Your Weekly Constitutional

As we discussed in a recent episode, Stewart’s wife, Priscilla Harris, served as a 2017 Core Fulbright Scholar at Vilnius University in Lithuania. Why VU? Why Lithuania? Well, it turns out that this little country, nestled in the northeastern corner of Europe, between Russia and the Baltic, has quite a history, and quite a bit of modern strategic importance. Join Stewart and young Lithuanian attorney Remigijus Jokubauskas as they talk about Lithuania, past, present and future.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then-Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and is designed to promote international understanding and peace. Fulbright scholarships are highly competitive and prestigious. Stewart’s wife, Priscilla Harris, recently served as a Fulbright Scholar on the Faculty of Law at Vilnius University in Lithuania. Join us as Priscilla and VU’s Law Dean Tomas Davulis, tell us all about this remarkable program at a remarkable university.

Remember that old Eighties flick, Robocop? It was about a real cop who was killed in the line of duty, then resurrected as a cyborg. How about the Terminator movies, where Arnold Schwarzenneger played a powerful robot from the future, who was either good or bad, depending upon which episode you’re watching. It’s all just science fiction, right? Wrong. It’s about to become science fact, and it has profound implications for the Fourth Amendment. Melanie Reid, a professor at LMU’s Duncan School of Law, tells us all about it. We're also joined by LibrariAnn, who tells us about several recent publications dealing with law and technology.

Abolition of slavery was not just a Civil War thing. Indeed, it has been an issue since long before our Constitution was written, and one group, the Quakers, was particularly outspoken about it. Nicholas Wood, of Yale University, was recently at Montpelier to teach a seminar on early abolitionism, and Stewart sat down with him in the new Potter Studios.

Andrew Jackson is such a complicated figure, and such a major subject of current interest, that we’ve decided to do two episodes on him. In Part I, we talked about Jackson’s early life, his legal career, and his rise to prominence in the War of 1812. In Part II, we pick up the story as Jackson uses his military victories to propel himself all the way to the White House. Dan Feller, the Editor of the Papers of Andrew Jackson, is our guide.

Old Hickory has been much in the news lately, with many people drawing comparisons between him and our current President. Indeed, Donald Trump recently visited Andrew Jackson’s historic home, The Hermitage, laid a wreath on Jackson’s grave and called himself a “big fan” of our seventh President. Are such comparisons valid? And who was Andrew Jackson, anyway? These are complicated questions. Fortunately, Stewart was able to sit down and discuss them with Dan Feller, a history professor at the University of Tennessee who also happens to be the Editor of the Papers of Andrew Jackson. Dan knows so much about AJ that we had to split his fascinating interview into two parts.

Whether they are called Indigenous Peoples, Native Americans, or American Indians, people whose ancestors lived in what is now the United States before the arrival of Europeans present a fundamental constitutional question: are they U.S. citizens, or are they members of a separate nation? Or are they, perhaps, both? If they are, collectively, nations of some kind, what is the status of the various treaties they have negotiated with the U.S. Government over the past several hundred years? Recently, David Wilkins, a professor at the University of Minnesota, taught a seminar at Montpelier on these very questions. But before he did, he sat down and spoke with Stewart about them.

Ever heard of Deuntay Diggs? He’s a Watch Commander at the Sheriff’s Office in Stafford County, Virginia. As part of his duties, he appears before school assemblies and other community groups as “The Dancing Deputy.” His videos have gone viral, garnering more than 40 million hits. Stewart met him at a recent seminar at Montpelier on the Fourth Amendment, which regulates police searches and seizures. Deuntay and Stewart hit it off immediately. But it soon emerged that Deuntay’s sunny and enthusiastic personality hides a tragic personal story, which he shares in this compelling episode. Join us!

Have you ever heard of Pauli Murray? Didn’t think so. So it's a good thing that Rosalind Rosenberg, a historian at Barnard College, has written a new biography of this extraordinary and underappreciated woman. Pauli Murray was black, transgender, and brilliant – so brilliant that she mapped out the legal strategy that Ruth Bader Ginsberg would use to convince the Supreme Court to apply the Equal Protection Clause to women. Over decades, Pauli Murray struggled against just about every barrier that society could put in her way, and prevailed.

This is the continuation of the fascinating story behind an obscure, but vitally-important case from the early 1800’s, which helped define the American idea of a constitutional right. William Davenport Mercer, a historian from the University of Tennessee, tells the turning, twisting, fascinating tale of a business owner’s attempt to obtain compensation for damage to his wharf, a case in which, unexpectedly, Andrew Jackson played a major role.

Some important constitutional cases grab your attention automatically – think Dred Scott or Roe v. Wade. Others don’t, but are equally important. One such case is Barron v. Baltimore, which dealt, at least on the surface, with a claim by a wharf owner that the City of Baltimore had harmed his business. Sounds dull, right? But wait until you hear the story behind it, courtesy of William Davenport Mercer, a historian at the University of Tennessee.

The Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at Montpelier does many important things in addition to underwriting this radio show. Among the most important is its sponsorship of “Montpelier Summits,” which bring together governmental officials and other influential people to discuss current constitutional problems and strategies to fix them. In this episode, Stewart interviews the moderators of a recent Summit: Lauren Bell, a Professor of Political Science and the Dean of Academic Affairs at Randolph-Macon College; and Paul Michel, the former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Lauren studies Congress from an academic perspective, after having spent some time in Washington herself. Paul not only served as a federal appellate judge, but earlier worked as an assistant and counsel to United States Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Join us for a wide-ranging and thoughtful discussion with two people who have been there and done that.

All across these United States, we put lots and lots of people in jail. Is that a good thing? Or are there costs, not all of them monetary, that we need to take into account? John Pfaff, a professor at Fordham Law School, thinks that maybe, just maybe, there's a problem here that needs addressing. He’s written a book, "Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform," in which he discusses both the problems with imprisoning so many people, and some ways to stop doing so much of it.

We’ve discussed free speech on campus before, focusing upon the threats posed by “political correctness.” But are there other threats to free speech and academic freedom? You bet there are. And some of them emanate from state legislatures. Stewart will discuss this troubling issue with Professor Donald P. Moynihan, the Director of the LaFollette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Sometimes we start an interview thinking that we’re going to talk about one thing, and then the conversation takes an unexpected turn. Stewart recently spoke with Brian Klaas, a Fellow at the London School of Economics, expecting that they would discuss gerrymandering – and they did, eventually. But first the conversation veered down a dark path: the global rise of authoritarianism. Brian's written a book about this disturbing subject. It's called "The Despot's Accomplice."

What happens if the President dies or resigns? What happens if he goes, well, nuts? Our original Constitution was a little bit vague on those subjects. Fortunately, 50 years ago, during the height of the Cold War, the 25th Amendment was ratified. It answered at least some of these pressing questions. We’ll speak with someone who participated in its drafting, Professor John Feerick, the former Dean of Fordham Law School, who is also the author of the Pulitzer-Prize-nominated book, "The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Its Complete History and Application."

Abraham Lincoln saw us through the greatest constitutional crisis in our history. But he was more than 50 years old when he became our President. How did he spend the first half-century of his life? Mostly, he practiced law. And his law practice prepared him for the challenges to come. Join us for a fascinating discussion with Steven Wilson, the Curator and Assistant Director of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum at Lincoln Memorial University.

We’ve spoken with Elizabeth Dowling Taylor before, about her groundbreaking book “A Slave in the White House.” Well, Beth has kept on writing, and this time she’s expanded her focus to the proud “colored aristocracy” that emerged in the United States after the Civil War. She focuses upon two of its members — Daniel Murray, the son of a former slave, who, in 1897, became chief of periodicals at the Library of Congress, and his wife, Anna, a descendant of one of John Brown’s raiders. Beth documents the inaugural balls they organized, the properties they owned, and their political efforts on behalf of their race. She also chronicles their decline -- ultimately, their affluence, respectability, and light complexions couldn’t save them from the humiliations of Jim Crow. Join us for a poignant glimpse into a largely forgotten era in our constitutional history.

Every year it seems that more states legalize marijuana in one form or another. Could the national government be next? Or have the recent elections stopped the progress of legalization efforts? We’ll speak with Howard Wooldridge, of Citizens Against Prohibition, as well as Scott Chipman, a spokesperson from CALM, Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana. We'll also hear from Robert Mikos of Vanderbilt University, who spoke to us about the constitutional issues back in 2013.

As we've discussed before, Patrick Henry was more than just one speech. Indeed, he played an important role in protecting our liberties long after the Revolution was over, especially when the First Amendment was under assault. Author John Rogasta tells us all about it.