Upcoming UR Law School symposium focuses on presidential power

October 13, 2017

The University of Richmond School of Law will explore presidential power in the upcoming “Law Review” Symposium, “Defining the Constitution's President Through Legal and Political Conflict.” The Symposium is Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Discussion will center around how the American presidency has been shaped by the Obama and Trump administrations through clashes with other branches of the federal government, as well as state attorneys general.

“The focus on presidential power is top of mind for not only many law faculty and students, but also the general public,” said Andrew Hemby, a third-year law school student and event organizer. “We expect that these discussions will be a meaningful contribution to public discourse on this timely and relevant topic.”

The day will begin with a keynote address from Mark Earley, former attorney general of Virginia and Virginia state senator.

A series of panel discussions will follow, including:

  • Sources of Law for the Constitutional Definition of Executive Power, 9:30 a.m.
  • Scope of Executive Power, 10:45 a.m.
  • Congressional Checks on Executive Power, 12:45 p.m.
  • State Responses to Federal Executive Power, 1:45 p.m.

“Many people wonder how expansive the president’s powers are and what a president can legitimately do,” said Henry L. Chambers Jr., a UR law professor and one of the panelists for the “Scope of Executive Power” discussion. “During the symposium, we will address those questions from many different angles, and consider how our constitutional system of separation of powers and checks and balances both feeds and constrains executive power.”

The “Law Review” Symposium will be held in the School of Law Moot Courtroom. The complete Symposium schedule and slate of speakers is available online.

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