Judiciary Videos

In November, 2008 California voters approved the Proposition 8 ballot measure, amending their state Constitution to ban marriages between same-sex couples. With a potentially precedent-setting legal challenge to Prop 8 working its way through the federal court system, the National Constitution Center presents a timely program on the issue of same-sex marriage. A lawsuit filed on behalf of two gay couples wishing to marry has attracted national attention. David Boies, one of the leading lawyers in the case, is joined in a conversation by Keith Boykin, editor of The Daily Voice, Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, and Glenn Stanton, Director for Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family. NPR's Margot Adler moderates. Program recorded on 10/20/09.

Daniel W. Hamilton, J.D., Ph.D., Professor of Law and History, University of Illinois

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Taylor Branch discusses his account of President Bill Clinton’s confidential diary project conducted between 1993 and 2001. The Clinton Tapes provides a glimpse into the thought process and concerns of a sitting president and is based on 2,600 pages of material from the 78 sessions between the two men. Clinton shares spontaneous observations and personal details about events including war in Bosnia, health reform failure, anti-terrorist strikes, the 1996 re-election campaign, and Whitewater investigations culminating in his 1999 impeachment trial. Program recorded on 10/05/09.

250 Broadway, Manhatten, New York

Each new term of the Supreme Court brings fresh controversy to the Justices, and that pattern will be followed as the Justices return this fall from a summer recess. The Court that has reassembled is itself "new," joined by Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Justice and the third woman to sit on the Court. The National Constitution Center presents a discussion of the changing Court and the major disputes awaiting the Court's attention with Paul D. Clement, partner at King & Spalding and the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States, John Payton, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, and Lyle Denniston, veteran Supreme Court reporter with SCOTUSblog. Program recorded on 09/28/09.

2009 is and continues to be the International Year of the Election. Elections in Iran in June and their aftermath caught the world’s attention, while in August, Afghanistan’s second presidential elections since the Taliban era has raised important questions about the democratic process in that country. In each case, elections have an influence on the political dynamics in their respective countries, as well as reflecting the progress of, and the prospects for, U.S. policy goals. What do the election results and the reaction to them say about domestic politics in these countries, and what kind of a partner can the U.S. expect to have in these countries over the next five years? The National Constitution Center and The University of Pennsylvania Law School welcome Visiting Scholar Barnett Rubin, Michael Singh, former senior director for the Middle East at the National Security Council, and moderator Trudy Rubin. Program recorded on 09/21/09.

Governor Tom Ridge joins the National Constitution Center to discuss The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…And How We Can Be Safe Again, a memoir of his time as secretary of Homeland Security. Writing with praise and criticism for both Democrats and Republicans, Ridge recounts the politics in and around the Bush administration, offering candor on both the successes and missteps of the Department of Homeland Security and the challenges faced in his new post. Author, journalist and policy advisor Tony Blankley moderates. This program is sponsored by Cozen O'Connor, as part of the Knight Constitutional Conversation Series, which has been generously underwritten by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Program recorded on 09/14/09.

A community meeting was held in the Washington, DC neighborhood of Columbia Heights, focusing on the criminal justice system and to discuss how community members can become more involved and aware to solve and to fight crime in DC.

http://newsproject.org Since June 9, 2008, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich has pushed for impeachment proceedings against Bush. Last week, in an effort to placate Kucinich, the House Judiciary Committee finally agreed to hold a hearing July 25.

http://newsproject.org Rep. Dennis Kucinich continued his seemingly quixotic crusade to impeach President Bush last week. But with Speaker Pelosi suggesting the House Judiciary Committee may hear his argument, Kucinich might get his day very soon.

http://newsproject.org On June 26, 2008, John Yoo and David Addington, two leading architects of the Bush administration's policies on torture, testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Even seemingly simple questions yielded evasive answers.