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| The proper role of the courts in construing the Constitution is one of the most hotly contested issues in American society. Competing conceptions of the role of the courts animate election battles and fuel disputes over Supreme Court rulings, judicial nominations, and proposed constitutional amendments. The program on The Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture, under the direction of EPPC President Edward Whelan, explores these competing conceptions. The program focuses, in particular, on what is at stake for American culture writ large – for the ability of the American people to engage in responsible self-government and to maintain the “indispensable supports” of “political prosperity” that George Washington (and other Founders) understood “religion and morality” to be. |
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Latest News & Publications
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How Judge Posner Thinks Judges Should Think
An unpersuasive case for pragmatism.
By M. Edward Whelan III
Thursday, April 17, 2008
In his new book, How Judges Think, Seventh Circuit judge Richard A. Posner states that he aims to offer a "cogent, unified, realistic, and appropriately eclectic account of how judges actually arrive at their decisions in nonroutine cases." But his book, in the end, offers much less insight about how judges actually think than about how Judge Posner thinks judges should think, and its case for Posnerian pragmatism is unpersuasive.
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Green Bag Honors EPPC Amicus Brief
The Green Bag has bestowed its award for Exemplary Legal Writing for 2005 on EPPC's amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court defending the presence of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas capitol. Congratulations and thanks to Mark A. Perry, Daniel J. Davis, Ryan P. Meyers, and Dustin K. Palmer, all of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, for their outstanding work. This EPPC brief was one of only two briefs to receive this award.
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| Recent Events |
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The Next Supreme Court Vacancy
Lessons from the Roberts and Alito Confirmation Processes
Mar 14, 2006
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| Two leading commentators on the Roberts and Alito nominations, EPPC President Ed Whelan and New Republic legal affairs editor Jeffrey Rosen, explored what lessons can be drawn from the successful confirmations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. If President Bush has the opportunity to nominate another Supreme Court justice, how can the Administration best apply those lessons in order to achieve another victory? How can opponents wage a more effective campaign against a future Bush nominee? Washington Post reporter Charles Lane, one of the nation's best Supreme Court reporters, moderated the discussion. Audio of this event is now available. |
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Justice Antonin Scalia Launches EPPC Lecture Series
Supreme Court Justice speaks on "The Courts and Democracy"
Sep 20, 2004
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| What is the appropriate role of the federal judiciary in our republic? What would the Framers of the Constitution think of today's activist judges? Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia helped launch EPPC's Fall 2004 lecture series with remarks on "The Courts and Democracy." |
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Blogging on the Courts
EPPC President Edward Whelan, the director of the program on The Constitution, the Courts, and the Culture, is a leading contributor to Bench Memos, National Review Online's award-winning blog on judicial nominations and constitutional law. You can read a list of all of his postings here.
Here is some of the praise Mr. Whelan has received for his blogging:
 From Steve Schmidt, who, as special adviser to President Bush, led the White House's efforts to confirm the Supreme Court nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito: "Ed Whelan was the most influential and valuable commentator on the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito. His remarkably rapid, thorough, and reliable responses to the distorted attacks on the nominees prevented those attacks from gaining traction. The White House was deeply grateful that he was on our side."
From Paul Mirengoff of the influential Power Line blog: "Blogs like NRO’s Bench Memos … enable legal super-stars like Ed Whelan to shoot down bad arguments against nominees within hours."
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