About this Event
"Judges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules, they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules, but it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire."
In the opening statement to his confirmation hearing, John Roberts famously likened his role as a judge and future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to that of an umpire, whose job is to call balls and strikes, nothing more.
Twenty years later, we have a plethora of decisions that call this narrow characterization into question — Citizens United, Shelby County, Dobbs, Loper-Bright, and Skrmetti, to name a few. Then, the rise of unitary executive sympathies, selective originalism, and a notable increase in use of the shadow docket. Is this Supreme Court truly an umpire calling balls and strikes, as John Roberts called it, or is it a pinch hitter, creating strategic advantage for achieving preferred policy goals?
Join Cardozo Law Review for a breaking Symposium discussing the various ways democracy has been shaped and changed since John Roberts was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
PANEL ONE — Whose History and Tradition? The Roberts Court on Privacy Rights and Personal Autonomy (9:30am-10:45am)
PANEL TWO — Throwing Out the Umbrella During a Rainstorm: The Roberts Court's Impact on Gerrymandering, Voting Rights, and the Democratic Process (11:00am-12:15pm)
Lunch (12:15pm–1:30pm)
PANEL THREE—Lowering the Guardrails? The Supreme Court’s Role in Shaping Government Oversight (1:30pm-2:45pm)
PANEL FOUR—Supreme Secrecy: The Shadow Docket, Selective Originalism, and the Erosion of the Court’s Internal Structure Under Roberts (3:00pm–4:15pm)
Keynote Remarks from Professor Jamal Greene (4:30pm–5pm)
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 55 Fifth Avenue, New York, United States
USD 0.00
