Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Venue: Faneuil Hall, Boston
Attendees: High Schools Students
Cost: FREE
Online Registration
Use the link above to register when you have a firm number of students and staff attending as space is limited. Please only submit one registration per school.
About the Program
The Massachusetts Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) will hold its annual James Otis Lecture at Faneuil Hall in Boston on October 15th. The program will run 1:00 pm until about 3:00 pm. The Otis Lecture is held specifically for high school students, who hear from highly accomplished women and men in fields relating to law and legal history. This year, we are focusing on Article III of the US Constitution ; our panelists will address a crucial question: “The Least Dangerous Branch: Would the Framers Recognize our Current Federal Court System?” Our topic could not be more timely.
We are very excited to announce that the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer (Ret.) will lead a very distinguished panel that will include Constitutional Scholar and Yale Law professor Akhil Reed Amar and prominent author Sarah Isgur who hosts Advisory Opinions and is an editor of SCOTUSblog. The program will include a lively debate among the three panelists about the role of the Court in our current republic and whether it really is, as Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist #78, “the least dangerous branch.” As always, there will be time for questions from the students.
Justice Breyer sat on the Supreme Court for 28 years, during which the Court issued a plethora of landmark decisions that impact almost every aspect of American life. Justice Breyer has written several books, including The Court and the World, which explores his view of where the Court fits into our Republican government in an increasingly interconnected world. Professor Amar is one of America’s most prominent constitutional scholars, having published 11 highly acclaimed books including his most recent work, Born Equal, a study of American legal history from 1840 to 1920. Ms. Isgur’s new book, Last Branch Standing, is at once extraordinarily incisive, partially irreverent, and highly entertaining look at the nine members of the current Court and the often surprising ways they address cases before them.
Following the program, students who attend will get a free book, signed by the author, and will have a chance to meet and talk with the panelists. As always, attendance is free and on a first come, first served basis.
This is a unique opportunity for high school students to listen to, learn from, and speak with some of the most prominent people in today’s legal society.