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2025 Dyson Distinguished Lecture
Play In the Joints Of the Religion Clauses and Law More Broadly
Delivered by Professor Michael C. Dorf, Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School
Professor Dorf’s lecture will take as its starting point a view articulated by the late Chief Justice Rehnquist, writing for a majority of the Supreme Court in Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004): “there are some state actions permitted by the Establishment Clause but not required by the Free Exercise Clause.” Professor Dorf will examine how recent cases involving the Constitution’s religion clauses erode this principle. He will argue that “play in the joints” is a valuable principle in many domains: the law ought not forbid whatever it does not demand; instead, it should leave substantial room for choice. One key illustration will involve conflicts between antidiscrimination law and free speech on campus.
About Professor Michael C. Dorf
Michael C. Dorf is the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. He has written over one hundred law review articles and is the author, co-author, or editor of six books, including On Reading the Constitution (co-author Laurence Tribe, Harvard University Press, 1991) and Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights (co-author Sherry F. Colb, Columbia University Press, 2016). His popular writing appears regularly in the web-based magazine Verdict and on his blog, Dorf on Law. Professor Dorf received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. Before entering academia, Professor Dorf served as a law clerk for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court. He maintains an active pro bono practice.
About the Dyson Distinguished Lecture
The Dyson Distinguished Lecture was endowed in 1982 by a gift from the Dyson Foundation made possible through the generosity of the late Charles H. Dyson, a financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who was also a 1930 graduate, trustee, and long-time benefactor of Pace University. The Dyson Lecture highlights distinguished scholarly legal contributions in furtherance of Haub Law's educational mission. Prior Dyson lectures have been delivered by Dr. Cornel West, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, and EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum.
This event is free and open to the public. Please register below.
This is an in person event. 1 PD credit will be awarded to students who attend.
February 10
12:50pm to 2:00pm
Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
Preston Hall, Tudor Room
78 N. Broadway, White Plains, NY
Reception to Follow
Registration Required
Event Type:
Elisabeth Haub School of Law
Faculty
Featured Event
Open to the Public
2025-02-10 12:50:00
2025-02-10 14:00:00
2025 Dyson Distinguished Lecture
Play In the Joints Of the Religion Clauses and Law More Broadly
Delivered by Professor Michael C. Dorf, Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School
Professor Dorf’s lecture will take as its starting point a view articulated by the late Chief Justice Rehnquist, writing for a majority of the Supreme Court in Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004): “there are some state actions permitted by the Establishment Clause but not required by the Free Exercise Clause.” Professor Dorf will examine how recent cases involving the Constitution’s religion clauses erode this principle. He will argue that “play in the joints” is a valuable principle in many domains: the law ought not forbid whatever it does not demand; instead, it should leave substantial room for choice. One key illustration will involve conflicts between antidiscrimination law and free speech on campus.
About Professor Michael C. Dorf
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Michael C. Dorf is the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. He has written over one hundred law review articles and is the author, co-author, or editor of six books, including On Reading the Constitution (co-author Laurence Tribe, Harvard University Press, 1991) and Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights (co-author Sherry F. Colb, Columbia University Press, 2016). His popular writing appears regularly in the web-based magazine Verdict and on his blog, Dorf on Law. Professor Dorf received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. Before entering academia, Professor Dorf served as a law clerk for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court. He maintains an active pro bono practice.
About the Dyson Distinguished Lecture
The Dyson Distinguished Lecture was endowed in 1982 by a gift from the Dyson Foundation made possible through the generosity of the late Charles H. Dyson, a financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist who was also a 1930 graduate, trustee, and long-time benefactor of Pace University. The Dyson Lecture highlights distinguished scholarly legal contributions in furtherance of Haub Law's educational mission. Prior Dyson lectures have been delivered by Dr. Cornel West, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, and EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum.
This event is free and open to the public. Please register below.
This is an in person event. 1 PD credit will be awarded to students who attend.
Description America/New_York public