Welcome Back!

Join us for our Welcome back event!

Also, Check out our new blog: pepperdinelawfedsoc.wordpress.com

Attack of the Drones!

Join FedSoc for a debate today at 12:30 pm in the Appellate Courtroom.  Prof. McNeal and John Radsan will discuss the use of Drones by the U.S.  Lunch will be provided!

Get back into the swing of things with a debate hosted by FedSoc this Tuesday!

Join FedSoc today at 12:30 for our seventh event of the semester! 

School Choice Event with Clint Bolick and Professor James

In honor of National School Choice Week, we present: 

Federalist Society School Choice Event: Do America’s Public Schools  Make the Grade? With Clint Bolick and Professor James Bolick is a co-founder of the Institute for Justice, the director of the Goldwater Institute’s Litigation center, the former director for the Alliance for School Choice, the author of numerous books, and a Supreme Court Litigator. We’ll be giving away a copy of his book, “Voucher Wars!” Lunch Will Be Provided!!

TELEFORUM- Collateral Damage in Combat Operations

To participate in this practice group Teleforum, please dial 888-752-3232 on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. (EST) via telephone. Professor Gregory McNeal will discuss how the U.S. military implements its International Humanitarian Law obligation to mitigate and prevent harm to civilians during combat operations. He will describe the process the U.S. military follows to estimate and mitigate the impact of conventional weapons on collateral persons and objects in most pre-planned military operations involving air-to-surface weapons and artillery.  In recent years, an entire body of academic literature and policy commentary has been based on an incomplete understanding of how the U.S. conducts military operations. The literature is incomplete because U.S. practices are shrouded in secrecy and largely inaccessible. As a result commentators have lacked a descriptive foundation to analyze and critique U.S. operations. Their writings have focused on easily describable issues such as whether a target was a lawful military objective, and then typically shift attention to the question of proportionality balancing and collateral damage.  These commentators skip an important aspect of actual practice - the scientifically grounded mitigation steps followed by U.S. armed forces. Those mitigation steps are designed to ensure a less than 10% probability of collateral damage resulting from any pre-planned operation. You can read Professor McNeal's recent paper on this topic by clicking here.  More on Greg McNeal http://www.lawandterrorism.com/

FedSoc Welcome Back Event!

From the Founder's Point of View: Health Care Event

Pepperdine's Professor Eskridge and Professor Pushaw delivered the founder's interpretation of the commerce clause and the possible outcomes when health care issues reach the Supreme Court in November 2011.  This discussion had a strong turn-out and participation by students. See below for photos!

Lock-up the semester with FedSoc's Over-Criminalization event featuring Radley Balko and Prof. McNeal

The event will address the large influx of federal laws and what it means for American citizens. Lunch will be served in the Appellate Court room @12:30pm on Monday, November 14th. 

Radley Balko is currently a senior writer for Huffington Post, where he focuses on civil liberties and the criminal justice system. His prior experience includes senior editor at Reason magazine, policy analyst for the Cato Institute covering civil liberties and the drug war, and biweekly columnist with FoxNews.com. On a personal side, Balko identifies himself as "a music buff, an amateur photographer, and an admitted 'dog person.'" Read more about Radley Balko on his website.

Pepperdine's Prof. McNeal is a national security specialist with expertise in national security law and policy, transnational crime, global policy studies, and international law. He previously served as Assistant Director of the Institute for Global Security, co-directed a transnational counterterrorism program for the U.S. Department of Justice, and served as an advisor to the Chief Prosecutor of the Department of Defense Office of Military Commissions on matters related to the prosecution of suspected terrorists held in the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Check out his blog and read more about him. 


Update 1/9/12 Photos from the event:

R I P E N E S S M A D N E S S?

Has the Supreme Court's jurisprudence worked to effectively deny property owners meaningful judicial relief from oppressive property regulations?

On November 2nd, the Federalist Society will be hosting "Ripeness Madness," a look at property rights and regulations with Pacific Legal Foundation's David Breemer and Prof. Saxer. 

Come to Room B to join the fun (and for free lunch)!

Double the events--Double the photos!

Photos from the Religious Liberty Event with Jeff Shafer and Prof. Eskridge on Oct. 18th. 

Photos from the Congressional Super Committee conversation wit Martin Gold and Prof. Delrahim on October 19th.

Double-whammy week ahead!

Join FedSoc next week for TWO events! See flyers below for information. 

Join Pepperdine FedSoc on October 6th!

Check out photos from the event! 

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Supreme Court Round-Up

Giddy-up to this round-up! Everything you need to know about the cases and opinions from the latest Supreme Court term.  

Jon Eastman, former clerk of Justice Thomas and the former Dean of Chapman Law, will be presenting a summary of the Supreme Court decisions from the past term. Commentary provided by Pepperdine's Professor Muller.


Round-up will be held on 9/27/11 in room B at 12:30 pm. Lunch will be provided.


View photos from the event!

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Here are some photos from our well-attended and lively debate on the Brown v. EMA case with Professor McDonald and UVA's Lillian BeVier.

A full-house for the debate!

Delivering her opening thoughts, BeVier targets Justice Breyer's opinion. 

Professor McDonald uses case comparison to drive home his points. 

It takes two to tango: McDonald and BeVier discussing their opposing opinions. 

Question and Answer session after the debate.

Honoring the Heroes of 9/11 10th Anniversary Remembrance

                                                        Alumni Park, 9/11/11               photo credit: A. Lawson       

             The Pepperdine University 9/11 10^th Anniversary Ceremony was an extraordinary event.  The planning and coordination were both extensive and thoughtful.  The stage and seating layout were well placed with a clear view over the Pacific Ocean towards the Catalina Islands.  The University laid out, in neat order, nearly 3,000 national flags to represent the nationality of each person who was killed on 9/11.  The ceremony began with a procession of military and various first responders, all in full dress uniform.   A moving invocation, crisp honor guard presentation of the flag, recital of the Pledge of Allegiance, and a welcoming by Pepperdine University President Benton began the official ceremony.  Special guests included former Governor Gray Davis, L.A. County Third District Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, and Deena Burnett, widow of Pepperdine alumnus and Flight 93 “let’s roll” leader Tom Burnett.  Each of the special guests spoke thoughtfully at the ceremony.  Deena Burnett’s was particularly moving as she spoke of her husband, the nation, and even presented her three daughters.  To cap off the ceremony, two Navy aircraft conducted a fly over in close formation.  They looked fantastic against a cloudless sky.  It was a great ceremony to honor the victims of the 9/11 attack and the nation’s resolve to give them justice.
Written and photos by Raymond Areshenko

Game Over for CA Regulators: Does the SCOTUS Brown v. EMA Decision Deserve the High Score?

Join us for a debate between Pepperdine's Professor McDonald and UVA's Lillian BeVier!