Weekend Conference on Law, Individual Rights and the Judicial System

The last day to register at the discounted early registration price for
Front Range Objectivism's "Weekend Conference on Law, Individual Rights
and the Judicial System" is quickly approaching: It's this Saturday,
February 11th. Don't miss your opportunity to save $75 on the
conference fee!

Web Site: http://www.frontrangeobjectivism.com/2006-law.html
PDF Brochure: http://www.frontrangeobjectivism.com/docs/2006-Law.pdf

The conference itself will be held on March 4-5, 2006 in Denver,
Colorado. You can register by mail by following the instructions on
the brochure -- or you can register online. The hotel hosting the
conference has discounted rooms available for people coming from out of
town.

Here's the information from about the speakers and lectures from the
web site:

***

Tara Smith, PhD, will open the conference with a lecture on "Why
Originalism Won't Die: Common Mistakes in Competing Theories of
Judicial Interpretation." In the debate over judicial interpretation of
the Constitution, the theory of Originalism (advocated by Antonin
Scalia, among others) has been subjected to seemingly fatal criticisms.
Despite the exposure of flaws that would normally bury a theory,
however, Originalism continues to attract tremendous support. What
explains its resilient appeal? Why do many continue to regard it as the
most reasonable basis for judicial interpretation? This lecture will
answer these questions by identifying the fundamental weakness of the
leading alternatives to Originalism and by demonstrating that the heart
of Originalism's appeal–its promise of judicial
objectivity–is illusory. All camps in this debate, we will see,
suffer from serious misunderstandings of the nature of objectivity.

Dana Berliner, JD, of the Institute for Justice, will present two
lectures on "Reading "Public Use" out of the Fifth Amendment: A Look at
the Use of Eminent Domain for Private Parties in the United States."
Eminent Domain, the power of government to take private property, is
limited by the U.S. Constitution to "public use" and requires "just
compensation" when property is taken. Without a proper understanding of
the importance of property to individual rights, fuzzy language and
exceptions have eroded the limitations on this governmental power. Part
I will trace the history of the law of eminent domain, its inclusion in
the Constitution, its subsequent interpretation by courts and other
branches of government, and the relationship of the public use issue to
the debate about "judicial activism" in the courts.

Part II will focus on more recent developments in the issue of eminent
domain, covering the development and litigation of the Kelo case at the
U.S. Supreme Court, focusing on both the litigation strategy and the
constitutional analysis in the majority, concurring and dissenting
opinions. Ms. Berliner will also discuss the subsequent popular and
political backlash, and show the difficulty of implementing
philosophically consistent policy in legislation.

Eric Daniels, PhD, will discuss "Unenumerated Rights: From Calder v.
Bull to Lawrence v. Texas." The Founding Fathers intended to create a
government to secure individual rights. They listed and laid out
numerous rights in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but they
also added the Ninth Amendment to guarantee "unenumerated rights." What
are these rights? How can they be protected? Has this been a successful
means of protecting individual rights?

These two lectures will explore the history of the framing of the Ninth
Amendment and the implementation of unenumerated rights in major court
decisions from the Founding to the present. They will explore how
individual rights–both enumerated and unenumerated–have
fared under the changing philosophies of interpretation and theories of
jurisprudence that American courts have embraced.

Amy Peikoff, JD, PhD, will give two lectures entitled "Is There a Right
to Privacy?", in which she will explain why she opposes the current
legal recognition of a right to privacy. In the first lecture, she will
discuss the history of the right to privacy in the United States,
including descriptions of the cases in which a right to privacy has
been recognized, and summaries of the main arguments given in favor of
such a right. In her second lecture, Dr. Peikoff will present what she
thinks is the proper approach to the legal protection of privacy, an
approach based on Ayn Rand's philosophy.

The conference will conclude on Sunday afternoon with a panel
discussion by Jim McCrory, Steve Plafker and Michael Conger, officers
of TAFOL, The Association For Objective Law, seeking to provide an
integrated perspective on the issues discussed throughout the weekend
sessions. These lectures, presented over one weekend, March 4 - 5,
2006, promise to be a unique experience, applying Objectivism to the
philosophy of law.

***

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Lin Zinser by
e-mail (Lin@xxxxxxxxxx) or phone (303.431.2525).

Knowing what I do about the organizer and the speakers of this Weekend
Conference on Law, Individual Rights and the Judicial System, I cannot
recommend it highly enough.

http://www.frontrangeobjectivism.com/2006-law.html

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