The fall 2023 semester saw a myriad of firsts take place at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law). From unveiling a co-sponsored exhibit about German Jewish women lawyers in the Third Reich, to hosting a daylong symposium about freedom of speech on law school campuses, Catholic Law has certainly kept busy. The following is a brief recap for those who missed these events.
On Thursday, September 21, Catholic Law hosted Justice Amy Coney Barrett of the U.S. Supreme Court, to discuss how constitutional originalism influences her decisions from the bench. During her discussion with moderator and Catholic Law professor Kevin C. Walsh, Barrett elaborated the evolution of her views on originalism in light of her now three-year-long tenure as an associate justice and touched on subjects within the study of originalism, emphasizing the limitations of perpetually turning to history when adjudicating from a textualist perspective. More information about this event is available here.
On Wednesday, October 18, Catholic Law opened an exhibit entitled “German Jewish Women Lawyers in the Third Reich” alongside the German Embassy and the German Women Lawyers Association (Deutscher Juristinnenbund). This exhibition was displayed in the Louise H. Keelty and James Keelty, Jr. Atrium featured biographical panels that examined the lives and experiences of seventeen Jewish women who practiced law in Germany prior to 1945. As part of the unveiling, a panel discussion that included the descendants of some of these women was held in the Walter A. Slowinski Courtroom. More information about this event is available here.
On Monday, November 6, Catholic Law commemorated the eighty-fifth anniversary of the November pogroms initiated by the Nazi Party in the fall of 1938, widely known in English as the “Night of Broken Glass” and in German as “Kristallnacht.” This event included a showing of Filmmakers for the Prosecution, a 2021 motion picture that retraces the hunt for the films used as evidence at the Nuremberg trials but which the State Department intentionally buried once American priorities shifted to combating communism in light of the Cold War. More information about this event is available here.
On Wednesday, November 15, Catholic Law hosted a daylong symposium entitled “Free Speech and Civility in American Law Schools.” This event included six panels discussions in which participated some of the United States’ foremost experts on freedom of speech, such as Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) CEO Greg Lukianoff, erstwhile ACLU president Nadine Strossen, and immediate past president of the American Bar Association Deborah Enix-Ross. More information about this event is available here.
The fall semester also included a plethora of events organized by Catholic Law’s student organizations and administrative offices. From student organizations joining forces with the Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) for various professional development events to hosting Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), the Catholic Law student body undoubtedly kept itself busy from August through December. Click here to learn about some of the other news items and events from 2023.
As the Law School prepares to begin its 2024 spring semester, there is no question that the Columbus School of Law's building will once again be abuzz not only with classes but also with a number of student-led initiatives and events.