Religion & Law

For those MOJ denizens who will be in San Francisco next week, I hope we'll have a chance to meet up and toast the new year with a little of Walker Percy's bourbon (see the very good comment and link below).  Here are some of the panels that look interesting:

1.  A little self-promotion.  Come on over to the Jurisprudence panel on Friday the 7th at 4:00 (Parc 55 Hotel, second floor), where the subject is the choice of evils defense in criminal law.  I am very lucky to have some really fine scholars as co-presenters: Larry Alexander, Youngjae Lee, Malcolm Thorburn, and the wonderful organizer of our panel, Vera Bergelson.  I'm going rogue -- not talking about jurisprudence at all and the COE only a little.  Instead, I'll focus on the thought of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen and argue for something implausibly ambitious in a talk called, "Against Theories of Punishment."  I'll be trying to transform the talk into a paper over the next couple of months, so your reactions will be most welcome. 

2.  Law and Religion in a (Post-) Secular Age (Hotel Nikko, 3d Floor), Sat. the 8th at 8:30 (early!).  The panelists look to take Charles Taylor's book as a springboard for discussion of new directions in law and religion.  Co-moderated by the always interesting Paul Horwitz and Caroline Corbin.

3.  Lawyers' Special Responsibilities as Public Citizens in a Rapidly Changing World (Friday, 10:30, 3d floor at Parc 55).  Rob Vischer is delivering a talk on this panel, and the panelists look to be quite diverse, which is always more fun.  But I'm going just for him.

4.  Islamic Law and Crime in Contemporary Courts (Saturday, 10:30, Parc 55, second floor).  Fascinating subject that I don't know much about, but which incorporates two of my interests.  Featuring Russell Powell.

5.  Rabbinical Courts in American Law (Thursday, 9:00, Hilton, Ballroom Level).  Some heavy hitters on the subject of Beth Dins here, including Doug Laycock and Michael Helfand, who knows a great deal about this subject.  I'm sorry to be arriving too late to hear these guys.  Moderated by my colleague Keith Sharfman, who is very learned in this area.

6.  Don't miss the LUMEN CHRISTI conference that goes on Saturday nearby.  There are some really terrific books either just out or in the works.  I just got a copy of John Coughlin's Canon Law: A Comparative Study With Anglo-American Legal Theory and am looking forward to reading a little before hearing about it.

Happy New Year!!