Justice Breyer Joins Other High Court Judges to Discuss Civil Liberties From Sunday, March 31, to Monday, April 1, 2019, the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law held a two-day conference on comparative constitutions approaches to civil liberties, entitled “A Passion for Civil Liberties: Building the Legacy of Norman Dorsen.” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer was one of many stellar participants in the conference, which also included high court judges from the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Constitutional Court of Germany and the European Court of Human Rights. Dean Melanie Leslie welcomed the International Association of Constitutional Law in opening remarks on a day dedicated to the memory of the late Norman Dorsen, an innovator in the field of comparative constitutions. At a private luncheon on Sunday with Justice Breyer and several dozen distinguished guests, Dr. Ari Berman, President of Yeshiva University, noted that “we are honored to host one of our nation’s leading legal authorities, who has grappled poignantly with humanity’s fundamental questions: Is society a coercive power from which we should seek to escape, or a collective project into which we should channel our energies? What are the tensions between modern liberty and active liberty?” Dr. Berman continued, “In this era of deepening social tensions, but also wondrous opportunity, I am proud that Cardozo—and Yeshiva University as a whole—has established itself as a locus for these important conversations, as we continue our educational task of empowering the leaders of tomorrow.”

(l-r): Dean Melanie Leslie ’91C; Justice Stephen Breyer, Dr. Ari Berman

A full account of the conference can be found here.