As a constitutional scholar, UC President Mark G. Yudof appreciates very much the concept of Constitution Day. But, because the date, Sept. 17, comes before most UC students are back in school, “it is impractical” for the university to schedule special programming around the system.

Therefore, Yudof urges the university community to take a look at UC’s Constitution Day website.

The UC Davis School of Law is taking the celebration a step further, by launching a new lecture series that will run for five years. This year’s talk is set for Sept. 29.

“The date for the event was chosen to be in close proximity to Constitution Day, and to be after undergraduates had returned — as we hope that they will join law students, faculty, alumni, legal practitioners and others at the event,” said Jean Korinke, assistant dean for Development and Alumni Relations.

The lecture, free and open to the public, is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the Kalmanovitz Appellate Courtroom at King Hall, followed by a reception at 5 p.m.

This year’s speaker is Pamela S. Karlan, the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law at Stanford, and founding director of Stanford’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. She is due to give a talk titled “The Court, the Closet and the First Amendment,” about the high court’s recent decisions on campaign finance, television cameras in court and the rights of citizens who sign initiative petitions.

“She is one of the leading constitutional law scholars of her generation,” said Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis School of Law, who noted that Karlan had been considered as a possible replacement for Associate Justice David Souter when he retired from the Supreme Court in 2009.

While thrilled to bring in such a noted scholar for the first Central Valley Foundation-James B. McClatchy Lecture on the First Amendment, Johnson also expressed pride in his own faculty. “The School of Law has always prided itself as having a constitutional law faculty of the highest caliber, with our founding dean, Ed Barrett, being a constitutional scholar of international renown.”

The lecture series namesake

The Central Valley Foundation is funding the lecture series as a way to bring attention to the First Amendment. The lectures are named after the foundation’s founder, James B. McClatchy, who served as publisher of The Sacramento Bee and chairman of the board of The Bee’s parent company, McClatchy Newspapers.

The Washington Post, in McClatchy’s obituary in 2006, described him as “a passionate defender of press freedom, journalistic integrity and the public service role of the press.”

As part of its mission, the Central Valley Foundation supports organizations and education programs dedicated to the protection and promotion of First Amendment rights. The foundation also strives to enhance and preserve the valley’s quality of life, in part by supporting programs for children who are not fluent in English and who are learning the language in English-only instructional programs in public elementary schools.

“The law school and the Central Valley Foundation felt that there was great synergy between our interests in the First Amendment, and that became the focus of our discussion on the creation of a lecture series,” Korinke said.

“We are excited to tie it into Constitution Day, and will make the video of the event available on our website so that those who cannot make the event itself, can still benefit from the important discussion.”

UC's constitutional credentials

In promoting Constitution Day, UC is complying with a 2005 federal law under which schools that receive federal funds must hold an educational program on the Constitution on Sept. 17, the day of the document’s signing in 1787.

In a message to students, Yudof stated: “As students of the University of California, you are privileged to have ready access to a range of historical, political, sociological and legal perspectives on the study of the U.S. Constitution.

“I urge you to explore UC’s print and electronic library holdings on the Constitution, take a Constitution-related course outside your major (e.g., history, political science, law-legal studies) or engage in a research oriented enterprise such as independent study.”

RSVPs are strongly encouraged.

More information on the School of Law’s Central Valley Foundation-James B. McClatchy Lecture on the First Amendment.