Representing conservative law
Christine Niles
As I See It ...
It's time to clear up a misconception.
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy has been in the news lately. Approximately 25 percent of President Bush's administration is comprised of members from this organization. New chapters and practice groups continue to sprout up across the country. Membership in the Society has doubled, tripled, quintupled within the past 20 years. Alarm bells have rung in media networks across the nation. As far as they're concerned, the vast right- wing conspiracy has taken root.
Even Alfred Ross, president of the Institute for Democracy Studies, has written a book on why the federalist society is evil. OK, that isn't the real title — but it might as well be.
When I called to invite him to take part in a debate on the alleged conservative activism of the Society, his response was, "Alleged?" He then asked whether or not I was part of the organization. "Why yes," I answered politely, "I am the vice president of the Notre Dame chapter." His remarkably professional reply: "Oh, that's too bad. I'm not interested. Good-bye."
What exactly is the Federalist Society? To answer that, we have to go back to the beginning. The association was started by a handful of Yale and Chicago law students who felt marginalized for their conservative and libertarian beliefs. The dominant voice in the legal field tended to be liberal, and the students desired a forum to discuss conservative and libertarian ideas without being ridiculed. Reasonable desire, one would think. In 1982, the first Federalist Society Symposium was held at Yale, an informal afternoon panel. Most of the legal academy barely noticed.
Twenty years later, in the same law school where it all first started, nearly 500 students from more than 150 chapters nationwide descended upon New Haven to attend the 20th Annual Federalist Society Symposium. The panels were comprised of top law professors, federal judges, attorneys and government officials around the country. And what did the legal academy do? It noticed.
Eleven law students from Notre Dame attended the event, driving straight from South Bend to Connecticut in a night. Panels were held on topics ranging from postmodernism to originalism in constitutional interpretation to lawyering ethics.
No doubt hoping to catch a glimpse of right-wing activism firsthand, two from the Institute for Democracy Studies infiltrated the ranks. And to their disappointment, they witnessed fair, balanced debate, with voices heard equally from conservative and liberal camps. All discussions were witty, spirited and ever respectful. Alfred Ross is going to have to change his thesis.
The undoubted highlight of the weekend took place during the closing banquet. Boston University Law Professor Gary Lawson, co-founder (slightly tone deaf), gave a stirring adaptation of "American Pie." The theme was the liberal despair over the current "reign" of the Rehnquist Court. It was vulgar, crude, heterodox — and sidesplittingly funny. Although the song was off the record, some of the lyrics bear repeating. For instance, the chorus: "My, my, kiss the old days good-bye / I quoted Lenin, Marx, and Brennan, but it just didn't fly. / The White House staffers could just break down and cry / singing, `Maybe we'll give Judge Bork a try… Maybe we'll give Judge Bork a try.'"
The Federalist Society has so grown in prestige, importance, and influence that left-leaning academia are worried. Some prominent members of the academy recently formed the Madison Society to provide a liberal counterweight to the Federalist Society. After realizing that no organization should be named after a slave owner, the title was changed to the American Constitution Society. One hopes their organization will fare well and generate insightful debate and discussion.
Still, the reasons for the American Constitution Society are a bit puzzling. After all, the very purpose of the Federalist Society is to provide a counterweight to the preponderance of left-leaning policy in the legal field. If 90 percent of academia is liberal, then it is surely understandable to have an organization provide a forum for the 10 percent to be heard. The purpose is to represent the underrepresented. It seems almost unnecessary to form a legal organization to espouse views already dominant in law schools across the country.
Notre Dame law students tend to forget this school is the exception, not the rule. Although conservatives may abound here, this is simply not the case in most universities in America. And this is why the Federalist Society performs a valuable function — it allows provocative, unorthodox and unpopular viewpoints to be aired. The left-leaning who would otherwise rest on their haunches are kept on their toes.
Perhaps, then, all the furor means the Federalist Society's doing something good after all.
Christine Niles is a law student and her column appears every other Thursday.
The views expressed int his column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, March 21, 2002
