“We the People of the United States …”
So begins the United States Constitution, laying out the blueprint for a nation. Along with its 27 amendments, the Constitution is the roadmap to our rights as citizens. Today, many significant issues are being challenged on constitutional grounds. But just what does the Constitution really say?
Temple Emanu-El’s Adult Education Academy and Women of Reform Judaism have organized two series on the Constitution and the country’s fundamental documents, beginning Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. with “First Words,” presented by Ruth Davis, J.D., M.Ed., a consultant on social policy and governance. Davis will lead a discussion on the nuts and bolts of the Constitution, examining the actual words of the founders. Parts two and three of this WRJ program are scheduled for Jan. 9 and April 17, 2013.
The Adult Education Academy has invited four legal and constitutional scholars to present a nonpartisan exploration of the constitutional questions surrounding four timely issues in a two-part program, “Constitutional Controversies in the 2012 Election.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., Toni M. Massaro, regents professor, Milton O. Riepe chair in constitutional law and dean emerita of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, will discuss “Federal-State Power Under the Constitution and SB 1070.” Stanley G. Feldman, retired chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, will discuss “Judicial Independence and the Importance of the President’s Judicial Appointment Power.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m., Madeline Kochen, assistant professor at the University of Michigan Law School, will discuss “LGBT and Women’s Rights: DOMA, Gay Marriage and Roe’s Lasting Legacy.” Roy G. Spece, professor at the UA College of Law, will discuss “Health Care Reform: The Supreme Court’s Limited Consideration and Beyond.”
The Constitutional Controversies series will be introduced by Barbara Atwood, the Mary Anne Richey professor emerita of law at the UA College of Law, and Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El.
All sessions are free. For more information, contact Norma Cohen at normaec7@aol.com, or call Temple Emanu-El at 327-4501.
