The University of San Diego’s Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism has announced the papers and commentators for the Eighth Annual Hugh and Hazel Darling Foundation Originalism Works-in-Progress Conference scheduled for February 17-18, 2017 at the University of San Diego Law School.   They are:

Randy Barnett (Georgetown) & Evan Bernick (Institute for Justice), The Letter and the Spirit: A Theory of Good Faith Constitutional Construction.

Commentator: John McGinnis (Northwestern)

Will Baude (Chicago), Constitutional Liquidation

Commentator: Bernadette Meyler (Stanford)

Mitch Berman (University of Pennsylvania), Our Principled Constitution

Commentator: Stephen Sachs (Duke)

Jud Campbell (Richmond), Natural Rights and the First Amendment

Commentator: Fred Schauer (Virginia)

James Fox (Stetson), Black Originalism: Constitutional Citizenship, Constitutional Rights, and the Second Founding

Commentator: Ryan Williams (Boston College)

Michael McConnell (Stanford), The Structure of Article Two

Commentator: Saikrishna Prakash (Virginia)

Ilya Somin (George Mason), The Original Scope of Federal and State Power over Immigration

Commentator: Richard Primus (Michigan)

In picking papers for the Conference, the Center tries to achieve a balance of different kinds of papers.  Thus, we have papers on constitutional theory as well as papers on substantive constitutional provisions.  We have papers critical of originalism as well as papers defending originalism.  We have papers on the original Constitution, on the Bill of Rights, and on the 14th Amendment.  We have papers adopting conventional approaches to originalism as well as those adopting unconventional approaches.  In addition, in my opinion the level of discussion is extremely high.

Unfortunately, there is limited space at the conference.  But the proceedings are videotaped each year.  Last year’s conference is available here.