Is the President Constitutionally Obligated to Ignore the Supreme Court?

A lecture free and open to the public (no ticket required) by George Thomas, Associate Professor of Political Science, Claremont McKenna College

When President Obama criticized the Supreme Court’s opinion allowing corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in elections, many reacted as if it were unacceptable for a president to challenge publicly the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution. We tend to think that the Supreme Court is the essential guardian of the Constitution, and the Court itself has frequently insisted upon its supremacy in defending American constitutional ideas. Yet this understanding is at odds with constitutional design and constitutional history. The Congress and the president, no less than the Supreme Court, swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. Many of our most esteemed presidents—Jefferson, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt, for example—have insisted upon their interpretation of the Constitution against the Supreme Court’s opinions.

Professor Thomas is the author of The Madisonian Constitution (John Hopkins University Press). His articles and essays on constitutionalism and constitutional law have appeared in Review of Politics, Constitutional Contemporary, Perspectives on Politics, and other journals.

Thursday, April 21, 2011
7:30 p.m.
Barrick Museum Auditorium, UNLV, 4505 South Maryland Parkway

Sponsored by the UNLV Great Works Academic Certificate program, Boyd School of Law, Departments of Political Science and History, and Phi Alpha Theta.
For more information contact Professor David Fott (895-4187; dfott@unlv.nevada.edu).

NEXT WEEK! Tocqueville on the Democratic "Heart Disease" of Individualism

Tocqueville on the Democratic “Heart Disease”
of Individualism

A lecture free and open to the public (no ticket required) by
Peter Augustine Lawler
Dana Professor of Government, Berry College

Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America explains why individualism is the primary
threat to liberty in a modern democracy. Individualism, as he describes it, is the very
opposite of personal assertiveness. It is the apathetic withdrawal into oneself, based
on the mistaken judgment that love is more trouble than it is worth. Individualism, by
isolating citizens from one another, makes them easy prey for despots. And
Tocqueville’s fear is that the democratic development might culminate in a kind of
“soft despotism” of meddlesome, schoolmarmish bureaucrats. Tocqueville also
notices, however, that Americans have some pretty singular ways of combating
individualism, including religion, strong local government, the moral doctrine of selfinterested
cooperation with others, and a kind of spirit of association. So today’s
students of Tocqueville sometimes misunderstand him by exaggerating the real threat
of soft despotism in our country.

Professor Lawler has written or edited a dozen books. His most recent include
Postmodernism Rightly Understood, Aliens in America: The Strange Truth About Our Souls,
Stuck with Virtue: The American Individual and Our Biotechnological Future, and Homeless and
at Home in America.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
7:30 p.m.
Barrick Museum Auditorium
Sponsored and hosted by
UNLV Great Works Academic Certificate program and
UNLV Department of Political Science
For more information contact Professor David Fott, 895-4187,
dfott@unlv.nevada.edu

Boyd School of Law Hosts Panel Discussion with Kazakhstani Judges

Posted on behalf of Boyd School of Law via UNLV Today:

Lectures/Meetings: Boyd School of Law Hosts Panel Discussion with Kazakhstani Judges - Oct. 21

Please join us at the Boyd School of Law for a special discussion of "The Relationship between the Judiciary and Executive Branches of Government in Kazakhstan" with a distinguished panel of visiting Kazakhstani judges. BSL Associate Dean Steve Johnson will give the welcome and opening remarks and Professor Dmitri Shalin of the Department of Sociology will serve as moderator. This free event is co-sponsored by the UNLV Boyd School of Law and Judge Lloyd George. No RSVP required.

Event: Panel Discussion with Kazakhstani Judges
Place: Boyd School of Law, Room 110
Event Type: Lectures/Meetings
Starts: 10/21/2009 12:30 PM
Ends: 10/21/2009 1:30 PM

-UNLV Prelaw

NEW Law School List for 10/26 Law Fair!

The 2009 UNLV Law Fair is fast approaching! On Oct. 26, we will be welcoming sixty law schools from all over the country to our campus. They will be here to answer your questions about applying to law school. This is a fantastic opportunity! To prepare for it, be sure to see UNLV Prelaw's post on making the most of this Law Fair. Who are these law schools?



View 2009 UNLV Law Fair Participants in a larger map

Albany Law School of Union University
University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
Arizona State University College of Law
University of Baltimore School of Law
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Yeshiva University
Boston University School of Law
Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School
University of California Hastings College of the Law
University of California Irvine School of Law
California Western School of Law
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Chapman University School of Law
University of Colorado School of Law
Creighton University School of Law
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
Drake University Law School
Drexel Earle Mack School of Law
Golden Gate University School of Law
Gonzaga University School of Law
Hamline University School of Law
Hofstra University School of Law
University of Idaho College of Law
University of Illinois, College of Law
John Marshall Law School
Loyola Law School Loyola Marymount University
University of Miami School of Law
University of Michigan Law School
University of Minnesota Law School
Mississippi College School of Law
University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law
University of Nebraska College of Law
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of Law
University of New Mexico School of Law
University of North Dakota School of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law
University of Oregon Law School
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Penn State University, The Dickinson School of Law
Phoenix School of Law
Roger Williams University Ralph R. Papitto School of Law
University of San Diego-School of Law
University of San Francisco School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law
Seton Hall University School of Law
Southern Illinois University School of Law
Southwestern University School of Law
St. Thomas University School of Law
Suffolk University Law School David J. Sargent Hall
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law
Villanova University School of Law
Washburn University School of Law
Western New England College School of Law
Western State University College of Law
Whittier Law School
Willamette University College of Law
William & Mary Law School

Come join UNLV Prelaw in welcoming these fine schools to our campus!

-UNLV Prelaw

UNLV's Boyd Law Open House

Posted on behalf of UNLV's Boyd School of Law:

Open House
Date: October 17, 2009
Location: 110 [Law School Building]
Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Prospective applicants and the general public will have the opportunity to tour the law school’s facility in the heart of the UNLV campus. Come meet with law school students, alumni, faculty, and professional staff who will be on hand to chat about the Boyd School of Law and its many offerings. Learn more about:

• Course offerings
• Student activities and organizations
• The Wiener-Rogers Law Library
• The Thomas & Mack Moot Court Facility
• Career opportunities
• Application procedures

-UNLV Prelaw

Boyd Information Sessions

Posted on behalf of UNLV's Boyd School of Law:

Throughout the year, the William S. Boyd School of Law offers information sessions designed for individuals interested in applying to the law school. The sessions review application requirements and provide information about the Boyd School of Law.

You can make reservations by emailing Liz Karl. Content covered in each session does not vary. Check this website for dates and times. A tour of the law school will follow each session.

The Boyd School of Law [also] offers tours of our facilities immediately following each information session. Registration is not required. For information on location of the William S. Boyd School of Law, parking, and accommodations, please visit www.unlv.edu/main/visitors.

Schedule
UNLV (Las Vegas) Law School Information Sessions:
Thursday, November 12 at 4:00 pm Thomas & Mack Moot Court Facility

-UNLV Prelaw

Free Kaplan Sample Class @ UNLV

[Note: UNLV Prelaw does not endorse any particular test preparation provider. Students should research their options fully before determining which test prep company is best for them.]

Posted on behalf of Jen from Kaplan Test Prep:

Hi! We're holding FREE sample classes this month. You'll learn invaluable tips and strategies to help you raise your score. Please see the attached sheet for times. Call me or come by the office [in the student union] to sign up. (Or just show up).
Come one, come all!
:)
Thanks,
Jen

Wed. October 14, 2009 5:30 – 7:30 PM @ UNLV

Jennifer Bloecker Center Manager Las Vegas Kaplan Test Prep &
Admissions (702) 798-5005 jennifer.bloecker@Kaplan.com

-UNLV Prelaw

TIPS for the UNLV Law Fair: Max it out!

Hooray!

The 2009 UNLV Law Fair is fast approaching! On October 26 from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm, more than 60 law schools will gather in the ballroom at the Student Union to answer your questions! Does it sound intimidating? Here with some suggestions on how to prepare yourself for the festivities is Amy Urbanek, the Prelaw Advising Coordinator at the University of Utah:

It can seem overwhelming at first to see all those tables, but relax - the representatives are accustomed to talking about their schools and are anxious to speak with you, so don’t be nervous. There are no "dumb" questions, and as long as you are polite and interested you will come across just fine. You are not there to be interviewed by the schools. These law fair representatives attend many similar events so they are unlikely to remember you. On the other hand, do mind your manners. They will remember you if you are rude, and that won’t work in your favor. You do not need to dress up, but do look respectable.

Take advantage of this opportunity to explore. Don’t just visit the tables of schools you have already decided upon. Wander through the room and talk to as many schools as you can. You might find a hidden gem that you would otherwise have missed.

It is perfectly acceptable to ask what a school is looking for in an
applicant. Ask this same question of a number of different schools. You will find many areas of agreement, but you may also find some areas where schools differ a bit, and may even pick up a few good "insider tips".

If you are speaking with an alumnus or current student from a law school rather than an admissions professional, ask them to give you "the scoop" on what it is really like to attend that school. What did they like? What didn’t they like? Do they have any tips on what it takes to be successful there? While they may not be able to provide the same level of detail on the law school’s programs, faculty, etc., the more informal information they can provide can be invaluable.

As you ask questions, make sure you keep track of each school’s answers. You don’t want to get home to find you have a wealth of good information but no idea where it all came from!

Great advice, Amy! There will be a lot going on, and it may be tempting to just wander around aimlessly. It's normal to feel a bit embarrassed about asking questions, so it's helpful to know what you want to ask ahead of time.

Amy's advice implies a couple of important pieces of information about the people you'll meet at the law fair. The most important piece of information is who you'll be speaking to.

Some schools will send someone from their admissions office. These people will likely have a say in who gets accepted an who does not. You'll want to ask these folks about what their ideal candidate would be, and what characteristics they hope their incoming class (as a whole) will have. You might not want to ask the sort of factual questions that you could easily have learned from their website (i.e., Which town are you in? How many students do you have? What is your US News Ranking?). You might also want to tread with caution when asking things like "How hard are the classes?" and "Who is the easiest legal writing prof?"

Other schools will send alums to the Law Fair. These are folks who have made it through the school's program and have emerged at the end of the tunnel with a J.D. in hand. These folks will not be sitting in on the admissions decisions, and they generally won't be law professors from that school, so the questions you'll ask them will be different. They might be able to give you a sense of what the admissions folks are looking for in their "ideal candidate," but they'll also be able to give you a sense of what it's actually like to be a student there. If you ask the admissions representatives about their "favorite thing about Law School X," they're likely to say something broad (and generally unhelpful, no offense), like "we place great emphasis on student diversity and we offer a quality educational setting..." Er..ok. We'd sort of figured that out ahead of time. If you ask the alums, though, they might say "I loved Professor Smith's tort class, but you'll never make it through if you don't ____," or "The library can be loud sometimes, but there's this great little spot on the third floor where the librarians hang out..."

Amy also points out that your conduct is important. You might like to think that nobody would remember you, but don't be so sure. You really don't want to be that guy. You know, the guy who says things like, "Why would anyone want to go to law school in East Lansing, Michigan? I mean, I think that my scores are probably way too high for your school, anyway." You don't want to be the guy who knocks over the admissions official's table and then laughs as she struggles to right the ship. While your good behavior might not go down in history, your bad behavior is likely to come back and bite you. You might also consider that the dress code in Vegas is a little more, er...well, permissive than elsewhere in the country. You don't need to come in a business suit, but it might help to have your midriff covered. I can't imagine that I actually have to say all of this, though, as I expect that you already knew it.

-UNLV Prelaw

UNLV Law Fair to Draw Many Law Schools!

UNLV Prelaw is very excited about the upcoming 2009 UNLV Law Fair. The Law Fair will be held on Monday, October 26, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom. There will be a law school admissions panel ready to answer your questions, a seminar on how to finance your law school career, and an opportunity to visit one-on-one with admissions officials from dozens of law schools. The following law schools have already confirmed that they will be sending their admissions representatives to UNLV to answer your questions:

List of Schools as of 9/30/09

Albany Law School of Union University
University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law
Arizona State University College of Law
University of Baltimore School of Law
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Yeshiva University
Boston University School of Law
Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School
University of California Hastings College of the Law
University of California Irvine School of Law
California Western School of Law
Chapman University School of Law
University of Colorado School Of Law
Creighton University School of Law
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
University of Detroit Mercy School of Law
Drake University Law School
Drexel Earle Mack School of Law
Golden Gate University School of Law
Gonzaga University School of Law
Hamline University School of Law
Hofstra University School of Law
University of Idaho College of Law
University of Illinois, College of Law
John Marshall Law School
Loyola Law School Loyola Marymount University
University of Michigan Law School
University of Minnesota Law School
Mississippi College School of Law
University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law
University of Nebraska College of Law
University of Nevada, Las Vegas,William S. Boyd School of Law
University of North Dakota School of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law
University of Oregon Law School
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Penn State University, The Dickinson School of Law
Phoenix School of Law
Roger Williams University Ralph R. Papitto School of Law
University of San Diego-School of Law
University of San Francisco School of Law
Santa Clara University School of Law
Seton Hall University School of Law
Southern Illinois University School of Law
Southwestern University School of Law
St. Thomas University School of Law
Suffolk University Law School David J. Sargent Hall
Texas Wesleyan University School of Law
Thomas M. Cooley Law School
Thomas Jefferson School of Law
University of Utah S. J. Quinney College of Law
Villanova University School of Law
Washburn University School of Law
Western New England College School of Law
Western State University College of Law
Whittier Law School
Willamette University College of Law
William & Mary Law School

UNLV Prelaw looks forward to welcoming these law schools to Las Vegas as a service to our aspiring law students.

PAD Meeting Tuesday, September 29, 2009 in the Student Union Rm 219 from 4pm-5pm

Posted on behalf of UNLV PAD

Members,

Reminder: Meeting Tuesday, September 29, 2009 in the Student Union Rm 219 from 4pm-5pmWe will not be holding candidate speeches I am currently re-revising the election process I have scribed up. We will go over that and plenty of other information for this upcoming semester. I will send out another reminder tomorrow. Attached with it the itinerary forTuesday's meeting. If you have
anything you might like to add to our meeting or speak about. Please notify me ahead of time so i can list you on the itinerary, but we will also have an open forum as well. So feel free to use that time as well.

Fraternally,
PAD President

Keith.Stephenson@rocketmail.com

-UNLV Prelaw

Join UNLV's Prelaw Fraternity This Week!

The Student Involvement Fair is in the Student Union on Tuesday and Wednesday, 9/15 and 9/16, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Be sure to come by and get information about Phi Alpha Delta, UNLV's prelaw fraternity. They will be at table 13. When you enter the Student Union from the side facing the FDH building, turn right and you will find PAD against the window.

-UNLV Prelaw

Prelaw Events (Kaplan)

[Note: This information is provided as a courtesy to UNLV Students. UNLV Prelaw does not endorse any particular test preparation company.]

Kaplan is putting on three events in April:

Free LSAT Class - 4/13/2009

Learn some of Kaplan’s exclusive strategies and methods to raise your LSAT score. An expert LSAT teacher will provide information on the structure and scoring of the exam, strategies you can use on tough questions types, and an overview of Kaplan’s LSAT course and materials.

Law School Experience (Mock 1L Class) - 4/18/2009

Experience a mock law school class and get inside tips on what to expect during your first year. You will also work through an actual case, taught using the Socratic Method, and participate in an analysis of the legal issues.

Law School Personal Statement Workshop - 4/21/2009

Learn how to write a winning personal statement that gets the attention of law school admissions officers. Develop essay topics based on your vision, goals and accomplishments; focus your theme and get expert tips on writing and editing.

For more information on these and other events, see the events calendar on the UNLV Prelaw Facebook Fan Page.

Practice LSAT (Kaplan)

Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions is hosting a free practice test on UNLV's campus. The test will be held on Saturday, February 21. The practice test will begin at 1:00 pm in BEH 104. To register, visit kaptest.com/practice.

[Note: This information is provided as a courtesty to UNLV Students. UNLV Prelaw does not endorse any particular test preparation company.]