Everything about The Federalist Society totally explained
The
Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the
Federalist Society, began at
Yale Law School,
Harvard Law School, and the
University of Chicago Law School in
1982 as a student organization that challenged what its members perceived as the orthodox
American liberal ideology found in most law schools. The Society "is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve
freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it's emphatically the province and duty of the
judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."
The Society currently has chapters at approximately 180
United States law schools, including all of the top 20 as ranked by
U.S. News & World Report. The Society also boasts a membership of over 20,000 practicing attorneys (organized as "alumni chapters" within the Society's "Lawyers Division") in sixty cities. The Federalist Society also serves as a parent organization for
conservatives and
libertarians who are interested in the current state of the legal order. Its headquarters are in
Washington, D.C.
Background
The Society’s name is a reference to the
Federalist Papers. These were published as a series of articles intended to explain the new
Constitution to the residents of
New York state and persuade them to
ratify it. A compilation of the Papers, called
The Federalist, was published in 1788. The articles were secretly written under the pseudonym "Publius" by
James Madison,
Alexander Hamilton, and
John Jay. Hamilton wrote 51 of the Federalist papers, Jay five, and Madison 29.
The Society also looks to
Federalist Paper Number 78 for an articulation of the virtue of
judicial restraint, as written by Alexander Hamilton: "It can be of no weight to say that the courts, on the pretense of a repugnancy, may substitute their own pleasure to the constitutional intentions of the legislature.... The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise WILL instead of JUDGMENT, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body."
Due to the strong influence of Madison on the Society’s philosophy, the Federalist Society considers Madison to be its patriarch—hence the use of Madison’s silhouette in the Society’s official logo. Madison is generally credited as the father of the Constitution and became the fourth
President of the United States.
Funding
The Federalist Society is funded by member dues and by grants.
Aims and membership
In working to promote the
ideology set forth in its "Statement of Principles", the Society has created a network of
intellectuals that extends to all levels of the legal community. The Student Division has more than 5,000 law students as members and, through the national office's network of legal experts, the Society provides speakers for differing viewpoints at law school events. The activities of the Student Division are complemented by the activities of the Lawyers Division, which comprises more than 20,000 legal professionals, and the Faculty Division, which includes many in the academic legal community.
The Society seeks to debate constitutional issues and public policy questions, and this commitment extends to inviting speakers who don't agree with the society's principles. Past invitees include Justice
Stephen Breyer and law professor
Alan Dershowitz, as trenchant opponents of the Federalist Society's goals as could be imagined. UCLA law professor
Eugene Volokh explains this openness to dissenting voices by saying that "we think that a fair debate between us and our liberal adversaries will win more converts for our positions than for the other side’s." In the words of
Dan Lowenstein, a Democrat and political appointee of former California governor
Jerry Brown, "The Federalist Society is one of the few student organizations putting on public events that contribute to the intellectual life of the law school."
Federalist Society members helped to encourage President Bush’s decision to terminate the American Bar Association’s nearly half-century-old monopoly on rating judicial nominees' qualifications for office. Since the Eisenhower administration, the American Bar Association has provided the service to presidents of both parties and the nation by vetting the qualifications of those under consideration for lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary. The process has been accused by some (including the Federalist Society) of having a
liberal bias.
For example, while former Supreme Court clerks nominated to the Court of Appeals by Democrats had an average rating of slightly below "well qualified," similar Republican nominees were rated on average as only "qualified/well qualified."
In addition the ABA gave
Ronald Reagan's judicial nominees
Richard Posner and
Frank H. Easterbrook its lowest possible ratings of "qualified/not qualified".
Judges Posner and Easterbrook have gone on to become the two most highly-cited judges in the federal appellate judiciary.
Like other private organizations, including the
NAACP and the
National Rifle Association, the Federalist Society doesn't publish a membership list or otherwise disclose the identity of its members, preferring instead to let members publicly identify themselves with the Society if they so choose.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Federalist Society'.
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