CSLS Special Event: David Lieberman Memorial Lecture – “Sinister Interest: Benthamite Themes in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 Term”

Featuring Karen Tani, Seaman Family University Professor, Penn Carey Law, University of Pennsylvania

At the end of his brilliant career, Professor David Lieberman was writing about Jeremy Bentham’s views on courts and democracy. Lieberman was particularly interested in Bentham’s approach to “democratic statecraft”—that is, to the institutional arrangements that Bentham thought could thwart “sinister interests” and realize the greatest possible happiness of the community. This lecture seeks to honor Lieberman by placing his research agenda in conversation with a topic of great contemporary importance: the workings and decisional output of the U.S. Supreme Court. What interests has the Roberts Court advanced in recent years? How has it distributed its lawmaking power? Is it accountable to the public? And is our democracy in danger, as at least one justice has recently alleged?

Program: 3:00-4:30 p.m. in the Warren Room, 295 Simon Hall.
Reception: 4:30-5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.

Register for the livestream via Zoom. 
Add this event to your google calendar.

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact csls@law.berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days in advance of the event.