The Honorable Stephen G. Breyer · June 2008
76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 819 (2008)
I am happy to be here to help open this symposium and to celebrate Professor Barron’s fine article. There is, of course, much to admire in Professor Barron’s work. One of its many virtues is that it engages with the law in a way that is meaningful and useful to all members of the legal community. It is traditional that our profession is divided into three parts. We have the lawyers who argue cases; the judges who decide them; and the members of the legal academy who write articles that (at their best) will be useful to judges and lawyers alike.
There is thus much to admire in Professor Barron’s article. It has much to teach us not only about the First Amendment, but also about how we think about the law and our Constitution more generally. And that is why I am very glad that you’re having this conference to discuss this article and to engage in the sorts of debates about good policy and good politics that the Framers hoped we would have.
