May 6, 2008

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will be the guest of the Kentucky Author Forum at a SOLD OUT interview with Pete Williams, NBC News Justice correspondent, on May 6, 2008. Nominated by President Clinton, Breyer took his seat on the court August 3, 1994.

In his book Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution, Breyer outlines his judicial philosophy and how he goes about interpreting the Constitution, the statutes and the regulations that come before the court.

Breyer applies his theory of Constitutional interpretation to some of the most divisive legal questions tackled by the high court in recent years — affirmative action, free speech, privacy, separation of church and state and campaign finance.

Breyer argues for a flexible and adaptive interpretation of the Constitution instead of an "originalism" view taken by other members of the court who look to words as to what they meant at the time the document was written.

"Since law is connected to life, judges, in applying a text in light of its purpose, should look to consequences including contemporary conditions, social, industrial and political, of the community to be affected," Breyer says in the book.

Breyer states the need for justices to look at cases in light of how their decisions will promote what he calls "active liberty," the Constitution's aim of promoting participation by citizens in the processes of government. It's an approach that emphasizes "the document's underlying values" and looking broadly at a law's purpose and consequences rather than relying on a rigid overarching theory of judicial interpretation.

Breyer was born in San Francisco, California, August 15, 1938. He received an A.B. from Stanford University, a B.A. from Magdalen College, Oxford, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School. He served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg during the 1964 Term, and as assistant special prosecutor of the Watergate Special Prosecution Force in 1973.

He was an assistant professor, professor of Law, and lecturer at Harvard Law School, 1967–1994, a professor at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, 1977–1980, and a visiting professor at the College of Law, Sydney, Australia and at the University of Rome. From 1980–1990, he served as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and as its chief judge, 1990–1994.

Pete Williams, NBC News Justice correspondent, will interview Justice Breyer. Williams has been covering the Justice Department and the Supreme Court since 1993; and, has been an Author Forum guest before, interviewing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2003.

Event & Ticket Information

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Visit with University of Louisville Students: A live interview on WFPL followed by an open forum moderated by Samuel A. Marcosson, professor of law, Brandeis School of Law will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, May 6, in the Cox Lounge, Brandeis School of Law, Belknap Campus. The campus visit is open to students, faculty and staff.

THE FOLLOWING EVENT IS SOLD OUT

6 p.m.

The Kentucky Center

5 p.m. - Wine and Cheese offered by Brown-Forman, along with Carmichael's book sale in the lobby of The Kentucky Center

6 p.m. - Interview with Justice Stephen Breyer and Pete Williams in the Bomhard Theatre at The Kentucky Center

Live taping with KET: The Kentucky Network and WFPL: Louisville's NPR News Station Master of Ceremonies: Courier-Journal Forum Editor, Keith Runyon

7 p.m. - Q&A with audience

Tickets for the above three events: $17. (A limited number of discounted tickets at $5 each are available for UofL students, faculty and staff at The Kentucky Center box office (UofL photo required).

8:15 p.m. - Ticketed Dinner with Justice Breyer and Pete Williams, Humana Building, 25th Floor

Tickets for all evening events, including dinner: $100 ($35 tax deductible with proceeds to non-profit Kentucky Author Forum).

Note to TV stations and print media: Access to a live Kentucky Author Forum TV feed during the evening interview is always available through KET, by contacting Duncan Hart at 859-258-7296.

Justice Breyer's Kentucky Author Forum interview will be taped and aired, like all Author Forums, on KET, under the title "A Conversation with Justice Breyer." Watch KET listings for dates and times.

The University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forum is also distributed for optional airing by PBS stations nationwide, under the title “A Conversation With....”

Tapes of past Kentucky Author Forums interviews are available through KET by calling 800-945-9167.

KET also offers streaming video of a selection of past Kentucky Author Forum interviews at www.ket.org/arts/authorforum.htm

Many Forum guests are also interviewed on WFPL’s State of Affairs®. To listen to an archived interview go to www.wfpl.org/cms/?page_id=20.

The Kentucky Author Forum series is produced by Mary Moss Greenebaum, with Associate Producer Melissa Bernstrom, and is sponsored by the University of Louisville, Brown-Forman and The Humana Foundation. Additional donors include Bittners, Carmichael's Bookstore, The Courier-Journal, KET, Office Furniture USA, WFPL, and The Kentucky Center.

Questions should be directed to the Kentucky Author Forum office at 502-589-2884.

624 West Main, Second Floor
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Phone 502.589.2884
Fax 502.589.4334
email KYFORUM@aol.com