Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 5, 2004|Volume 33, Number 10

Janet Reno to be keynote speaker
at Law School symposium

Edward H. Kaplan, the William N. and Marie A. Beach Professor of Management Sciences at the School of Management Former U.S. attorney general Janet Reno will be among the featured speakers at a Law School symposium honoring the late John Hart Ely '63 J.D., who has been hailed as one of the most important constitutional scholars of his generation.

The Yale Law Journal is sponsoring the event, titled "On Democratic Ground: New Perspectives on John Hart Ely." It will be held Friday-Saturday, Nov. 12-13, at the Law School, 127 Wall St.

Ely's long and distinguished legal career began while he was a student at the Law School. As a summer associate following his second year of studies, Ely assisted Abe Fortas in litigating Gideon v. Wainwright, the landmark Supreme Court decision that established a criminal defendant's right to counsel. After graduating from Yale, Ely served as a staff attorney on (and was the youngest member of) the Warren Commission, which investigated President Kennedy's death. Ely then clerked for Chief Justice Earl Warren before going on to serve as a public defender in San Diego. Later in his career, he was general counsel of the Department of Transportation during the Ford administration. Ely served on the faculty at Yale Law School 1968-1973. He also taught at the law schools of Harvard, Stanford (where he served as dean) and the University of Miami.

In 1980, Ely revolutionized constitutional scholarship with the book "Democracy and Distrust," which developed a theory of judicial review that emphasized the role of the courts in safeguarding the democratic process. The book is now widely regarded as one of the most influential works of constitutional analysis ever written. In 1993, Ely published "War and Responsibility," another groundbreaking work that is still considered one of the most comprehensive constitutional analyses of war powers available. His last book, "On Constitutional Ground," was published in 1996 and covers a variety of constitutional law issues, including federalism and criminal procedure.

The symposium will feature panels focusing on each of these books. The first, "War and Responsibility," will take place 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Friday.

This will be followed at 4 p.m. with the keynote address by Reno, who served as the 78th attorney general of the United States from 1993 to 2001 -- making her not only the first woman to hold that post, but also the longest-serving attorney general in the 20th century. Prior to her service with the federal government, Reno had also been elected five times as state attorney in Dade County, Florida. As attorney general, she pursued a number of high-profile anti-trust cases; during her tenure, she also dealt with such controversial issues and events as the Branch Davidian-FBI stand-off at Waco, Texas; the Oklahoma City bombing; the Whitewater investigation; and the plight of six-year-old Cuban refugee Elian González.

The Yale symposium will continue on Saturday with the panel "On Constitutional Ground" 9-10:30 a.m. This will be followed by two panels on "Democracy and Distrust" at 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. and 2:15-4:15 p.m. The event will conclude with a memorial tribute to John Hart Ely 4:30-6 p.m.

"On Democratic Ground: New Perspectives on John Hart Ely" is open to the public free of charge. To register, e-mail your name, institutional affiliation and phone number to jean.russo@yale.edu. A full schedule and list of speakers can be found at www.yalelawjournal.org/symposium/register.html.

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