Origins of the Debate over Originalism and the Living Constitution

ACS and Vanderbilt University Law School present videos from the "Keeping Faith with the Constitution in Changing Times" Conference, co-sponsored by ACS and Vanderbilt University Law School in Nashville, Tennessee, October 6-7, 2006. This conference, an integral part of our Constitution in the 21st Century project and its Constitutional Interpretation and Change Issue Group, kicked off a major effort by ACS to affect the way lawyers, policymakers, advocates and students think and talk about the Constitution. This conference was a thought-provoking, highly substantive, and inspiring event, given the array of speakers that attended and the importance of topics that were addressed. The Conference featured seven panels over two days discussing issues such as the originalism debate; the roles of history, text and democratic legitimacy in constitutional interpretation; judicial perspectives on constitutional decision-making; and utilizing and communicating theories of constitutional interpretation in legal advocacy and to the public. A number of leading practitioners and academics addressed the conference.

Origins of the Debate over Originalism and the Living Constitution featuring:

• Moderator, Christopher Yoo, Professor of Law and Director of the Technology & Entertainment Law Program, Vanderbilt Law School
• Barry Friedman, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Professor of Law, New York University School of Law
• Howard Gillman, Professor of Political Science and Professor of History and Law, University of Southern California