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Arguing
the Violence Against Women Act: Two
Views
A live webcast discussion featuring:
Professor Charles Fried and
Professor Catharine MacKinnon
Moderated by Berkman Fellow Diane Rosenfeld
Online Discussion Moderated by Professor Jack Balkin
May
1, 2000 - 7:30pm - Ames Courtroom, Harvard Law School
Read the Supreme Court Opinion finding the Violence Against Women Act Unconstitutional
View
the
Webcast Video Recording of the Event
(Requires free RealPlayer.)
The Violence Against Women Act case was argued before the Supreme Court on January 11, 2000. At issue in the case was the constitutionality of Congress’s creation of the “civil right to be free from gender motivated violence.” The issue is a powerful one both because of the seriousness and importance of the substance of the Act itself and because it cuts to the core of Congress’s power to legislate under the Commerce Clause and the Equal Protection Clause at a time when the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Congress’s power to legislate may be radically changing from the precedents of the last 50 years. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its opinion in June 2000.
Professor Charles Fried, teacher of Constitutional law and former Solicitor General and Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice, co-authored the brief arguing that the Violence Against Women Act was unconstitutional. In his constitutional law class at Harvard Law School he vividly and powerfully brings the legal arguments of the case to his class by engaging them in a Socratic dialogue focused on the merits of the arguments and responses to questions from the bench made by each side during the Supreme Court argument.
Berkman Center for Internet & Society fellow Diane Rosenfeld taught a seven week Online Lecture and Discussion Series entitled “Violence Against Women.” Using online readings, discussions, questions, and a guest lecture from Professor Catharine A. MacKinnon, she explored violence against women as a devastating social problem and examined in-depth the legal challenge of defending the constitutionality of the “civil right to be free from gender motivated violence”--the fight which Professor MacKinnon called “our Civil War.” Catharine MacKinnon, widely regarded as the foremother of feminist legal theory, was a driving force behind the passage of the Violence Against Women Act.
Visiting Professor Jack Balkin, a member of the Yale Law School faculty and an expert in constitutional law and cyberlaw who contributed to the law professors' brief in support of the Violence Against Women Act, moderated the discussion taking place online during the event. Participants in the online discussion during the event had access to his commentary and had the opportunity to pose questions both to him and to the speakers.
On May 1st, only weeks before the Supreme Court will issue its opinion, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society brought these educators together.
In addition to the live event, which was webcast live with full remote participation by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, we aim to build a community of those interested in discussing and debating the Violence Against Women Act issues from the time of the event on May 1st until after the opinion issues in June. The available modes for participation are access to the readings and the archive of the webcast and realtime discussion groups, a discussion forum with teaching fellows and participation from consitutional scholars, and a "rotisserie" in which participants will have the opportunity to exchange opinions with others and receive responses one-on-one.