Faux Federalism and the Supreme Court

Oct. 6, 2012 - PRLog -- Once viewed as the citizens’ guardian against government overreach, the Supreme Court Is more recently demonstrating that it cannot be entrusted with such a lofty mission. Mr. Rivkin has observed that the Supreme Court adheres to the principles of federalism, i.e., the dual sovereignty of the federal government and the states, only when ruling on laws that are not important—a position that he describes as faux federalism.

Mr. Rivkin, who led the 26-state case against the U.S. government in Florida’s 11th District Court  in which Judge Roger Vinson ruled the health care law unconstitutional, will analyze he Supreme Court’s ObamaCare ruling on Monday, October 8, at 7:00pm at Penn State Dickinson School of Law. Mr. Rivkin’s address celebrates Constitution Day at the University.  

Mr. Rivkin has been involved in numerous high-profile cases, in addition to the health care litigation. He also represented for a number of years the Republic of Croatia before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice on a wide range of issues involving international humanitarian law and the laws of war. Mr. Rivkin also has considerable experience with litigation involving national security-related matters, including defending Bivens actions brought against former Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. He is presently representing Texas and Wyoming in their challenge to the key EPA greenhouse gas regulations, issued under the Clean Air Act. From 2004 through 2007, he served as an expert member of the United Nations Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.  For additional information about David Rivkin, please visit www.davidrivkin.com.

The Constitution Day event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, Penn State Dickinson School of Law and School of International Affairs  For more information about the event, visit http://law.psu.edu/events/constitution_day.