Symposium will examine state constitutions

Former Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley will present the keynote address on Friday, Oct. 11 during the Wayne Law Review’s symposium, “A Wave of Change: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Michigan's Constitution and the Evolution of State Constitutionalism.”

The symposium is scheduld from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.

The event is free and open to the public.

The symposium is made possible through the support of the Cohn Family Endowed Fund.

The event will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Michigan’'s Constitution. Its ratification in 1963 was part of a wave of change in state constitutions sparked by the “one person, one vote” standard formulated by the U.S. Supreme
Court in Baker v. Carr.

Symposium speakers will evaluate the progress of state constitutionalism over the past 50 years and focus on the unique and important qualities of state constitutions that are often overlooked and undervalued.

Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with noted national and local legal scholars, as well as Michigan judges, legal practitioners and community members.

The morning portion of the program will concentrate on state constitutionalism and will feature three panel discussions. Speakers and panel participants will include:
• Scott Bauries from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
• John Dinan from Wake Forest University's Department of Politics and International Affairs.
• Susan Fino from Wayne State's Department of Political Science Lawrence Friedman from New England Law School.
• Helen Hershkoff from New York University School of Law.
• Justin Long from Wayne Law.
• Alan Tarr from Rutgers-Camden School of Law.
• Mila Versteeg from the University of Virginia School of Law.
• Robert Williams from Rutgers-Camden School of Law.

The afternoon portion of the program will focus on celebrating the Michigan Constitution.

Luncheon speaker will be Jack Faxon, former Michigan state senator and a member of the state’s 1963 constitutional convention, who will talk about his experience there.

In his keynote address, Kelley will speak about his experience with the Michigan Constitution and how it impacts the practice of law.

Former Michigan Supreme Court justices Patricia Boyle, who served on the court from 1983 to 1998; Wayne Law's Distinguished Jurist in Residence Marilyn Kelly, who served from 1996 to 2013; and Charles Levin, who served from 1973 to 1996, will participate on a special panel and will discuss their experiences hearing and deciding state constitutional issues.

The Wayne Law Review is one of two scholarly journals edited and produced by Wayne Law students. It contains articles, book reviews, transcripts, notes and comments by prominent academics, attorneys and students on timely legal topics. Each year, one of the issues highlights a topic of interest discussed at the annual symposium.

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