On November 15–16, 2012, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States (ISCOTUS) and the Chicago-Kent Law Review hosted a symposium on the Supreme Court and the American Public. This two-day event provided a forum for presenters to share in-depth perspectives on:
- How the Court uses technology;
- What the public hears when decisions are made;
- How Supreme Court Justices communicate with the public outside of their written opinions; and
- The role of journalists covering Court decisions.
Participants heard from some of our nation’s thought-leaders regarding the Supreme Court and its relationship to the general public. Many of the papers presented will appear in a symposium issue of the Chicago-Kent Law Review.
Thursday, November 15
"The Supreme Court and Celebrity Culture"
4:30-5:30 p.m.
Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium
The Honorable Richard A. Posner, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Chicago-Kent's YouTube Channel features a playlist containing videos from all sessions at the Symposium on the Supreme Court and the American Public.
Friday, November 16
"The Supreme Court and Technology" [ Video ]
9:00-10:15 a.m.
Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom
- Keith Bybee, Director of the Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media (IJPM); Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science, Syracuse University
- Jerry Goldman, Research Professor of Law and Director of the Oyez Project, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Tom Goldstein, Publisher and Co-Founder, SCOTUSblog; Partner, Goldstein & Russell, P.C.; Lecturer, Harvard & Stanford Law Schools
- Nancy Marder, Director of the Justice John Paul Stevens Jury Center, Co-Director of the Institute for Law and the Humanities, Professor, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Moderator: Mark D. Rosen, Professor of Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
"Ideology, Neutrality, and Self-Deception: What the Supreme Court Says and What the Public Hears" [ Video ]
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom
- Dan Kahan, Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology, Yale Law School
- Dan Simon, Richard L. and Maria B. Crutcher Professor of Law and Psychology, USC Gould School of Law
- Nicholas Scurich, Assistant Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior, and Criminology, Law & Society, School of Social Ecology, UC-Irvine
- Tom Tyler, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology, Yale Law School
- Carolyn Shapiro, Associate Professor of Law and Director of ISCOTUS, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Moderator: Christopher Buccafusco, Assistant Professor of Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
Journalists Roundtable [ Video ]
1:30-2:45 p.m.
Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom
- Kimberly Atkins, Supreme Court Correspondent, LawyersUSA
- Amy Howe, Editor, SCOTUSblog; Partner, Goldstein & Russell, P.C.; Lecturer, Harvard Law School
- Tony Mauro, Supreme Court Correspondent, The National Law Journal, Law.com
- David Savage, Supreme Court Correspondent, Los Angeles Times
- Moderator: Linda Greenhouse, Joseph Goldstein Lecturer in Law and Knight Distinguished Journalist in Residence, Yale Law School
"Beyond the Written Opinion: When Justices Speak to the Public" [ Video ]
3:00-4:15 p.m.
Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom
- Jason Mazzone, Professor, Lynn H. Murray Faculty Scholar in Law, University of Illinois College of Law
- Jeffrey Rosen, Professor of Law, George Washington Law; Legal Affairs Editor, The New Republic;
- Christopher Schmidt, Assistant Professor of Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law; Faculty Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Moderator: Sheldon Nahmod, Distinguished Professor of Law, IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law