State Constitutions in the Era of a More Conservative Supreme Court
Important Constitutional Protections Hang in the Balance as the Supreme Court Shifts. How Can State Constitutions Respond?
Panel Discussion Includes Former Clerk for then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Former Director of the Reproductive Rights Unit of the New York Attorney General’s Office, Former Court of Appeals Judge, and Former Assistant Counsel to Two Governors
Join the Rockefeller Institute of Government and the Government Law Center at Albany Law School on Thursday, July 19, as we present a panel of judges and constitutional scholars — including a former clerk for then-Judge Sonia Sotomayor, former director of the Reproductive Rights Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s Office, a former Court of Appeals judge, and former assistant counsel to two governors — discussing the increasing importance of state constitutions in guaranteeing protections for immigrants, reproductive rights, affirmative action, environmental protections, LGBTQ rights, and more.
With the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and the recent nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to take his place, the Supreme Court is expected to shift further to the conservative end of the ideological spectrum, with the potential for weakening or even extinguishing important constitutional protections.
But many state constitutions offer protections above and beyond what’s provided in the federal Constitution. What role can these constitutions play if the Supreme Court begins to roll back federal protections? The panel will focus especially on the New York State Constitution, which has long safeguarded rights beyond those provided by the federal Constitution.
Panelists include:
Andrew Ayers, assistant professor and director of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School. Ayers clerked for the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor before her appointment to the Supreme Court, and his current scholarship deals with the role of states in immigrants’ rights under the Constitution.
Jennifer K. Brown, senior pro bono counsel in the New York office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. Before joining Morrison & Foerster, Brown was vice president and legal director of Legal Momentum, the nation’s first women’s rights legal organization. Previously, she served as a director with the Civil Rights Bureau of the Office of the New York Attorney General and as an assistant U.S. attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Scott Fein, chair of the Advisory Board of the Government Law Center at Albany Law School and senior advisor to the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Center for Law & Policy Solutions. Fein served as an assistant counsel to New York State Governors Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo. A graduate of Georgetown Law School, he received his master’s of law from New York University Law School and is a partner at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP.
Howard Levine, senior counsel at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP. From 1993 to 2002, Levine was an associate judge on the New York State Court of Appeals. He has served as chair of the New York Federal-State Judicial Council; associate justice on the Supreme Court Appellate Division, Third Department; justice of the State Supreme Court, Fourth Judicial District; family court judge for Schenectady County; and district attorney of Schenectady County.
When
Thursday, July 19
1-3 p.m.
Where
Rockefeller Institute of Government
411 State Street
Albany, New York 12203
RSVP to Nicolle Otty at 518-443-5522 or nicolle.otty@rockinst.suny.edu
