Sunday, July 12 2009 - Friday, July 17 2009

The Idaho Humanities Council will offer four special lectures at the College of Idaho in July, exploring the history of the Supreme Court. The special lectures, part of a weeklong institute on the Supreme Court for Idaho teachers, are free and open to the public.

David M. O’Brien, author of Storm Center: The Supreme Court in American Politics, will deliver the institute’s keynote lecture, titled Storm Center:  Changes and Trends in the Supreme Court, in the Langroise Recital Hall on Sunday, July 12, 7:30 p.m., followed by a book signing.  O’Brien will discuss life in the marble temple, the deliberative process, how decisions are made regarding the merits of cases and opinion writing, and the Court’s role and impact in American politics.
    
O’Brien is a professor at the University of Virginia. He’s served as a Judicial Fellow and a Research Associate at the Supreme Court, in the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Justice. He’s also been a Fulbright lecturer in constitutional studies at Oxford University, and he’s held the Fulbright Chair for Senior Scholars at the University of Bologna.

He won the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award for Storm Center. His other books include Constitutional Law and Politics (2 Vols.), and Supreme Court Watch, published annually since 1991. In addition, he has co-authored or edited several other books, including Judges on Judging: Views from the Bench.

On Monday, July 13, 3 p.m., Kathryn Albertson International Center Auditorium: College of Idaho Political Science Professor Kerry Hunter will speak on “Alternatives to Judicial Review: The Case of New Zealand.” Hunter notes that many Americans believe the U.S. Supreme Court plays a vital role in preserving our Constitution by keeping a check on Congress.  Yet to date, New Zealanders have refused to grant their courts this power.  Thanks in part to an IHC Research Fellowship, Hunter traveled to New Zealand to study the judicial system of that country and compare it to the United States.

Hunter received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington and is the 2008 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching – Idaho Professor of the Year.  His most recent book The Role of the Supreme Court in American Political Culture: Preserving the Founding Myths was published by The Edwin Mellen Press in 2006.

On Tuesday, July 14, 7 p.m. , Langroise Center, Independent scholar and former IHC board chairman Marc C. Johnson, Boise, will speak on “Packing the Supreme Court: FDR’s Biggest Political Blunder and the Gravest Constitutional Crisis Since the Civil War.” Johnson is writing a biography of U.S. Senator Burton K. Wheeler, of Montana, who vehemently opposed Roosevelt’s plan after the 1936 election to increase from nine to fifteen the number of judges to the Supreme Court in an effort to secure more support for New Deal policies.  

Johnson is President of Gallatin Public Affairs, a Pacific Northwest-based public affairs/issues management firm.  Johnson holds a degree in journalism from South Dakota State University and has over 30 years experience in public affairs, public policy and the media.

On Friday, July 17, 1:00 p.m., Kathryn Albertson International Center Auditorium, University of Idaho Political Science Professor Don Crowley will lecture on “The Roberts Court in the Obama Era.”  In periods of realigning elections, the Supreme Court frequently finds itself at odds with the emerging dominant coalitions.  Although it is too early to tell whether 2008 was really a “realigning election,” Crowley contends we can begin to analyze the possible sources of tension between the conservative majority on the Roberts Court and the new priorities of the Obama administration.  This presentation will explore the major points of tension.

Crowley received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside.  He has taught constitutional law, civil liberties, and judicial politics at the University of Idaho since 1983.
 
Funded in part by grants from State Farm Insurance, the Whittenberger Foundation, the NEH, and the IHC’s Endowment for Humanities Education, the institute will involve scholars from a half-dozen universities. Lead scholars for the week include political science professors David Adler, Idaho State University, and Steve Shaw, Northwest Nazarene University, who have drafted the themes and agenda for the week. Both scholars are well-published veteran presenters at previous IHC institutes.