Title

The Court at a Crossroads: A Conversation with Two Former Solicitors General

Streaming Media

Document Type

Event

Publication Date

10-12-2010

Abstract

This 90-minute panel featured the Hon. Paul D. Clement, solicitor general of the United States from 2005 to 2008, and the Hon. Seth Waxman, who held the job from 1997 to 2001. The broad-ranging discussion, held on Oct. 12, 2010, was moderated by John Garvey, president of The Catholic University of America and a noted Constitutional scholar in his own right. Waxman and Clement discusses the history of the office of the solicitor general, its role before the Supreme Court and its less appreciated role in mediating legal disputes between government agencies. The two men also answered questions about the outlook for current hot cases such as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which lifted restrictions on political funding and speech by corporations, and Phelps v. Snyder, a free-speech case argued in October 2010 that dealt with obnoxious protests staged at military funerals.

A summary of the event is available here.

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