The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law marked the 227th anniversary of the adoption of the United States Constitution by hosting a forum on September 17 headlined by three former clerks to Supreme Court justices. The event also included 25 students from the undergraduate law programs, known as MLAW, at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). MLAW features a minor in Law and Society and the College Park Scholars Justice and Legal Thought Living-Learning Program.
Constitution Day panelists included: Thiruvendran Vignarajah, JD, MA, former clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer; Rebecca Taibleson, JD, former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia; and Aaron Zelinsky, JD, former clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens. All three spoke about how the justices view the U.S. Constitution, and how that shapes their decisions. Panelists also shared personal anecdotes about the justices. Maryland Carey Law dean Donald B. Tobin, JD, and Max Stearns, JD, associate dean for research and faculty development, also participated in the event.
"Clerking for a Supreme Court justice is a fantastic job," says Zelinsky. "All of the justices are truly impressive." Zelinsky worked with Stevens on his most recent book, Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution. The Supreme Court's function "is not to correct mistakes," says Vignarajah, chief of major investigations at the State's Attorney's Office for Baltimore City, and Maryland Carey Law adjunct faculty member. "The Supreme Court resolves differences in the Constitution."
Following the panel discussion, MLAW students mixed with the former clerks and with Maryland Carey Law faculty. For MLAW student Caroline Boisseau, a Law and Society minor, attending Constitution Day gave her a "sneak peek" at law school. "We should think about the Constitution more than one day a year," says Boisseau, who plans to apply to Maryland Carey Law to pursue a career in criminal law.
Coming to Maryland Carey Law gives students a "leg up" on law school, says Robert Koulish, PhD, director of MLAW programs in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and research associate professor in the Department of Government and Politics at UMCP, and Maryland Carey Law lecturer. "We want to create a love for the law," says Koulish. "If you find your passion, you can excel in law school."
Maryland Carey Law faculty members Jana Singer, JD, and David Gray, PhD, JD, MA, will begin teaching MLAW students at UMCP in the spring of 2015. MLAW is the first phase of a larger effort to introduce and enhance legal education at the College Park campus. The initiative is part of the University of Maryland: MPowering the State, a collaborative partnership between the University of Maryland, Baltimore and UMCP.
About MPowering the State
The University of Maryland: MPowering the State brings together two universities of distinction to form a new collaborative partnership. Harnessing the resources of each, the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore will focus the collective expertise on critical statewide issues of public health, biomedical informatics, and bioengineering. This collaboration will drive an even greater impact on the state, its economy, the job market, and the next generation of innovators. The joint initiatives will have a profound effect on productivity, the economy, and the very fabric of higher education.