March 14, 2025
Hulston Hall, University of Missouri Campus
Join leading constitutional law scholars in the United States for a day long conversation about how the Constitution secures both basic liberties and equal citizenship for all. This symposium will focus on a forthcoming book by Professors Linda C. McClain and James E. Fleming that explores these themes.
The symposium is co-sponsored by the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy. Papers will be published in the Missouri Law Review.
8:30 a.m: Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m: Welcome and Introductions
Paul Litton (Dean) and Jay Sexton (Director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy).
9:15 a.m: Overview of Symposium
Professor Linda McClain and Professor Jim Fleming, Boston University School of Law
9:45 a.m: Competing Visions of the Constitution
Moderator, Professor Carli Conklin, University of Missouri School of Law
Professor George Thomas, Claremont McKenna College Department of Government
Professor Kevin Vallier, University of Toledo, Institute for American Constitutional Thought and Leadership
10:45 a.m: Break
11:00 a.m: Reflections on West Virginia v. Barnette
Moderator: Jessie O’Brien, Editor in Chief of the Missouri Law Review
Professor John Q. Barrett, St. John’s University School of Law
Professor Caroline Corbin, University of Miami School of Law
12 p.m: Lunch
1:00 p.m: Constitutional Democracy and Civic Education
Moderator: Professor Alex Gouzoules, University of Missouri School of Law
Professor Franciska Coleman, University of Wisconsin School of Law
Professor John Kang, University of New Mexico School of Law and Cameron Kang, Wellesley College
2:00 p.m: Constitutional Law After Dobbs
Moderator: Professor Emily Regier, Kinder Institute
Professor Susan Appleton, Washington University School of law
Professor Jessica Clarke, USC Gould School of Law
Professor Kyle Velte, University of Kansas School of Law
3:15 p.m: Break
3:30 p.m: Freedom of Expression and Religion and Equal Citizenship for All
Moderator: Professor Sandra Sperino, University of Missouri School of Law
Professor Carlos Ball, Rutgers Law School
Professor Kyle Velte, University of Kansas School of Law
4:30 p.m: Concluding Remarks
Professor Linda McClain and Professor Jim Fleming, Boston University School of Law
5:00 p.m: Symposium Ends
6:00 p.m: Symposium Dinner (drinks at 6:00 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m.)
James Fleming, Boston University School of Law
Linda C. McClain, Boston University School of Law
Susan Appleton, Washington University School of Law
Carlos Ball, Rutgers School of Law
John Q. Barrett, St. John’s University School of Law
Jessica Clarke, USC Gould School of Law
Franciska Coleman, University of Wisconsin School of Law
Caroline Corbin, University of Miami School of Law
Cameron Kang, Wellesley College
John Kang, University of New Mexico School of Law
George Thomas, Claremont McKenna College
Kevin Vallier, University of Toledo
Kyle Velte, University of Kansas School of Law
In West Virginia v. Barnette, the Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment right of Jehovah’s Witness children not to participate in a compulsory flag salute in public schools. Justice Robert Jackson wrote the opinion, which contains the following words, “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.”
In a forthcoming book, “What Shall Be Orthodox” in Polarized Times, Professors Linda C. McClain and James E. Fleming explore Barnette’s principles, aspiring to give Barnette’s principles their proper role in protecting basic liberties and securing the status of equal citizenship for all, but to temper overextension of them to eviscerate programs and laws crucial to the health and maintenance of a constitutional democracy.
Please refrain from recording any part of this conference. Given the large number of people involved in the conference and the audience, conference organizers did not obtain recording permission.