Religion & Law

When planning your itinerary (I'm tempted to say itinerarium mentis . . . ) for this fall, don't forget to come to Villanova.  We've got lots of very good stuff on offer, and Philadelphia is especially beautiful in the autumn.

Closest to my heart is the fourth annual John F. Scarpa Conference on Law, Politics, and Culture.  This year the conference will be dedicated to exploring and celebrating the work of Joseph Vining, Hutchins Professor of Law at the University of Michigan.  2009 marks Professor Vining's fortieth anniversary on the Michigan faculty, and those who will gather to pay tribute to his surpassing scholarly contribution -- that ranges from administrative law and animal law to jurisprudence and corporate law -- include Judge John T. Noonan, Jr., James Boyd White (U Michigan), Steven Smith (San Diego), Lee Bollinger (Columbia), Jefferson Powell (Duke), and Jack Sammons (Mercer).  The date for the conference is October 22nd. 

On September 26, we will be hosting our annual conference on Catholic social thought.  The topic this year is Catholic legal education.  Our friend Tom Mengler, dean of the Univ. of St. Thomas School of Law, will deliver the plenary address.  MOJers aplenty will also speak: Steve Shiffrin, Fr. Araujo SJ, Amy Uelmen, John Breen, Rick Garnett, and Susan Stabile.  Other speakers will include William Wagner, Helen Alvare, George Garvey, Eric Claeys, Zach Calo, Greg Kalscheur SJ, Lee Strang, and Lucia Silecchia.

And then there's our annual Law Review symposium, which this year will be dedicated to the topic of sovereignty (and "why you're not the boss of me").  The date for the symosium is September 26th.  Confirmed speakers include Hope Babcock, Kate Struve, Don Doernberg, Doug Enderson, and MOJ's own Greg Sisk.

Details about the events will be available on the Villanova Law homepage as the dates approach, but please plan early to attend.