Hartman Hotz Lecture Series to Host Harvard Law Professor

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, will discuss the “Power of the Judge Across the Globe” at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in the University of Arkansas School of Law’s E.J. Ball Courtroom. The presentation is part of the University of Arkansas Hartman Hotz Lectures in Law and Liberal Arts. The talk is free and open to the public.

Tushnet, a prominent professor in constitutional law and a leading scholar of law among different countries, will talk about the idea, now fairly widespread among constitutional theorists, that judicial review can be reconciled with democracy and self-governance by seeing the courts as engaged in a dialogue with legislatures.

Tushnet said the dialogue metaphor is most developed in Canadian constitutional theory, but its influence has begun to spread.  His lecture will describe different ways in which dialogue can occur, identifying differences in the speed with which legislatures can respond to the courts. 

“In Canada, the response, at least in theory, can occur in 'real time,’ with the legislature having the power to override a judicial interpretation of the nation's Charter,” Tushnet said.  “The United States also has various forms of dialogue, although they occur over a more extended period: constitutional amendment, replacement of judges when retirements occur and, probably most interesting, the response — emphasized by Yale Law Professors Robert Post and Reva Siegel — that sitting judges' views can be influenced and changed by their observation of on-going and important social movements.”

Stephen Sheppard, William H. Enfield Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas, said judicial review might be the most controversial aspect of the U.S.  Constitution.

“The power of the courts as a check on the powers of the President and the Congress concerns every American.  Guantanamo prisoners, environmental rules, the use of lethal injection and of course, the management of elections are all before the Supreme Court just this year,” Sheppard said.  “It is a real treat to have one of America’s best scholars in Fayetteville to discuss this problem from a global perspective.”

Tushnet has authored three books concerning constitutional law. Out of Range, Taking the Constitution Away from Court and A Court Divided are all available at the University of Arkansas Bookstore. 

“Professor Tushnet’s extensive knowledge of this societal and political issue makes him an ideal scholar-presenter in the Hartman Hotz Lecture Series,” Sheppard said.

The Hartman Hotz Lecture Series was established by Dr. and Mrs. Palmer Hotz of Foster City, Calif., to honor the memory of his brother, Hartman Hotz.  Hartman Hotz graduated from the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in history. After graduating from Yale University Law School, he joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas School of Law, where he made significant contributions to the study of law.

The presentation series is sponsored by the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Law.  It supports the discussion of challenging social and intellectual issues of the day on the Fayetteville campus.  Many distinguished speakers have participated in this lecture series, among them Chief Justice Warren Burger, G. Edward White, Shirley Abbott, Daisy Bates, Thomas Grisso, George Fletcher and George McGovern.