Have no fear. The fedester will be coming your way this Spring to give y’all some of that sweet Southern-fried originalism that your chapter craves so much.

Details to follow soon.

I’ve got some spots open on my dance card for the Spring semester; so, if you want the fedster to come speak to your chapter, shoot me an email.*

*While I am interested in speaking to any student chapter, I would really love to visit the following schools: Washington & Lee; Harvard; Yale; Chicago; University of Alabama; University of Georgia; University of Florida; Ole Miss; Emory; Georgia State; George Mason; Ave Maria; Vanderbilt; Memphis; and UVA.

I’ll be on Miss Martha’s radio show tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. discussing a poll recently conducted by the Federalist Society here in Georgia. So, tune in if you get a chance.

Other than ND getting drilled by Michigan, I had a wonderful time in South Bend this past weekend. I spoke to the ND feddies on Friday, and found them to be an engaging and thoughtful group of folks. I especially appreciate the gracious hospitality of Rob Driscoll and Jane Hertz (president and vice president respectively), who were kind enough to extend me an invitation to speak to their chapter. I also appreciate Monica Secord and Angela Pfister attending the event as well. It was nice to see Judge Manion’s chambers represented by such fine young (and brilliant) women.

Later that evening, my hosts for the weekend, Bill and Elizabeth Kirk, threw a fabulous dinner party that was enjoyed by all. The conversation was lively, and the food could not have been better. And while I enjoyed speaking with each of those in attendance, I must say that I especially had a blast hanging out with Professors Nicole Garnett (a former clerk to Justice Clarance Thomas) and Carter Sneed (who was fomerlly general counsel for President Bush’s Council on Bioethics). They are both brilliant and funny, which is a rare combination to say the least.

On Saturday, I was fortunate enough to tailgate with the fine folks from Notre Dame’s Center for Ethics and Culture, including its guest of honor, Michael Novak (whom I was lucky enough to speak with at length). Having read and admired Mr. Novak for years, I can only say that he is as engaging in person as he is on paper, which is a rare talent among scholars of his caliber. I also was able to chat with Professor Rick Garnett for a spell. Like his wife Nicole, Rick is wicked smart and a blast to hang out with, even if he did clerk for that liberal justice (i.e., Chief Justice Rehnquist). Finally, I also briefly chatted with Professor Amy Barrett (a former Scalia clerk), who struck me as a wondeful person and teacher.

In short, it was the kind of weekend that David Lat would have died for. :) 

Oh, and the game? Well, all I will say is this: No matter how bad it looked on t.v., it was much. much worse in person. ND got whipped. Plain and simple. I remarked to Miss Elizabeth at the game that I considered it a form of penance to stay at the stadium until the bitter end. :)  

to speak to the ND feddies.

Hope to see some of y’all there.

I had a great time speaking to the Cumberland feddies yesterday. Nathan was an excellent host, and we had a great group of folks show up for the event. I especially want to thank four of my SA co-bloggers for attending the talk: Professor DeBow, Marc Ayers, Justin Jones, and Philip Swartzfager. I was also extremely flattered that Alice H. Martin, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama took time out of her busy schedule to come and hear my musings on the Suipreme Court. Finally, I was very impressed by the questions from the students during the Q&A session. Cumberland is blessed to have such a bright group of Federalists attending its law school.*

*I realize, of course, that not everyone who attended the event can properly be characterized as a “Federalist.” But after the event, we had an originalist ”altar call,” and many were converted to the one true constitutional faith. Publius, you should have been there.  

The first word is that the chicks are swooning over his good looks, charm, and wit…

See comments section for other liveblogging details of Mr. Dillard’s actual speech. (don’t wanna clog the homepage)

I’ll be speaking to the Cumberland Law feddies tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. If you are interested in attending, you can get the necessary contact information here. 

Thanks to my buddy David Lat for the promo.

We’re looking forward to hosting Steve in a couple of weeks.  His speech at Cumberland is at 11:00, rather than 12:00.  I’m sure there will be more “reminders” in the coming weeks.

For those of y’all living in Birmingham and South Bend, I’ll be heading your way next month.

I’ll be speaking to the Cumberland-Law-School Feddies on September 7th, and the Fightin’-Irish Feddies on September 15, 2006 (both are scheduled to begin at noon, I believe). If you live in or nearby either of these cities, and are interested in attending one of these events, you can contact:

Nathan Hallford at njhallford@gmail.com (Cumberland contact)

or

Jane Hertz at jhertz@nd.edu (Notre Dame)

I’ll be preachin’ the originalist gospel, and seeking to convert as many penumbra lovers as possible over to the side of the angels. The title of the speech is “The Most Dangerous Branch,” which you can preview here. There will obviously be some minor changes/updates to this version of the speech, but I think you’ll get the overall flavor of what my talks are generally like.

I hope to see (and meet) as many SA readers as possible at these events.

Oh, and I’ll be more than happy to autograph any and all SDIFS! t-shirts and bumper stickers brought to the events.

If you are an officer of the feddie-student chapter at your law school, and would like for the fedster to come speak to it, just shoot me an email.

A good friend of mine, Professor Michael O’Shea (who joins the faculty at Oklahoma City University School of Law this fall, and also served as a law clerk to Judge Boggs of the Sixth Circuit), will be speaking to the St. Louis Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society this Thursday. Here are the details:

Topic: “State Courts and Modern Textualism”

Where: Missouri Athletic Club, 405 Washington Ave., downtown St. Louis, Missouri

When: Noon, this Thursday, June 15

If you are able to attend, please do. Mike is one of the smartest people I know, and I have no doubt that his presentation will be of interest to those who read SA.

Last reminder:  I’ll be speaking on Thursday, June 8, at 2 P. M. in the Baliey Courtroom of the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law.  My topic will be popular sovereignty viewed through the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. 

I’ll be speaking on Thursday, June 8, at 2 P. M. in room 284 of the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law.  My topic will be popular sovereignty viewed through the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.  I’ll even sign a book or two.  Come out and say hello.

You can view my recent speech to the Mississippi College School of Law’s Federalist Society, entitled “The Most Dangerous Branch,” here.

O.k., ask and ye shall receive. Many of y’all emailed and requested that I videotape my speech to the Federalist Society at Mississippi College (”The Most Dangerous Branch”), and I did just that. I uploaded the speech to Google’s video uploader, and it is now available for viewing. The video covers the entire speech (which I think is about 22 or 23 minutes), as well as some questions at the end.

Now, please keep in mind that this is my first attempt at doing this sort of thing, so the video is not all that great (my ten-year-old son, Jackson, recorded the event, and he struggled a bit with keeping the camera still and eating pizza at the same time). Indeed, you may wish to simply listen to the audio. Nevertheless, I hope y’all enjoy it.

Oh, and thanks again to Bryan Hawkins for the invite. I had a great time speaking with the students and professors, and the dean even stopped by to hear me preach the originalist gospel. In short, it was a lot of fun, and I look forward to visiting other chapters in the near future.

O.k., sportsfans, I am out of here. The Dillard Family is heading back to Jackson, Mississippi for the fedster’s ten-year-law-school reunion at MC. I am looking forward to catching up with some folks.

Oh, and if you actually live in or near Jackson, please try and attend my speech to MC’s Federalist Society chapter on Friday at 12:00 p.m. The topic will be: “The Most Dangerous Branch.” And no, Publius, I am not talking about the Executive Branch.

I may check in from the road. But then again, I may not.

Y’all be good, and play nice whilst I am away. Grover, I am looking in your direction.

You can get the details here and here.

Will be to topic of my speech to the Federalist Society of Misssissippi College on April 7, 2006. I hope to see all of SA’s Jackson readers there. Fun will be had by all!

Now, if only I could get an invite from the Harvard and Notre Dame chapters. Oh, and Cumberland (i.e., Nathan), I am looking in your direction also.

An open invitation for those SA readers in the B’ham area.
Mr. Nikolas T. Nikas, Esq., President and General Counsel of the Bioethics Defense Fund will deliver his speech entitled, “What Every Law Student Needs to Know About Human Cloning and Embryonic Stem-Cell Research” to the Cumberland Federalist Society on Tuesday, Feb. 7th from 4:00-5:00 in room 121. Click here for more about Mr. Nikas.

If interested in attending, shoot me an email.

Judge William H. Pryor, Jr. of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to give two speeches at the University of Notre Dame on January 24, 2006. It is my understanding that judge will first speak to the law school’s chapter of the Federalist Society around 4:00 p.m., and then later that evening, at 7:30 p.m., he will give the first talk in the school’s “Catholic Think Tank” lecture series.

So, if you are an undergrad, law student, or faculty member at ND, or just live in the “Bend,” and can get into either one of these events, please do so.

I am pleased to announce that the student chapter of the Federalist Society at Mississippi College School of Law, my alma mater, has asked me to speak to its members and other interested students/faculty members on April 7, 2006. I have accepted this kind invitation, and am looking forward to returning to Jackson.

I haven’t yet decided the exact contours of the speech, but it will probably be similiar to a recent talk I gave entitled, “The Supreme Court and the Rule of Law.”

Anyway, if you live in or near Jackson, and would like to attend the event, please contact the chapter’s president, Bryan Hawkins at BryanSHawkins@aol.com .