News Release

Influential legal commentator and law professor Jeffrey Rosen will discuss the John Roberts-led Supreme Court at The Johns Hopkins University's 2007 Constitutional Forum, a discussion of important legal issues held in conjunction with the annual observance of Constitution Day.

Rosen's talk, "Is the Roberts Court on a Collision Course with America?," will take place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18, in Hodson Hall auditorium, Room 110, on the Homewood campus, 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. Admission is free. For information, the general public may call 443-287-9900.

Rosen has been legal affairs editor of The New Republic since 1992. A professor at the George Washington University Law School, he specializes in constitutional law, criminal procedure, privacy issues and privacy in cyberspace. He is the author of several books, including his latest — The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries that Defined America, the companion book to the PBS series on the Supreme Court.

In addition to his other books, The Most Democratic Branch, The Naked Crowd, and The Unwanted Gaze, Rosen has written numerous essays and commentaries for the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, National Public Radio, and The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer. The Chicago Tribune named him one of the 10 best magazine journalists in America and the Los Angeles Times called him "the nation's most widely read and influential legal commentator." Besides his written pieces, Rosen is often sought for his expertise by shows like "The PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" and "Charlie Rose," among others. Rosen is a graduate of Harvard College; Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar; and Yale Law School. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife Christine Rosen and two sons.

In addition to Rosen's lecture, the university will host a free public colloquium at 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 17, in Hodson Hall, Room 210. Joel Grossman, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins, will be the speaker and moderator for the discussion, "How Supreme Court Justices are Selected — and How Should They Be?" All students, faculty and staff and the general public are invited to attend, listen and participate in the discussion about various proposals for altering the way Supreme Court Justices are selected, including the imposition of term limits and qualifications for holding that office.

The 2007 Constitutional Forum is supported by the George Huntington Williams Memorial Lectureship, established to honor the memory of George Huntington Williams, a pioneer in the microscopic study of rocks and minerals. He was the university's first professor of petrology and founded what was then called the Department of Geology (now Earth and Planetary Sciences) in the late 1880s. In 1917, his family created an endowment in his memory for lectures by distinguished public figures on topics of widespread contemporary interest. Past speakers have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

The events will celebrate Constitution Day, officially Sept. 17. That is the day in 1787 when delegates convened for the final time to sign the U.S. Constitution. Additional information about Constitution Day may be found by searching the Web site of The National Archives, www.archives.gov/.

The 2007 Constitutional Forum at Johns Hopkins is sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Department of Political Science, the Institute for Policy Studies, and the Office of Government, Community and Public Affairs.

Parking will be available close to Hodson Hall in the new Decker Garage, which will open Sept. 4. The garage is accessible from Wyman Park Drive, between Art Museum Drive and San Martin Drive, at the south end of the Homewood campus.

[Note to editors: A high resolution, color, digital photograph of Jeffrey Rosen is available by contacting Amy Lunday at 443-287-9960 or [email protected].]