University of Texas School of Law - Peregrinus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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The UT Cork Debate President Reagan’s nomination of conservative Judge Robert Bork to replace Justice William Powell on the U.S. Supreme Court initiated controversy over not only the nomination but also over the role of presidential nominations. Senate approval and the Supreme Court. The nomination hearings of the Senate Judiciary Committee were aired several days on television and the public was invited into the inner workings of the government and was asked to think about such constitutional issues as the separation of powers, the right to privacy, the extent of the equal protection clause and the right of free speech. The Committee sent Bork's nomination to the Senate floor with a recommendation that he not be confirmed. The Senate agreed and voted 58 to 42 to strike down the nomination. The law school was very active in trying to influence the Senate Judiciary Committee. Student groups solicited signatures for petitions. organized letter writing campaigns and sold pro and anti-Bork buttons. Two groups raised money to buy ads in local newspapers that opposed the nomination. Barbara Jordan, former congresswoman and professor at the l.BJ School of Public Affairs, testified before the Committee against the Bork nomination. The culmination of the activities at the law school was a debate between Professor Michael Tigar, arguing against Bork, and Professor Lino Graglia, arguing lor Bork. Tigar attacked Bork's views on the right to privacy, free speech and the power of the president. Graglia criticized judicial activism and lauded Bork as a very qualified jurist who would exercise judicial restraint. 6 — Fe ium

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Opening — 5 ;om yc..«ns jon. fytw , f r».»v«h

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The Constitution and Academic Freedom The United States celebrated the 200th birthday of the Constitution in 1987 as did the law school. The glass case outside the mail room displayed “Konstuutional Kitsch. which included popular items com memorating the birthday. The school also invited speakers during the year to discuss different views of the Constitution, and at noon on Sept. 17, the date of the signing of the Constitution, birthday cake was served in the law school lobby. Also in the fall, the school co-sponsored the Symposium on Academic Freedom along with the American Association of University Professors and the Texas Law Review. Faculty from all over the country gathered to t discuss current threats to academic freedom I and the First Amendment protection of f c-{ ulty criticism of their colleges and universities Papers presented were published in the SMU Prof Matthew Fmkrn speaks at the Symposium as Paul Brest. (Van of Stanford La School and Julius i . r Get man. Associate Dean at the Law School, look on W ev,cw- Shown above are items expressing U S pride in the Constitution Or. Andreas Auer. prol. of Const it ui uxal law and Jurisprudence at the University of Geneva law School, gives a F.uropean view of the Constitution. Features —■ 7