Constitution and Catholic Intellectual Tradition

What wonderful news! The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy has conferred its annual Joseph Story Award on Professor J. Joel Alicea of the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America. Joel was an undergraduate at Princeton, where he was one of my star students. He went on to Harvard Law School and a clerkship at the Supreme Court of the United States. He has become a leading theorist of originalism in constitutional interpretation. This is an inspired selection. I am so delighted!

Congratulations to Professor Joel Alicea, the recipient of this year’s Joseph Story award. He gave a thought-provoking statement on the modern indifference to truth. Bravo.

We are thrilled to announce that CIT Director J. Joel Alicea received the Joseph Story Award at the @FedSoc Annual National Student Symposium this weekend. In a tribute video featuring Catholic Law Dean Stephen Payne, Dean Payne remarked, “Joel has had a tremendous impact on our school, I would go so far as to say a transformative impact.” Watch the full tribute video starting at 00:35, with Prof. Alicea’s remarks beginning at 20:23: youtube.com/watch?v=m_qntp…

It is our pleasure to announce the winner of the 2026 Joseph Story Award – Prof. J. Joel Alicea! The annual award recognizes a junior academic who has demonstrated excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact in a manner that advances the rule of law in a free society.

We’re excited to announce that CIT Managing Director Prof. @ChadSquitieri will join a panel hosted by @georgemasonlaw for the upcoming Scalia-Ginsburg Colloquy. Tune in via Zoom on Tuesday, March 24 from 5:15–6:30 p.m. EDT as the panel explores the Supreme Court’s recent tariffs decision. Alongside Prof. Squitieri, the panel will feature Prof. Ilya Somin (@georgemasonlaw) and Jason Willick, legal affairs columnist for @washingtonpost. The colloquy is inspired by the enduring friendship between late U.S. Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Register here: sls.gmu.edu/scalia-ginsbur…

A big thank you to everyone who joined us last week for The Return of General Law at the @AEI. This important conversation explored the resurgence of scholarly interest in general law. The panel discussed the increasingly prominent role that general law has come to play in originalist analysis of the Privileges or Immunities Clause, personal jurisdiction, sovereign immunity, the Second Amendment, and other areas of constitutional jurisprudence. The discussion featured Prof. A.J. Bellia (@NotreDameLaw ), Prof. Jud Campbell (@StanfordLaw), and CIT Director J. Joel Alicea. Photos: Audrey Lew Photography © American Enterprise Institute

CIT Director J. Joel Alicea served as an official commentator on an article by Joseph Blocher and Reva Siegel at the University of San Diego’s Center for the Study of Constitutional Originalism’s annual Originalism Works in Progress Conference. Watch the conference replay here: loom.ly/3Fh1lik

Join CIT tomorrow, March 4, for a discussion on the resurgence of scholarly interest in general law and the increasingly prominent role that general law has come to play in originalist analysis of the Privileges or Immunities Clause, personal jurisdiction, sovereign immunity, the Second Amendment, and other areas of constitutional jurisprudence. The panel features Prof. A.J. Bellia, Prof. Jud Campbell, and CIT Director, Prof. J. Joel Alicea. This event is co-sponsored by @AEI. Register here: cit.catholic.edu/events/the-ret…

Please join CIT and the @HumanEcologyCUA tomorrow, February 25, for a special event on equity in American law. The event will feature Prof. Aditya Bamzai, Prof. Renée Lettow Lerner, and CIT Fellow Prof. Derek Webb. About the event: In recent years, there has been renewed scholarly interest in how the equitable power of courts was understood at the Founding and throughout the nineteenth century. Some of this interest has focused on Supreme Court cases in which the limits on the equitable powers of federal courts were traced back to the Founding, while other scholars have focused on how equity and the natural-law tradition relate to each other in constitutional theory. Register and learn more about our distinguished speakers: cit.catholic.edu/events/equity-…

Last week, CIT and @HumanEcologyCUA hosted a panel discussion on the priesthood’s role in post-Norman-Conquest factfinding procedures like compurgation, the ordeals, and trial by battle, as well as how the priesthood’s subsequent withdrawal from those roles (under the Fourth Lateran Council) served to shape the development of the jury and modern Anglo-American trial procedure more generally. The program featured John Langbein, Thomas Sweeney, and CIT's own William M. M. Kamin.

👏🏻 CIT is delighted to celebrate the nomination of former Aquinas Fellow Katie Lane to serve as a federal judge for the District of Montana. Prior to her nomination, Ms. Lane served as senior legal counsel at the Republican National Committee. She previously was an associate at Consovoy McCarthy PLLC in Arlington, Virginia. From 2021 to 2023, she served as Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Montana Attorney General. Before that, she served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and for Judge Thomas A. Varlan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Ms. Lane graduated magna cum laude from Antonin Scalia Law School, where she also served as Editor-in-Chief for the George Mason Law Review. She earned her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Furman University. Congratulations, Ms. Lane!

A decade has passed since the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, yet his influence on American law is greater now than it has ever been. To honor this enduring legacy, last week, @AEI hosted a two-day symposium, "Justice Antonin Scalia’s Legacy: 10 Years Later," led by Yuval Levin and Adam J. White and cosponsored by the @EPPCdc. The event brought together a distinguished group of scholars, judges, and advocates to reflect on how Justice Scalia reshaped the Supreme Court and the broader legal landscape, with CIT Director J. Joel Alicea among the distinguished speakers. Watch Prof. Alicea's remarks, at approximately 1:45: youtube.com/live/_vc74DiuK…

On January 29, CIT and the @AEI cohosted a special two-panel event on the original meaning of the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees, with support from the MacArthur Foundation. The program featured Jud Campbell, Haley Proctor, Stephen E. Sachs, Lawrence Lessig, Michael T. Morley, Bradley A. Smith, and was led by CIT Director J. Joel Alicea. Watch the full event: loom.ly/xSU43qk 📸 Photo Credit: Aaron Clamage Photography © American Enterprise Institute.

Join CIT today at 12:30PM for a panel discussion on the priesthood’s role in post-Norman-Conquest factfinding procedures like compurgation, the ordeals, and trial by battle, as well as how the priesthood’s subsequent withdrawal from those roles (under the Fourth Lateran Council) served to shape the development of the jury and modern Anglo-American trial procedure more generally. Speakers include John Langbein, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School, and Thomas McSweeney, Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School. The discussion will be moderated by CIT’s own William M. M. Kamin. This event is co-sponsored by @HumanEcologyCUA Register to attend or join the livestream: cit.catholic.edu/events/the-pri…

On January 30, Ruth L. Okediji, the Jeremiah Smith Jr. Professor of Law at @Harvard_Law and Co-Director of the Berkman Klein Center, presented her forthcoming paper, "Sacred Art and the Limits of a Secular Public Domain," at Catholic Law's Faculty Workshop. The workshop featured a dynamic discussion led by Catholic Law's Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Megan La Belle, who served as the designated commentator, alongside other engaged faculty members. Organized by CIT Director Joel Alicea, Associate Dean for Faculty Research at Catholic Law, the event was part of an ongoing series fostering scholarly dialogue.

Due to inclement weather, tomorrow’s event, “Originalism, Tradition and the Separation of Powers,” with Prof. Stephanie Barclay, Prof. Charles Barzun, Prof. Marc DeGirolami, and Adam J. White at AEI has been postponed. This event will be rescheduled, and we look forward to sharing updated details with you soon! ❄️ Stay safe & warm!

Please join CIT and @AEI on January 29 for a special event on the original meaning of the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees featuring Jud Campbell, Haley Proctor, Stephen E. Sachs, Lawrence Lessig, Michael T. Morley, Bradley A. Smith, J. Joel Alicea, and Adam White. About the event: In January 1976, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, a landmark decision on the extent to which the First Amendment’s free speech clause protects contributions to political campaigns and their expenditures. Fifty years later, the Supreme Court is set to rule in another case on campaign finance and free speech, but the Court’s jurisprudential makeup is considerably different. While a majority of Supreme Court justices identify as originalists, little legal scholarship has been dedicated to understanding the free speech clause according to its original public meaning. Register and learn more about our distinguished speakers: aei.org/events/first-a…

CIT Director J. Joel Alicea organized and moderated a panel recently for @FedSoc on the subject of "Originalism, Birthright Citizenship and the 14th Amendment" Watch the full conversation: youtube.com/live/scYYIy9x6…