Tuesday 13 March, 6.30pm
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Janet Beer, invites you to join Liverpool alumna and US District Judge, Wendy Beetlestone (BA Hons Philosophy 1984) on 13 March as she delivers this year’s Annual Law School and Alumni Association Lecture, entitled The United States Federal Judiciary: The Weakest Branch of Government? Or What?
Judge Beetlestone was nominated to the role of District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Barack Obama in 2014. Her jurisdiction covers everything from constitutional challenges and violations of federal statute to drug and gun crime, Mafioso and other organised crime activity, as well as complex fraud. Most recently, Judge Beetlestone was instrumental in issuing an injunction to block a controversial change to women’s reproductive healthcare rights by the Trump administration.
Trump vs. the Judiciary
The United States Constitution contains a tripartite system of checks and balances in which the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary have specific roles. The founding fathers of the United States conceived of the Judiciary as the weakest of the three believing that because judges have “no influence over either sword or purse (they) may truly be said to have neither force nor will, but merely judgment.“ The founders also anticipated little interaction between the President, in whom the Executive power is vested, and the Judiciary.
Though a contextual and historical analysis of Supreme Court precedent and an examination of how President Trump’s executive orders regarding immigration have fared when challenged in the courts, Judge Beetlestone will examine how the founders’ assumptions and expectations have stood the test of time.
The lecture will take place at the Liverpool campus at 6pm on Tuesday 13 March and will be followed by a drinks reception.
Tickets for this event are FREE but places are extremely limited, to secure your place please click here
For more information about this event, please contact our Events Coordinator, James Briginshaw, on +44 (0)151 795 5512 or email him via: james.briginshaw@liverpool.ac.uk.