Brett Kavanaugh Brett M. Kavanaugh, appearing at the 2009 Federalist Society annual convention. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi / ALM

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, following in the footsteps of his conservative colleagues on the U.S. Supreme Court, including Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr. and Neil Gorsuch, is expected to headline the Federalist Society's annual dinner next month in Washington.

The Nov. 14 event—$250 for nonmembers, and $200 for members—will be Kavanaugh's second appearance as a justice at the Federalist Society. Kavanaugh, along with Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch, stood for a standing ovation during last year's dinner, which was attended by more than 2,000 guests.

Kavanaugh's appearance last year came shortly after a bitter confirmation fight where he faced claims that, as a teenager in Maryland, he sexually assaulted a fellow high school student. Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations, as he did with another allegation that as a Yale Law School student he exposed himself to a female student at a party.

The Federalist Society, which has played a central role in the Trump administration's judicial selection process, including the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh nominations, will hold its annual convention from Nov. 14 through Nov. 16 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. The Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner, featuring Kavanaugh as the keynote speaker, will take place at Union Station.

Numerous Trump-appointed federal appeals judges are either moderating or speaking on panels. The panels also will feature a host of Big Law veterans, law professors and progressive attorneys. Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is set to make an appearance. Sessions was often a punching bag for Trump, who was angered that his attorney general recused from overseeing the Russia investigation. Sessions resigned last November.

Gorsuch also will deliver closing remarks Nov. 16. U.S. Attorney General William Barr will deliver the Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture on Nov. 15. Barr has faced growing criticism in recent weeks that he has appeared more as a personal defense lawyer for Trump than an independent attorney general.

Other highlights from the Federalist Society event include:

>> The convention, which has "Originalism" as its theme, will sponsor a debate between Stanford Law School's Michael McConnell and Columbia Law School's Philip Hamburger. The topic focuses on whether "the free exercise clause guarantees a constitutional right of religious exemption from general laws when such an exemption would not endanger public peace and good order."

>> Judge Amul Thapar will moderate a discussion titled "What is originalism?" Thapar was a Trump appointee to the Sixth Circuit, and his name had come up as a possible contender for the Supreme Court. The panel includes Elizabeth Wydra, president of the left-leaning Constitutional Accountability Center.

>> Judge Joan Larsen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will moderate a discussion about arbitration in the #MeToo era. Speakers include Paul Clement of Kirkland & Ellis; Andrew Pincus of Mayer Brown; and Deepak Gupta of Gupta Wessler. Pincus and Clement have advocated pro-arbitration positions in the Supreme Court, and Gupta is widely recognized as a leading voice for consumers.

>> Judge Thomas Hardiman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will lead a discussion Nov. 15 titled "Why, or Why Not, Be an Originalist?" Cornell law professor Michael Dorf is on the panel with Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Barrett's name came up as a potential Supreme Court pick in the Trump era. Hardiman also was a Supreme Court short-lister for Trump.

>> Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will moderate a Nov. 15 discussion looking at "stare decisis in civil rights cases." Jones Day appellate veteran Michael Carvin is on the panel with William Consovoy, partner at Washington's Consovoy McCarthy and a leading private lawyer for President Donald Trump.

Neomi Rao Neomi Rao testifies at her confirmation hearing in February 2019. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

>> Judge Neomi Rao of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is moderating a Nov. 16talk focused on "originalism and precedent." Rao recently was the lone dissent in a D.C. Circuit ruling that upheld a House subpoena seeking financial records from Trump's accounting firm Mazars USA. House Democrats have moved to expedite the issuance of the court's mandate.

>> Other circuit judges who are scheduled to moderate various panels include Judge John Nalbandian of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Judge Michael Brennan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; William Pryor Jr., Judges Kevin Newsom, Elizabeth Branch and Britt Grant of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Judges Ryan Nelson and Carlos Bea of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; Judges Kurt Engelhardt, Jennifer Elrod and Andrew Oldham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; Judge David Stras of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; Judge Paul Matey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; and Judge Gregory Katsas of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

 

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