A memorial to the esteemed jurist and former Law School dean, the Owen J. Roberts Lecture in Constitutional Law established an annual lectureship to be delivered by “a nationally prominent person, in either public or academic life, who might be expected to make a significant contribution in legal thought.”
At its formation in 1956, the lecture series was jointly sponsored by the Law School and its Chapter of the Order of the Coif. The sponsorship group later expanded to include the Law School’s Alumni Society. Since 1974, the law firm of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, LLP, which Roberts founded, has funded an endowment to assure the long-term continuation of the lecture series.
The Roberts Lecture is considered the foremost endowed lectureship at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Over the years the Roberts Lectureship has brought to the Law School such distinguished jurists and scholars as Felix Frankfurter, Antonin Scalia, William Hastie, Louis Pollak, Herbert Wechsler, Archibald Cox, Paul Freund, Ronald Dworkin, John Rawls, Guido Calabresi, and Kathleen Sullivan.
2019-2020 Owen J. Roberts Lecture
“Abolition Constitutionalism”
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 4:30 PM Fitts Auditorium
Dorothy Roberts
George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology; the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights; Professor of Africana Studies
Past Roberts Lectures
2018
“A Celebration of 25 Years on the Supreme Court of the United States” A Conversation Between Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and National Constitution Center President & CEO Jeffrey Rosen
2017
None
2016
None
2015
“To Adjust These Clashing Interests”: Negotiation and Compromise as Core Constitutional Values Larry Kramer, President of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Former Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School
2014
The Puzzling Place of Coercion in Constitutional Analysis: From the Lindbergh Kidnapping to Obamacare to Fighting HIV/AIDS Without Protesting Prostitution Laurence H. Tribe, Carl M. Loeb Professor of Harvard University Video
2013
Language, Law and Human Rights Amartya Sen, Thomas W. Lamont University Professor & Professor of Economics and Philosophy, Harvard University Video
2012
Standing in Law and Standing in Politics: The Rules That Determine Who Gets Heard Professor Michael Ignatieff, Massey College at the University of Toronto Video
2011
The Decline and Fall of the American Republic Bruce Ackerman, Yale Law School, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science Video
2010
Judge Henry Friendly and the Craft of Deciding Cases The Honorable Michael Boudin Lecture Program Video
2008
The National Security Constitution in an Age of Globalization Dean Harold Hongju Koh Lecture Program Video
2007
The Battle Against Terror: The Judicial Role Justice Aharon Barak Lecture Program
2006
Tells of South Africa’s Journey from Apartheid to Democracy Justice Richard J. Goldstone Lecture Program
2005
Constitutional Scholar Cautions Against Bending the Constitution to Fight Terrorism Professor Kathleen M. Sullivan Lecture Program
2004
Reflections on Judging: At Home and Abroad The Honorable Patricia M. Wald
2003
Defend the Constitution from Revisionists Justice Antonin Scalia
2002
The Current Subtle—and Not So Subtle—Rejection of an Independent Judiciary The Honorable Guido Calabresi
2000
On Being a Religious Professional: The Religious Turn in Professional Ethics Professor Martha L. Minow
1999
Diversity Professor Sanford V. Levinson
1998
Impeaching the President Professor Cass Sunstein
1997
Must Judges Really Be Philosophers? Professor Ronald Dworkin
1996 (Fall)
Philadelphia Lawyer: A Cautionary Tale The Honorable Louis H. Pollak
1996 (Spring)
Professor Stephen L. Carter
1994
The Civility Required in Public Discourse and the Ideals of Reason in Political Life Professor John Rawls
1993
Human Rights, Rationality and Sentimentality Professor Richard Rorty
1992
Convention for a Democratic South Africa The Honorable Ismail Mohomed
1991
Intentionalism, History, and Legitimacy The Honorable John J. Gibbons
1989
Local Rules as Experiments: A Study in the Division of Power Professor A. Leo Levin
1988
Can Lawyers Be Trusted? Professor Sissela Bok
1987
The Religion Clauses — The Past and the Future The Honorable Arlin M. Adams
1986
Justice, Expediency, and Beauty Professor Louis B. Schwartz
1985
Rising Above Principle Professor Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr.
1984
Party Government under the American Constitution Lloyd N. Cutler, Esquire
1983
Striking the Balance: Congress and the President Under the War Powers Resolution The Honorable Cyrus R. Vance
1982
The Uses of Ambivalence: Reflections on the Supreme Court and the Constitutionality of Affirmative Action Professor Paul J. Mishkin
1981
A French Lawyer Looks at American Corporation Law and Securities Regulation Professor Andre Tunc
1980
Bureaucratic Justice: An Early Warning The Honorable Wade H. McCree, Jr.
1979
The Pathology of a Legal System: Criminal Justice in South Africa Sydney Kentridge, S.C.
1978
Invisible Searches for Intangible Things: Regulation of Governmental Information Gathering The Honorable Shirley M. Hufstedler
1977
The Jurisprudence of Foreign Electronic Surveillance Professor Edward Levi
1976
Fundamental Rights in the United Kingdom: the Law and the British Constitution Anthony Lester, Q.C.
1975
Some Kind of Hearing The Honorable Henry J. Friendly
1974
Executive Privilege Professor Archibald Cox
1973
Judicial Role and Judicial Image The Honorable William H. Hastie
1972
Lawyers and Civilization Mr. Anthony Lewis
1971
The Due Process Revolution and Confrontation The Honorable Erwin N. Griswold
1970
Unmet Challenges of Inequality in the World Community Professor Covey T. Oliver
1969
Can We Afford Liberty? The Honorable Arthur J. Goldberg
1967
Fundamental Rights and the Prospect for Democracy in Nigeria Chief F.R.A. Williams
1966
Multilateral Diplomacy in the Nuclear Age The Honorable Abba Eban
1965
The Unguarded Affairs of the Semikempt Mistress The Honorable Roger Traynor
1964
New Vistas in Constitutional Law Professor Paul Freund
1963
The Rule of Law in the World Community Dean Andrew Cordier
1962
Law, Democracy, and Morality Lord Patrick A. Devlin
1961
Sentencing, Correction, and the Model Penal Code Professor Herbert Wechsler
1959
Problems Facing the West The Honorable Paul Henri Spaak
1958
The Rule of Law and Absolute Sovereignty Professor Arthur L. Goodhart
1957
The Supreme Court in the Mirror of Justices The Honorable Felix Frankfurter
Owen Josephus Roberts was an extraordinary jurist whose devotion to law and to the Constitution marked every stage of his career. After earning his AB in 1895 and LLB in 1898 from the University of Pennsylvania, Roberts served for 20 years on the Law School faculty. He developed a highly successful private practice during this time, but chose to spend most of his career in service to the public sector: as assistant district attorney of Philadelphia County, special U.S. prosecutor in the Teapot Dome cases, chairman of the commission appointed by President Roosevelt to investigate the Pearl Harbor attack, chairman of the Clemency Board following World War II, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1930 to 1945. From 1948 through 1951, Roberts served as dean of the Law School, where he taught a seminar in constitutional law.
The justices of the United States Supreme Court, circa 1937: L to R standing: Owen J. Roberts, Pierce Butler, Harlan Fiske Stone, Benjamin Cardozo. L to R sitting: Louis D. Brandeis, Willis VanDevanter, Charles Evans Hughes, James McReynolds, George Sutherland.
Justice Aharon Barak delivers the 2007 Roberts Lecture on “The Battle Against Terror: The Judicial Role.”
