Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito will be the headline attractions at the Federalist Society’s 2014 National Lawyers Convention in Washington on Thursday. Scalia will open the three-day event at the posh Mayflower Hotel with an early morning speech, while Alito will address a private, members-only black tie dinner that evening.
On Tuesday morning, the society announced that Alito’s event would be officially closed to any cameras or other recording devices, though “pen and paper” reporters would be allowed to attend.
The Federalist Society is a national organization of lawyers dedicated to promoting conservative and libertarian ideas in the legal profession and as a counter-point to liberal groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union. Snagging two of the Supreme Court’s most conservative justices as speakers for its event is an indication of the just how prominent the organization has become.
Other speakers at the event include Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Cato Institute President John Allison. One featured event will be a debate between former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and former ACLU president Nadine Strossen.
Topics at the event’s panels will include “Religious liberty after Hobby Lobby,” “Do the EPA’s CO2 rules go too far?,” “Who defines international law?” and “The president’s duty to take care that the law be faithfully executed.”
