Helen Norton

Packed Discussion on LGBTQ+ Rights at SCOTUS

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 20:50:24 +0000

Packed Discussion on LGBTQ+ Rights at SCOTUS Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/15/2023 - 13:50

By Evan Mahon

On January 26, 2023, over 100 Colorado Law students, staff, and faculty members flooded a classroom in the Wolf Law building to discuss one of the most prominent topics in today’s legal world: LGBTQ+ rights. The event was co-sponsored by OUTlaw and the Byron R. White Center for American Constitutional Law.

The conversation centered around Professor Helen Norton, who serves as special counsel as part of the Colorado Attorney General’s team in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. Professor Norton is a University Distinguished Professor and the Rothgerber Chair in Constitutional Law. Her scholarly and teaching interests include constitutional law and civil rights law. Professor Scott Skinner-Thompson and 2L Evan Mahon moderated the discussion and student Q&A. Professor Skinner-Thompson is an Associate Professor whose research and teaching interests center around constitutional law, civil rights, and privacy law, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ and HIV issues. Mahon currently serves as President of the LGBTQ+ student group, OUTlaw.

303 Creative is a case centered around a Colorado-based website design company claiming that state antidiscrimination law would violate its free speech rights if it were required to make wedding websites for same-sex marriages if it makes wedding websites for opposite-sex marriages. The website designer challenged Colorado anti-discrimination state laws which prevent public businesses from discriminating against gay people, as well as making statements in that same realm. The State of Colorado argued for the constitutionality of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and prevailed at both the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and the Tenth Circuit. Oral arguments were held at the U.S. Supreme Court on December 5, 2022 with a decision expected around mid-June 2023.

Over 100 individuals took part in the discussion with Professor Norton, Professor Scott Skinner-Thompson, and Mahon about the far-reaching implications of a ruling in favor of the website designer. When asked about what impact this decision could have on anti-discrimination laws, Professor Norton replied, “Well, the title of this event, LGBTQ Rights at the Supreme Court, is almost too narrow. The outer limits of this decision are unknown. It can potentially impact other matters covered under anti-discrimination laws.” In response to the attendants’ great interest, Professor Norton also shared about her experience litigating and sitting at the counsel table in the highest court in the United States.

During the Q&A, students asked how this decision intersects with privacy laws, about SCOTUS precedent established prior to the case, the Colorado law in question, and the implications of this decision on a local and national level.

When asked about the importance of events such as these, Mahon responded that,

“It is through educating one another about crucial social issues and finding unity in fighting these fights that we can build community and camaraderie. We must be conscious of the footprints we leave behind, as well as the steps that have been paved by those before us.”

OUTlaw provides professional, social, and academic support for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) law students and their straight/cisgender allies.

The work of the Byron R. White Center is premised on the belief that an informed and engaged community is essential to Constitutional democracy. The mission of the Byron R. White Center is to: support excellence in Constitutional legal scholarship; offer opportunities for Colorado Law students to promote justice; and expand public knowledge and informed discussion about the Constitution. The Byron R. White Center is ran under the guidance of Professor Suzette Malveaux (Moses Lasky Professor of Law and Director of the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado Law School)

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Symposium to Explore Themes From Helen Norton's Recent Book on Government Speech and the Constitution

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 18:51:24 +0000

Symposium to Explore Themes From Helen Norton's Recent Book on Government Speech and the Constitution Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/08/2021 - 11:51

Scholars will discuss the ideas explored in University of Colorado Law School Professor Helen Norton's recent book, The Government’s Speech and the Constitution, at the University of Illinois Law Review Symposium on April 16. The symposium aims to influence the conversation about the important yet underexplored constitutional implications of the government’s speech for years to come. Contributors include Erwin Chemerinsky, Danielle Keats Citron, Kate Shaw, Michael Kang, William Araiza, Alex Tsesis, Mary-Rose Papandrea, Wendy Parmet, Claudia Haupt, Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Jacob Eisler, and Clifford Rosky.

Symposium Description

The government’s speech is inevitable and often constitutionally valuable: even at its most infuriating, the government’s speech informs the public about its government’s principles and priorities, providing us with important information that helps us evaluate our government. The Supreme Court has thus appropriately recognized that the Free Speech Clause generally does not bar the government’s ability to express its own views when doing the government’s work.

But as the government’s expressive capacities grow, so too does the potential for undermining others’ speech and distorting public discourse. Indeed, the government is unique among speakers because of its coercive power as sovereign, its considerable resources, its privileged access to key information, and its wide variety of speaking roles as policymaker, commander-in-chief, employer, educator, health care provider, property owner, and more. Yet, as Helen Norton suggests in her recent book on “The Government’s Speech and the Constitution,” the Court’s government speech doctrine to date remains dangerously incomplete in its failure to wrestle with the ways in which the government’s speech sometimes affirmatively threatens specific constitutional values.

When we discuss constitutional law, we usually focus on the constitutional rules that apply to what the government does. Far less clear are the constitutional rules that apply to what the government says. This Symposium will engage a variety of questions explored in Norton’s book: When does the speech of this unusually powerful speaker violate our constitutional rights and liberties? More specifically, when does the government’s expression threaten liberty or equality? And under what circumstances does the Constitution prohibit our government from lying to us?

Agenda
(all times Central Time)

10:00-10:05: Welcoming Remarks
Vikram D. Amar, University of Illinois College of Law

10:05-10:15: Opening Keynote
Helen Norton, University of Colorado Law School

10:15-11:20: Panel I
Panelists
Claudia E. Haupt and Wendy E. Parmet, Northeastern University School of Law
Kate Shaw, Cardozo School of Law
Danielle K. Citron, University of Virginia School of Law
Moderator
Jason Mazzone, University of Illinois College of Law

11:20-11:30: Break

11:30-12:50: Panel II
Panelists
William Araiza, Brooklyn Law School
Mary-Rose Papandrea, UNC School of Law
Clifford Rosky, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law
Alexander Tsesis, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
Moderator
Jason Mazzone, University of Illinois College of Law

12:50-13:00: Break

13:00-14:00: Panel III
Panelists
Erwin Chemerinsky, UC Berkeley School of Law
Michael S. Kang, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and Jacob Eisler, University of Southampton Law School
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Stetson University College of Law
Moderator
Jason Mazzone, University of Illinois College of Law

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Nov 2019 18:31:07 +0000

Professor Helen Norton to Deliver 2019 Austin W. Scott Jr. Lecture Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 11/03/2019 - 11:31

The University of Colorado Law School is pleased to announce that Professor Helen Norton will deliver the 45th annual Austin W. Scott Jr. Lecture. Norton will speak on "The Government’s Speech and the Constitution" on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Wittemyer Courtroom. The Scott Lecture is presented annually by a member of the faculty engaged in a significant scholarly project selected by the dean.

Drawing on her new book, The Government’s Speech and the Constitution, published by Cambridge University Press, Norton will discuss the uses and abuses of the government’s expressive powers through the lens of constitutional law.

Governments must speak in order to govern, and so governments have been speaking for as long as there have been governments--from early proclamations and simple pamphlets, to the electronic media of radio and television, and ultimately to today’s digital age, Norton explains. When does the speech of this unusually powerful speaker violate our constitutional rights and liberties? And under what circumstances does the Constitution prohibit our government from lying to us? Norton will discuss how the government’s speech has changed the world for better and for worse, and why the government’s speech deserves our attention—and at times our concern.

This event is approved for one general CLE credit.

When: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Wittemyer Courtroom, University of Colorado Law School
Cost: Free

Registration is not required to attend the lecture.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact lawevents@colorado.edu or (303) 492-8048.

The Austin W. Scott Jr. lecture is named for Austin Scott, a member of the law school faculty for 20 years. He was a beloved teacher as well as a prolific writer. His scholarly work was in the fields of criminal law and procedure. In 1973, former Colorado Law Dean Don W. Sears established the lecture series in his memory. Each year, the dean of the law school selects a member of the faculty engaged in a significant scholarly project to lecture on his or her research.

Learn more about the Austin W. Scott Jr. Lecture.

More about Helen Norton

Professor Helen Norton, who holds the Ira C. Rothgerber Jr. Chair in Constitutional Law, focuses her teaching and scholarship on constitutional and civil rights law. Before entering academia, she served as deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Clinton administration. Her constitutional law scholarship has appeared in the Duke Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, Stanford Law Review Online, and the Supreme Court Review, among other journals.

Professor Helen Norton, who holds the Ira C. Rothgerber Jr. Chair in Constitutional Law, will deliver the 45th annual Austin W. Scott Jr. Lecture on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Wittemyer Courtroom. The lecture is presented annually by a member of the faculty engaged in a significant scholarly project selected by the dean.

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Helen Norton

Packed Discussion on LGBTQ+ Rights at SCOTUS

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Symposium to Explore Themes From Helen Norton's Recent Book on Government Speech and the Constitution

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Helen Norton: Have Trump’s Lies Wrecked Free Speech? | The New York Times

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Helen Norton: Government Corruption, Public Employees’ Speech, and the First Amendment | First Amendment Watch at New York University

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Helen Norton: Can the Constitution Stop the Government From Lying to the Public? | The Conversation

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Professor Helen Norton to Deliver 2019 Austin W. Scott Jr. Lecture

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Helen Norton: 91�� City Council Planning Discussion on Rules of Decorum to Protect Staffers from Rudeness, Threats | Daily Camera