About the Center
About the Faculty  
Distinguished Lecture Series
Constitutional Law Symposium
Constitutional Law Resources
Recent Published Materials on Current Constitutional Law Topics
Summer Institute in Constitutional Law

About the Constitutional Law Center

The Drake Constitutional Law Center is one of only four constitutional law programs established by the U.S. Congress and funded by the federal government. The Center's mission is to foster study of the U.S. Constitution, its roots, its formation, its principles and development.

An integral part of the Center's activities is the Dwight D. Opperman Lecture series, an annual event of national importance in constitutional law. Mr. Opperman, former chairman of the West Publishing Company and a Drake Law School alumnus, endowed the lecture series in 1988 to bring the country's top jurists and legal scholars to Drake.

Eleven U.S. Supreme Court Justices have delivered the Opperman Lecture: Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Justice Lewis F. Powell, Justice Harry A. Blackmun and Justice Samuel A. Alito.

The Distinguished Lecture Series brings to campus the nation's leading constitutional scholars to engage students and faculty on the important issues of the day. The annual Constitutional Law Symposium is a gathering of scholars, judges, and lawyers from across the country convened around a constitutional theme. Distinguished scholars who have participated in symposiums and lectures at Drake include: Jack Balkin , Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment and Director of The Information Society Project, Yale Law School; Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University; Emma Jordan, Professor, Georgetown Law School; Adam Liptak, Esq., U.S. Supreme Court Correspondent for the New York Times; and, Michael Dorf, Professor, Cornell Law School. Other distinguished scholars who have participated in events at Drake include Prof. Michael McConnell (Stanford), Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky (UC Irvine), Prof. Michael Gerhardt (William & Mary), Prof. Nadine Strossen (NY Law School & President, ACLU) and Prof. Gerald Torres (Texas).

In 2012, the Center will initiate a new program called the "Iowa Constitution Lecture Series."  The inaugural lecture will be held this spring.  Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark S. Cady will present "A Pioneer's Constitution:  How Iowa's Constitutional History Uniquely Shapes Our Pioneering Tradition in Recognizing Civil Rights and Civil Liberties."

Drake law students have special access to the constitutional law scholars, judges and political leaders who come to Drake to participate in the Center's activities. Many distinguished guests also hold informal gatherings and small group discussions limited to law students and faculty.

To learn more about The History of the Supreme Court, click here.

For more information, call the Center at 515-271-2988.

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