Articles by James E Fleming

James E. Fleming is The Honorable Frank R. Kenison Distinguished Scholar in Law and Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law. He is the author of Securing Constitutional Democracy: The Case of Autonomy (University of Chicago Press, 2006), co-author of Constitutional Interpretation: The Basic Questions (Oxford University Press, 2007) (with Sotirios A. Barber of University of Notre Dame), and co-author of American Constitutional Interpretation (4th ed., Foundation Press, 2008) (with Walter F. Murphy and Stephen Macedo of Princeton University and Sotirios A. Barber). He is working on a book on Rights and Responsibility (with Linda C. McClain). He teaches courses in constitutional law, constitutional theory, and torts. He is Editor of NOMOS, the annual journal of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy.

Professor Fleming received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University. During the 1999-2000 year, he was a Faculty Fellow in Ethics in the Harvard University Center for Ethics and the Professions. He has organized or co-organized many conferences in constitutional theory, including Fidelity in Constitutional Theory, The Constitution and the Good Society, Rawls and the Law, and A New Constitutional Order?, together with Theories of Constitutional Self-Government, Integrity in the Law, and Theories of Taking the Constitution Seriously Outside the Courts, all published in Fordham Law Review. He also co-edited (with Linda C. McClain) a symposium on Legal and Constitutional Implications of the Calls to Revive Civil Society, published in Chicago-Kent Law Review. In May 2007, Fordham Law Review published a symposium on Minimalism versus Perfectionism in Constitutional Theory, focusing on Professor Fleming’s book, Securing Constitutional Democracy, along with Cass R. Sunstein’s book, Radicals in Robes. Since coming to Boston University, Professor Fleming has organized a conference entitled The Most Disparaged Branch: The Role of Congress in the 21st Century, held November 14-15, 2008 at BU, and Justice for Hedgehogs: A Conference on Ronald Dworkin’s Forthcoming Book, to be held September 25-26, 2009. He is Faculty Advisor to Boston University Law Review.

ASPLP Conference: Passions and Emotions

Monday, 20 December 2010 in Conferences, Notices by James E Fleming | No comments

Passions and Emotions

Annual Meeting of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy (to be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the APA, Eastern Division) December 29, 2010, St. Botolph Room (Second Floor), Boston Marriott Copley Place

I. Passion & Impartiality: Passions & Emotions in Moral Judgment: 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

  • Principal paper (philosophy): Jesse Prinz, City University of New York Graduate Center, “Constructive Sentimentalism: Legal and Political Implications”
  • Commentator (law): Carol Sanger, Columbia University
  • Commentator (political science): Michael Frazer, Harvard University
  • Chair: Allen Buchanan, Duke University

II. Passion & Motivation: Passions & Emotions in Democratic Politics: 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m.

  • Principal paper (political science): George Marcus, Williams College, “Reason, Passion, and Democratic Politics: Old Conceptions - New Understandings - New Possibilities”
  • Commentator (law): Susan Bandes, DePaul University
  • Commentator (philosophy): Cheshire Calhoun, Arizona State University
  • Chair: Nancy Rosenblum, Harvard University

Annual Business Meeting: 2:15 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

III. Passion & Dispassion: Passions & Emotions in Legal Interpretation: 2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

  • Principal paper (law): Robin West, Georgetown University, “The Anti-Empathic Turn”
  • Commentator (political science): Kenneth Kersch, Boston College
  • Commentator (philosophy): Benjamin Zipursky, Fordham University
  • Chair: James Fleming, Boston University

Reception: 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., also in St. Botolph Room (Second Floor)

Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do? A Public Lecture and Symposium on Michael J. Sandel’s Recent Book

Wednesday, 29 September 2010 in Conferences by James E Fleming | No comments

sandelbudistinguishedlecture.pdf

Boston University School of Law is pleased to announce the Annual Distinguished Lecture

Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do?A Public Lecture and Symposium on Michael J. Sandel’s Recent BookOctober 14, 2010Boston University School of Law

Public Lecture: 12:30 to 2:00

Book Symposium: 2:30 to 6:00

Professor Michael J. Sandel will give the annual Boston University School of Law Distinguished Lecture concerning his recent book, Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do?, followed by a symposium on the book. The symposium will feature commentators in law, philosophy, and political science along with a response by Professor Sandel. Boston University Law Review will publish the lecture, commentaries, and response.

Here is the schedule:

Boston University Law Review Lecture (Barristers Hall, 12:30-2:00 p.m.)

Lecture: Professor Michael J. Sandel, Harvard University

Book Symposium (Barristers Hall, 2:30-6:00)Panel 1 (2:30-3:30)

James Fleming and Linda McClain, BU School of Law

Gary Lawson, BU School of Law

Panel 2 (3:45-4:45)

Hugh Baxter, BU School of Law and Department of Philosophy

Anna di Robilant, BU School of Law

Panel 3 (5:00-6:00)

David Roochnik, BU Department of Philosophy

Judith Swanson, BU Department of Political Science

Reception (6:00)

All - including not only professors, visiting scholars, law students, graduate students, and undergraduates but also alumni and members of the general public - are welcome to attend. There is no registration fee, but if you plan to attend, please RSVP to Andrea Larsen Rice, ajrice@bu.edu. If you have academic questions about the program, please contact Professor James Fleming, jfleming@bu.edu.

Conference: Rights, Equality, and Justice: A Conference Inspired by the Moral and Legal Theory of David Lyons

Friday, 12 February 2010 in Conferences, Notices by James E Fleming | No comments

Rights, Equality, and Justice:A Conference Inspired by the Moral and Legal Theory of David Lyons

Boston University is proud to honor Professor David Lyons with a conference featuring many outstanding scholars in law and philosophy giving papers and commentaries on important topics about which he has written. Professor Lyons will give a response. Boston University Law Review will publish the papers and proceedings. Information about the conference, along with papers (as we receive them), will be posted on the BU School of Law Web site: http://www.bu.edu/law/events/upcoming/. The conference, which is co-sponsored by the BU School of Law and Department of Philosophy, will be held at BU School of Law, 765 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA.

All are welcome to attend. There is no registration fee, but if you plan to attend, please RSVP to Andrea Larsen, alarsen@bu.edu. If you have academic questions about the program, please contact Professor James E. Fleming, jfleming [at] bu.edu.

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Getting to the Rule of Law: The Annual Conference of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy

Thursday, 12 November 2009 in Conferences by James E Fleming | No comments

The American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy (ASPLP) is pleased to announce that it will hold its annual meeting in conjunction with that of the Association of American Law Schools in New Orleans on January 6, 2010. The topic is “Getting to the Rule of Law.” All three sessions of the program will be held in Hilton New Orleans Riverside, 2 Poydras Street, Belle Chasse Room, Third Floor. Below is the program:

Getting to the Rule of Law

I. Getting to the Concept of the Rule of Law: 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Principal paper (philosophy): Jeremy Waldron, New York University

Commentator (law): Robin West, Georgetown University

Commentator (political science): Corey Brettschneider, Brown University

Chair: James E. Fleming, Boston University

II. Maintaining or Restoring the Rule of Law After September 11, 2001: 1:30p.m.-3:15 p.m.

Principal paper (political science): Benjamin Kleinerman, Michigan State University

Commentator (law): Curtis Bradley, Duke University

Commentator (philosophy): Lionel McPherson, Tufts University

Chair: Nancy Rosenblum, Harvard University

III. Building the Rule of Law After Military Interventions: 3:30 p.m.-5:15 p.m.

Principal paper (law): Jane Stromseth, Georgetown University

Commentator (political science): Tom Ginsburg, University of Chicago

Commentator (philosophy): Larry May, Vanderbilt University

Chair: Allen Buchanan, Duke University

Reception: 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Elmwood, Third Floor, Hilton New Orleans Riverside

The principal papers and commentaries - together with additional papers on the topic - will be published in Nomos, the annual yearbook of the ASPLP. If you have questions about the program, please contact Professor James E. Fleming, who is Editor of Nomos: jfleming@bu.edu. If you are interested in political and legal philosophy, and would like to join the ASPLP and subscribe to NOMOS, please go to http://www.political-theory.org/asplp/ or email theasplp@gmail.com.

Justice for Hedgehogs: A Conference on Ronald Dworkin’s Forthcoming Book

Thursday, 10 September 2009 in Conferences, Notices by James E Fleming | No comments

“The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” Archilochus

Boston University School of Law will hold a conference on Ronald Dworkin’s forthcoming book, Justice for Hedgehogs, on September 25-26, 2009. Dworkin himself will give the keynote address on September 25 and a response on September 26. The Boston University Law Review will publish the papers and proceedings.

OVERVIEW:

In Justice for Hedgehogs, Dworkin defends the unity of value - the one big thing he knows - and argues against “several foxy causes”: value skepticism, value pluralism, value conflict, and, in particular, the supposed opposition between the values of self-interest and those of personal and political morality. He argues for the integration of ethics (the principles that tell human beings how to live well) and morality (the principles that tell them how they must treat other people), and for a morality of self-affirmation as against a morality of self-abnegation. In doing so, he develops accounts of the indispensable conditions of living well - dignity, self-respect, and authenticity - and of our moral duties to others regarding aid and harm. He also argues that law is a branch of political morality that is in turn a department of morality more broadly understood. The conference will include the following panels, taking up issues of the sort sketched below.

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