Events | The History of Natural Law in American Law

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in the role of natural law in American law. Several important scholars, such as Jud Campbell and Richard H. Helmholz, have examined how courts and other legal actors used natural law reasoning at the Founding. Others, such as J. Joel Alicea, have argued over whether the natural law tradition requires or is consistent with a particular theory of constitutional adjudication, such as originalism.

Join Professors Alicea, Campbell, and Helmholz for a lively discussion on the historical role that natural law has played in the American legal system and potential theoretical implications of natural law reasoning for constitutional adjudication, moderated by Heritage scholar Paul J. Ray.

This event is co-sponsored with the Project on Constitutional Originalism and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at The Catholic University of America.