Executive power and the Constitution

Constitutional law scholar Jack Goldsmith will deliver the 25th annual Henry J. Abraham Distinguished Lecture. The Miller Center is pleased to welcome Jack Goldsmith, the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard University, for the 25th annual Henry J. Abraham Distinguished Lecture. Goldsmith, a leading scholar of constitutional law and executive power, will discuss the powers and responsibilities of the modern presidency and the constitutional principles that shape the executive branch. In addition to his scholarly work, Goldsmith served in the White House as special counsel of the Department of Defense from 2002-2003 and as assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice from 2003-2004. The Abraham Distinguished Lecture honors renowned constitutional law scholar Henry J. Abraham (1921–2020), who was the James Hart Professor of Government Emeritus at the University of Virginia. The annual Abraham Lecture was established in 1999 by his students, colleagues, family, and friends to recognize Dr. Abraham’s profound contributions to judicial studies in political science. His life story of escaping the Nazis in 1937 at the age of 15, serving as a U.S. Army interpreter during WWII, and then devoting his life to the U.S. Constitution is as compelling as it is poignant. Previous lecturers have included Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Antonin Scalia, Justice Stephen Breyer, Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Judge J. Michael Luttig, John Jeffries, Ted Olson, General William Suter, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Nadine Strossen, Ambassador Thomas Pickering, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Tinsley Yarbrough, Kenneth Feinberg, and journalists Linda Greenhouse, Joan Biskupic, Jan Crawford, Marcia Coyle, and Evan Thomas. You can attend this event in-person at the Miller Center in Charlottesville or as a webinar. Complete this registration form to attend this event in-person. If you'd prefer to join online, please complete this webinar registration form.