Legal Studies Institute’s Annual Lecture in Law, Philosophy, and Public Policy

The College of Staten Island Legal Studies Institute’s Annual Lecture in Law, Philosophy, and Public Policy presents Richard A. Epstein, The Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, Director of the Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law, “The Classical Liberal Constitution and Religious Liberty” on  Wednesday, Nov. 18 in the center for the Arts (Building 1P) Williamson Theatre at 5:00pm.

The past few years have marked a huge assault on religious liberty, as embodied in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. The modern progressive view narrowly confines free exercise to religious worship and ritual, but it also insists that free exercise should be overridden to prevent discrimination on the grounds, most notably, of race and sexual orientation, even in competitive markets. The classical liberal approach rejects the new wave of human rights laws that forces religious people either abandon their trade or engage in actions that violate their religious conscience.

Richard A. Epstein is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director of the Classical Liberal Institute at the New York University School of Law. Considered one of the most influential thinkers in legal academia, Epstein is known for his research and writings on a broad range of constitutional, economic, historical, and philosophical subjects. His many books include Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain (1985), Simple Rules for a Complex World (1995), and most recently, The Classical Liberal Constitution: The Uncertain Quest for Limited Government (2013). Epstein received a BA from Columbia College in 1964 summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, a BA (Juris.) first class from Oxford University in 1966, and his LLB cum laude in 1968 from Yale Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. From 1972 until last year, he taught at the University of Chicago Law School. He recently became Ddirector of the Classical Liberal Institute, newly formed at NYU Law School.

This CC CLUE event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, the College of Staten Island Foundation, and the Legal Studies Institute, and is funded, in part, by the Campus Activities Board with Student Activities Fees.

A reception will follow.

Michael Paris