As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, Michigan State University College of Law launched a speaker series designed to examine one of the nation's enduring questions: How does the Constitution continue to shape American democracy?
The inaugural Leaders in Law series will bring four of the country’s most influential legal thinkers to campus during the 2026-27 academic year.
Litigating before the Supreme Court in a time of constitutional change
On October 12, 2026, Professor Richard Pildes of New York University School of Law, one of the nation’s leading experts on the Constitution and the Law of Democracy, will join MSU Law for a conversation on the health of American Democracy on its 250th birthday, and as the nation prepares for a fiercely contested mid-term election. What will be the impact of the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court and a new level of gerrymandering by the states? How will this Supreme Court shape the future of our democracy?
Pildes helped create an academic field that scarcely existed when he entered legal scholarship: the law of democracy.
Long before election law became a staple of law school curricula, Pildes recognized that the legal rules governing elections, political parties, redistricting and voting deserved systematic study. His groundbreaking casebook, The Law of Democracy, transformed that idea into a discipline now taught across the country.
His scholarship has become essential reading for judges, lawyers and policymakers wrestling with questions about voting rights, political polarization and the constitutional design of democratic institutions. At the same time, Pildes has remained deeply engaged in practice, successfully arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and advising governments and public officials on election law.
His expertise has also made him one of the country's most sought-after public commentators, helping Americans understand complex constitutional issues during pivotal moments, including the 2000 presidential election litigation.
A former law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall, Pildes has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute, and has also received recognition as a Guggenheim Fellow and a Carnegie Scholar. President Biden appointed him to the President’s Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.
At MSU Law, Pildes will explore not simply the outcomes of elections, but the legal architecture that allows democratic institutions to function.
Open to the campus community and the public, the Leaders in Law series is expected to draw participants from across disciplines, including political science, public policy, international relations, history, and James Madison College, as well as alumni and members of the profession.
The inaugural Leaders in Law series will bring four of the country’s most influential legal thinkers to campus during the 2026-27 academic year.
Litigating before the Supreme Court in a time of constitutional change
On October 12, 2026, Professor Richard Pildes of New York University School of Law, one of the nation’s leading experts on the Constitution and the Law of Democracy, will join MSU Law for a conversation on the health of American Democracy on its 250th birthday, and as the nation prepares for a fiercely contested mid-term election. What will be the impact of the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court and a new level of gerrymandering by the states? How will this Supreme Court shape the future of our democracy?
Pildes helped create an academic field that scarcely existed when he entered legal scholarship: the law of democracy.
Long before election law became a staple of law school curricula, Pildes recognized that the legal rules governing elections, political parties, redistricting and voting deserved systematic study. His groundbreaking casebook, The Law of Democracy, transformed that idea into a discipline now taught across the country.
His scholarship has become essential reading for judges, lawyers and policymakers wrestling with questions about voting rights, political polarization and the constitutional design of democratic institutions. At the same time, Pildes has remained deeply engaged in practice, successfully arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and advising governments and public officials on election law.
His expertise has also made him one of the country's most sought-after public commentators, helping Americans understand complex constitutional issues during pivotal moments, including the 2000 presidential election litigation.
A former law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall, Pildes has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute, and has also received recognition as a Guggenheim Fellow and a Carnegie Scholar. President Biden appointed him to the President’s Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.
At MSU Law, Pildes will explore not simply the outcomes of elections, but the legal architecture that allows democratic institutions to function.
Open to the campus community and the public, the Leaders in Law series is expected to draw participants from across disciplines, including political science, public policy, international relations, history, and James Madison College, as well as alumni and members of the profession.
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