10 "Values in Legal Education" by the National Jurist magazine for three consecutive years and is among the top 41 public law schools, according to U.S. News and World Report.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.