Exploring the Frontiers of Free Speech at Scalia Law School
Free speech fans were treated to a fascinating and informative day of discussion recently when the Center for the Study of the Administrative State presented its conference “Free Speech and the Administrative State.”
A roomful of law school professors and other experts explained and debated several timely issues in First Amendment jurisprudence, including health claims on tobacco products and pharmaceutical drugs, the heartbreak of supper-interrupting robocalls, sexual politics on college campuses, and how to protect one’s reputation from online libel.
Hosted by Center Director and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Adam J. White, the day’s four panels each discussed a conference paper that had been written by one of the participants:
- Due Process, Free Expression, and the Administrative State
Martin H. Redish, Louis and Harriet Ancel Professor of Law and Public Policy, Northwestern University School of Law (video of panel) - Telemarketing, Technology and the Regulation of Private Speech
Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, Assistant Professor of Law, and Co-Director of Space, Cyber, and Telecom Law Program, Nebraska College of Law (video of panel) - What Cheap Speech Has Done – The Transformation of Libel and Privacy Law
Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law (video of panel) - Antidiscrimination Laws, the First Amendment, and the Administrative State
David Bernstein, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University (video of panel)
It was a distinguished crowd gathered that Friday at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law, including CEI’s former Senior Director of Environmental Studies Jonathan Adler and longtime CEI board member Michael Greve. One person who was not in attendance, but whose presence was still felt, was White’s predecessor as executive director of the Center, Neomi Rao. Readers, of course, will remember that Rao is the extremely talented administrative law expert who became the director of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in July of 2017. Since then she has been doing impressive work on regulatory reform, though such efforts in the trenches rarely garner the approving headlines they deserve.
The Center for the Study of the Administrative State has done a lot and come a long way, and continues to put together excellent programs, including their upcoming public policy conferences on “Congress and the Administrative State: Powers, Responsibilities, and Possible Reforms” and “ Permits, Licenses, and the Administrative State.” If you find yourself in Arlington, Virginia when they’re having a program, treat yourself to a valuable and educational time.