The Center is pleased to announce the winning junior scholars selected for our inaugural Legal Philosophy & Constitutional Theory Junior Scholars Conference at Georgetown Law, organized in collaboration with the Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics (GISME). We received over 150 high-quality submissions, which were evaluated by multiple blind external referees. That made the selection process difficult, but it also means the final papers were very impressive.

This two-day conference, taking place Thursday, March 20th to Friday, March 21st, 2025, will bring together these emerging voices in legal philosophy and constitutional theory. The selected junior scholars will present their papers and receive in-depth commentary from distinguished senior scholars in their field.

Congratulations to the following selected scholars.

Junior Scholars

  • photo of amit

    Graduate Student at Yale Law School

    Amit Singh

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    Associate Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School

    Nina Varsava

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    Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis Law School

    Daniel Epps

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    Associate Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law

    Rachel Bayefsky

  • photo of Fernando

    Doctor of Philosophy in Law at the University of Oxford

    Fernando Contreras

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    JSD candidate from Germany at NYU School of Law

    Anja Bossow

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    Doctor of Philosophy in Law at the University of Oxford

    Piero Rios Carrillo

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    Associate Professor of Law, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

    Jonathan Green

Selected Papers & Commentary

The Death of Obiter Dicta by Amit Singh (Graduate Student at Yale Law School)

Commentary by Lawrence Solum (William L. Matheson and Robert M. Morgenthau Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law)

 

Stare Decisis and Egregiously Erroneous Precedents by Nina Varsava (Associate Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School)

Commentary by Lawrence Sager (Former Dean, University of Texas School of Law; Alice Jane Drysdale Sheffield Regents Chair)

 

Justifying the Fourth Amendment by Daniel Epps (Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis Law School)

Commentary by Josh Chafetz (Agnes Williams Sesquicentennial Professor of Law and Politics, Georgetown University Law Center)

 

Traditionalism and Feminism in Constitutional Adjudication by Rachel Bayefsky (Associate Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law)

Commentary by Marc DeGirolami (St. John Henry Newman Professor of Law and Co-Director, Center for Law and the Human Person, Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America)

 

The Concept of Unconstitutional by Fernando Contreras (Doctor of Philosophy in Law at the University of Oxford)

Commentary by Brian Bix (Frederick W. Thomas Professor for the Interdisciplinary Study of Law and Language, University of Minnesota Law School; Joint Appointment, Department of Philosophy)

 

Citizenship as a Fundamental Constitutional Right by Anja Bossow (JSD candidate from Germany at NYU School of Law)

Commentary by Stephanie Barclay (Professor of Law, Georgetown Law; Faculty Co-Director, Georgetown Center for the Constitution)

 

Comparativism and the Structure of Legal Justification by Piero Rios Carrillo (Doctor of Philosophy in Law at the University of Oxford)

Commentary by Francisco Urbina (Associate Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School; Research Fellow, Georgetown Center for the Constitution)

 

Some Traditional Questions about “History and Tradition” by Jonathan Green (Associate Professor of Law, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law)

Commentary by Conor Casey (Senior Lecturer in Public Law & Legal Theory, Director of Postgraduate Research, University of Surrey School of Law)