Original Intent(s): Inside the Constitutional Convention
A Toll-free Teleconference
with Online Powerpoint
Thurs., Sept. 30, 2010,
3:00-5:00 pm PDT – 2.0 Live MCLE Credits (Approved #263814)
$99 first attorney / $79
each add’l attorney (same line)
Special with “Declaration of Independence”: $149 first att’y / $109 each add’l att’y (same line)
September is “Constitution Month,” and Rubric celebrates with a two-part examination of our founding documents. In this second class, we look at the Constitution, not as some fixed and revered compendium of abstract truths, but as the product of real conflict and compromise. We’ll examine the politics of Confederation America in the 1780’s, Shay’s Rebellion, and then step inside the Philadelphia Convention to witness the key compromises that made the Constitution. We’ll look at the messy ratification process, the addition of a Bill of Rights, and finally, we’ll step back to consider the manifold meanings imposed on the Constitution, and the controversial question of how to approach its interpretation.
Faculty:
Michael Schein, WSBA 21646, Appellate Litigator with Sullivan &
Thoreson; Speakers’ bureau, ACLU of Washington; former adjunct Professor of
American Legal History, Seattle University School of Law; Author of Bones
Beneath Our Feet (forthcoming
historical novel)), and Just Deceits:
A Historical Courtroom Mystery (Bennett & Hastings 2008).
Special combined price with Declaration of Independence ($149):
Constitutional Convention only ($99):
Add'l attorney (same line) (you must have a first att'y to join):
Special combined price with Declaration of Independence ($109):
Constitutional Convention only ($79):
Notice to registrants: You will receive course materials and instructions for accessing the conference by email about 48 hours prior to the CLE start time. If you register closer to the CLE start time do not fear - you will receive your materials before the CLE begins.
SCHEDULE
3:00 – 3:20 The Articles of Confederation & Shay’s Rebellion. The first effort at a framework for American government. and the violent uprising that helped to convince the Framers that change was necessary.
3:20 – 4:00 The Philadelphia Convention. A close look at the major decisions and compromises made at the constitutional convention, and how close it came to failing.
4:00 – 4:30 The Struggle for Ratification and Call for a Bill of Rights. Once framed, that now-revered document was as often reviled as praised. Examining the arguments pro and con help us understand the fundamental shift from a government under the Articles of Confederation to a government under the Constitution.
4:30 – 5:00 The Many Meanings of the Constitution. From the Federalist #10 to the abolitionist critique to
Charles Beard’s Economic Analysis of the U.S. Constitution to modern calls for
originalism, the meaning of the Constitution has often lain in the eye of the
beholder. These many views of the
origins and meaning of the Constitution help to illuminate the debate over original
intent versus “felt necessities” analysis in constitutional interpretation.
Go to Declaration of Independence.
Go to Course Offerings.