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The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, most frequently called simply the Federalist Society, began at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and the University of Chicago Law School in 1982 as a student organization that challenged the perceived orthodox American liberal ideology found in most law schools. The Federalist Society states that it is founded on the principles that "the state exists to preserve freedom," that "the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution," and that the duty of the judicial branch is "to say what the law is, not what the law should be."* The Society currently has chapters at 145 United States law schools, including all of those U.S. News & World Report ranks among the top 20.* The Society also boasts a membership of over 20,000 practicing attorneys (organized as "alumni chapters" within the Society's "Lawyers Division") in sixty cities.* The Federalist Society also serves as a parent organization for conservatives and libertarians who are interested in the current state of the legal order. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Background The Society’s name is a reference to the principle of Federalism, as stated in Federalist Paper Number 78: "It can be of no weight to say that the courts, on the pretense of a repugnancy, may substitute their own pleasure to the constitutional intentions of the legislature.... The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise will instead of judgement, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body." The Federalist Papers are a series of articles intended to explain the new Constitution to the residents of New York state and persuade them to ratify it. A compilation of the Papers, called The Federalist, was published in 1788. The articles were secretly written under the pseudonym "Publius" by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and, to a considerably lesser extent, John Jay. Due to the strong influence of James Madison on the Society’s philosophy, the Federalist Society considers Madison to be their patriarch—hence the use of Madison’s silhouette in the Society’s official logo. Madison is generally credited as the father of the Constitution and became the fourth President of the United States. Funding The Federalist Society is funded by its modest members dues and other grants. It has received over $12 million in grants from conservative foundations, such as the Earhart, Bradley, Simon, and Olin Foundations, as well as the Carthage, Koch, and Scaife Foundations.* Aims and membership The Society seeks to promote the ideology set forth in its "Statement of Principles" through its activities. In working to achieve these goals, the Society has created a network of intellectuals that extends to all levels of the legal community. The Student Division has more than 5,000 law students as members and, through the national office's network of legal experts, the Society provides speakers for differing viewpoints at law school events. The activities of the Student Division are complemented by the activities of the Lawyers Division, which comprises more than 20,000 legal professionals, and the Faculty Division, which includes many in the academic legal community. Under United States Code, the Federalist Society is legally organized as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization and is expressly forbidden* to engage in "political and lobbying activities"*. Members of the society have debated the abolition of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, limiting the power of the Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies, limiting the reach of gender equity laws (Title IX) and voting rights laws, and expanded powers of war-time presidents. The organization also hosts panels discussing recent Supreme Court decisions, the constitutionality of school vouchers, and the scope of the commerce clause.* The Federalist Society does not officially lobby and does not litigate cases; instead, its membership does expend considerable energy in creating position papers and talking points on issues of interest. The Federalist Society is an organization that seeks to debate constitutional issues and public policy questions, a commitment which extends to inviting speakers who do not agree with the society's principles; past invitees include Justice Stephen Breyer and law professor Alan Dershowitz, as trenchant opponents of the Federalist Society's goals as could be imagined. UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh explains this openness to dissenting voices by saying that "we think that a fair debate between us and our liberal adversaries will win more converts for our positions than for the other side’s."* “Dedicated to reforming the current legal order,” the Federalist Society hopes to transform the American legal system by developing and promoting conservative positions and influencing who will become judges, top government officials, and decision-makers.* The Federalist Society’s guide to forming and running a chapter of the society claims that the organization “creates an informal network of people with shared views which can provide assistance in job placement.”* Federlist Society members helped to encourage President Bush’s decision to terminate the American Bar Association’s nearly half-century-old service. Since the Eisenhower administration, the American Bar Association has provided an important service to presidents of both parties and the nation by vetting the qualifications of those under consideration for lifetime appointment to the federal judiciary. The Society’s campaign against the American Bar Association appears to some to be payback for a perceived wrong against one of the Society's leading lights. Although Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork received an overall rating of “well-qualified” (the highest possible rating) in 1987 from the ABA, Society members were angered that Judge Bork received “not qualified” ratings from four of the 15 members of the ABA panel. Many Society members felt these negative ratings helped bring about Bork’s rejection by the Senate, and this influenced the organization to begin an in-depth investigation of ABA’s activities in 1992. Four years later, in August 1996, the Society formally launched its “ABA Project,” which was designed to assess the ABA's activities. A former law clerk of Judge Bork’s was one of the leaders in these Federalist Society initiatives.* * Members The Society has many prominent conservative members, including United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia (who served as the original faculty advisor to the organization), Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, former United States Circuit Court Judge Robert Bork, former United States Attorney General Edwin Meese, former United States Solicitor General Ted Olson, Senator Orrin Hatch, and Congressman Dan Lungren. A famous and controversial member, Kenneth Starr, is the former White House Independent Counsel whose investigations led to the impeachment of US president Bill Clinton. The Society also has many prominent libertarians who are members and frequent speakers at Society events, such as Professor Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago Law School, Professor Randy Barnett of Georgetown University Law Center, Bradley Smith, a professor at Capital University Law School who formerly served as Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and Roger Pilon, Director of Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute. Other members include Michael Chertoff, Leonard Leo and C. Boyden Gray, and Columbia Law School Dean David Schizer. Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts was reported to be a member of the Federalist Society during the 2005 confirmation process, but Roberts's membership status was never definitively established. Deputy White House press secretary Dana Perino said, "He Roberts has no recollection of ever being a member." *. The Washington Post later located the Federalist Society Lawyers' Division Leadership Directory, 1997-1998, which listed Roberts as a member of the Washington chapter steering committee.* Membership in the Society is not a necessary condition for being listed in the "leadership directory."* Like other private organizations, including the NAACP and the ACLU, the Federalist Society does not publish a membership list or otherwise disclose the identity of its members, preferring instead to let members publicly identify themselves with the Society if they so choose. The Bush administration has appointed a number of Society members nominated to federal District and Appeals courts:* See also Further reading Chapter websites | ||||||||
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