USC and UC Berkely Professors Will Give Two Free Talks
Santa Monica College is set to observe Constitution Day by hosting two discussions centered on the U.S. Constitution. Esteemed legal scholars, University of Southern California law professor Jody Armour and UC Berkeley School of Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky, will headline the event.
The event schedule comprises a presentation by Armour at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Subsequently, Chemerinsky will deliver a talk at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14. Each presentation will be succeeded by a concise dialogue and a question-and-answer session, guided by SMC English professor Hari Vishwanadha.
Constitution Day, also recognized as Citizenship Day, was established in 2005 to commemorate the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787, by the delegates of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Educational institutions receiving federal funding are mandated to arrange an annual program for students, celebrating Constitution Day and highlighting the rights and freedoms safeguarded by the written Constitution.
Armour holds the esteemed position of Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California and is a Soros Justice Senior Fellow at The Open Society Foundations Center on Crime, Communities & Culture. He actively participates on the Board of Directors for the global nonprofit LEAP (Law Enforcement Action Partnership), advocating for criminal justice reform. His scholarly contributions are extensive, including the publication of books such as “N*gga Theory: Race, Language, Unequal Justice, and the Law.”
Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, boasts a rich portfolio as a former President of the Association of American Law Schools. He is also an accomplished author, with numerous law review articles and 15 books to his credit, including works like “Constitutional Law” and “Interpreting the Constitution.”
Both presentations are open to the public, offered as live virtual events. A Zoom link granting direct access to each session will be accessible on the event date at smc.edu/events shortly prior to its commencement.
