Turley to Give Keynote Address at the California Lawyers Conference on Constitution Day

This morning, I have the honor of addressing the 2022 California Lawyers Conference in San Diego. The keynote address will cover “Emerging Cases and Controversies Before the Roberts Supreme Court.” It is a particular privilege to address the conference on Constitution Day. We are experiencing a crisis of faith in our Constitution, including attacks on the Court and individual justices.  There has also been a rise of opposition to “constitutionalism” as well as attacks on the Constitution as “trash.”

The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said “We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, ‘We, the people.'” It was a simple and powerful statement. It is incumbent on each of us to defend a constitution that not only defines us as a people but has served us well through hundreds of years of political, social, and economic upheaval.

My address to the conference will focus on the Supreme Court and the cases and controversies that it has faced in the last year. I will be discussing the blockbuster cases from the last term, including but not limited to:

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Abortion)

New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen (Gun rights)

Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (Free exercise and free speech)

Carson v. Makin (Establishment of religion)

West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (Climate change/Separation of Powers)

I will also discuss some of the upcoming cases including:

303 Creative v. Elenis: A web designer challenging Colorado’s public accommodations law after declining to provide services for the marriages of same-sex couples.

Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College/Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina: Challenges to the use of race as a criterion in college admissions.

Moore v. Harper: A challenge to the right of state courts to strike down or change legislation governing congressional and presidential elections under the “independent state legislature doctrine.”

Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith: An appeal concerning what constitutes a “transformative” work under the fair use doctrine when it contains a dissimilar meaning or message from an original source like a photo of Prince.

Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency: A challenge to the test for what is considered “water of the United States.”

Haaland v. Brackeen: A constitutional challenge to the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 in the use of race for placement preferences for children.