On October 24, UW Oshkosh will be hosting, “Has the Supreme Court Saved Constitutional Democracy in the United States,” with speakers Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse and retired federal appeals court Judge Michael Luttig. The event will be hosted from 5-7 p.m. in the Reeve Ballrooms.
The discussion will address issues in the recent Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) term and will be moderated by UWO political science professor, Jerry Thomas.
Greenhouse spent nearly 30 years covering SCOTUS and currently lectures at Yale Law School.
Benjamin Birkinbine, a UWO journalism professor, said that legal journalists play an important role in relaying information from the court to the public.
“Judicial journalists, especially SCOTUS, are vital,” Birkinbine said. “A lot of times, law seems abstract… judicial journalists translate that information for the general public so that we can understand the consequences of these decisions… It will be an honor to hear her speak.”
Luttig was nominated by Republican president, George H.W. Bush, to serve on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991. Luttig, a conservative legal figure, began to speak out against the Trump presidency in 2019.
Birkinbine said that Luttig will offer insight on recent changes in the court and the decisions that those changes have rendered.
“It will be interesting to hear a former high-level judge’s perspective on how the courts have changed,” he said. “ It would be fascinating to hear from someone who served on the bench [and] his opinions on the judiciary.”
Sawyer Moens, a political science student and vice-president of UWO Pre-Law Society, said that the event is important and he hasn’t experienced anything like it in his time at UWO.
“In my time being here, I haven’t experienced any event like this,” he said. “[To host] People in politics, involved in the court and law in general. I feel like it’s important and it’s good exposure for other students.”
Birkinbine said that the discussion should be beneficial to students, aiding them to understand their rights in the United States.
“Any event that can inform the public or students about rights and the extent of them is a worthwhile event,” he said.
Moens said that this event stretches beyond those involved in political science, and the conversations are applicable to the wider public and might target issues important to the student body.
“Non-political [science] students should be interested in this event,” he said. “Something might strike a nerve, similar to something they believe… they could find a deep interest in the event.”
