WASHBURN LAW FEDERALIST SOCIETY
For Law & Public Policy Studies Washburn University School of Law
1700 SW College Avenue - Topeka, Kansas - 66621
The courts must declare the sense of the law; and if they should be disposed to exercise WILL instead of JUDGMENT, the consequence would equally be the substitution of their pleasure to that of the legislative body.
~The Federalist No. 78
Our purpose.
Law schools and the legal profession are currently strongly dominated by
a form of orthodox liberal ideology which advocates a centralized and uniform
society. While some members of the academic community have dissented from
these views, by and large they are taught simultaneously with (and indeed
as if they were) the law.
The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives
and libertarians interested in the current state of the legal order. It is
founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that
the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and
that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what
the law is, not what it should be.
The Society seeks both to promote an awareness of these principles and to
further their application through its activities. This entails reordering
priorities within the legal system to place a premium on individual liberty,
traditional values, and the rule of law. It also requires restoring the recognition
of the importance of these norms among lawyers, judges, and law professors.
In working to achieve these goals, the Society has created a conservative and libertarian intellectual network that extends to all levels of the legal community.
Membership.
Why would you want to be a member?
• Invitations to national conventions, regional conferences, and local events
• ˝ travel stipend available to attend National Student Symposium
• Networking opportunities: Access to your local area Lawyers Division Chapter
• A subscription to the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, one of the
only legal journals dedicated to examining conservative ideas
• A subscription to the Society’s quarterly newsletter, The Federalist Paper
• Complementary copies of books and other materials published by the Society
• Membership costs currently $5 per semester