The Regent University Law Review recently hosted a symposium in conjunction with the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies on Regent’s campus with more than 100 people in attendance. The theme was “Justiciability After Hein and Massachusetts: Where is the Court Standing?” The symposium convened to examine recent changes in the contours of Article III of the Constitution following the cases of Massachusetts v. EPA and Hein v. Freedom From Religions Foundation, Inc.
"We were excited that our symposium could provide a forum for in-depth debate on standing, as it is a cornerstone of our legal system that is often misunderstood and overlooked,” said Jodi Foss, a third year law student and Symposium Editor for the Law Review. “I personally enjoyed that Adler and Eastman took very opposite stands on the issues and both articulated such convincing and entertaining arguments.”
John Legg, a third year law student and Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review, commented that student and faculty participation at this symposium demonstrated the thriving academic life at Regent University School of Law. “This event was not only intellectually rigorous, but one that, I believe, will be very helpful in clarifying the difficult questions raised by these two cases to the bar. I’m very proud of the Law Review members who worked so hard to make this event such a success.”
Professor Jonathan H. Adler opened the event with a keynote address entitled “God, Gaia, The Taxpayer and the Lorax: Standing and Separation of Powers after Massachusettsand Hein.” Professor Adler is a Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Business Law & Regulation at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law where he teaches courses in environmental, regulatory, and constitutional law.
Dr. John C. Eastman spoke Saturday morning on “Standing Up for the Constitution: How the Court’s Restrictive View of Standing Threatens Limited Government.” Dr. Eastman was appointed Dean and Donald P. Kennedy Chair in Law of Chapman University Law School in June 2007. Previously, Dr. Eastman was the Henry Salvatori Professor of Law & Community Service and Director of the Claremont Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute that he founded in 1999.
Following the lecture, Adler and Eastman participated in a lively panel discussion moderated by Regent University Law Professor David Wagner. Professor Wagner teaches constitutional law and history, criminal law, and administrative law at Regent University School of Law.
This was the third symposium the Regent University Law Review hosted in just over a year. Past symposia included, “Crawford, Davis & the Right of Confrontation: Where Do We Go From Here?" and, “Liberty Under Law: 400 Years of Freedom,” a celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the first landing at Jamestown. The latest symposium will be published in Volume 20, Number 2 of the Regent University Law Review, and a streaming video of the conference will be uploaded onto the Law Review website (www.regent.edu/lawreview) in the coming weeks.