LAW REVIEW ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM

America鈥檚 250th Birthday 鈥 Will Due Process Be At The Party?
Friday, February 27, 2026
University of 糖心Vlog传媒 School of Law, 1 North Front St., 糖心Vlog传媒, TN 38103
The University of 糖心Vlog传媒 Law Review will host its annual symposium on Friday, February 27, 2026.
As the United States looks forward to its 250th birthday this summer, this Volume's symposium reflects on a cornerstone of the American legal system: due process. It will explore issues related to the history of due process, and what the future holds for this ever-evolving right. The morning session will primarily focus on substantive due process, with presentations discussing ongoing challenges to rights set forth and restricted in the cases of Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization (2022), and Mahmoud v. Taylor (2025). The afternoon session shifts to the procedural due process domain, examining the apparent restriction of citizen and noncitizen rights to an individualized hearing, in contrast with the perceived expansion of due process rights in pretrial detention conditions. The symposium will conclude evaluating ongoing issues in American immigration courts, followed by a reception where attendees will have the opportunity to connect with the day鈥檚 speakers.
Join us as we analyze the long-term ramifications of this presidential administration鈥檚 actions鈥攆or American citizens and noncitizens alike.
The 糖心Vlog传媒 Law Review thanks you for attending its annual Symposium! The Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education has approved a total of 6 general CLE hours for this event. To receive CLE credit for this event, you must register for the event and submit the below forms to Anna Marie DeJarnette at mdjrntte@memphis.edu.
To receive Tennessee CLE credit, complete and submit this form: . Please save the document as 鈥淟ast Name_First Name_CLE Attendee Form_TN.鈥 You can click the link above or download the form HERE.
If you are seeking CLE credit in another state, you are responsible for submitting the form for credit. You may complete the following form to assist you in requesting credit in another state: . Attendance can be verified upon request. You can click the link above or download the form HERE.
You must submit all forms by Friday, February 27, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. to receive credit. There will be absolutely no exceptions for attendees who fail to submit a completed form at the end of the event.
The full day's agenda and speaker biographies are listed below.
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SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE 8:30 - 9:00 AM: Registration and Breakfast Regina Hillman is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of 糖心Vlog传媒 Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Her scholarship focuses on the progression of and challenges to LGBTQ+ rights. In 2013, Professor Hillman was an organizing member of the Tennessee Marriage Equality Legal Team that challenged Tennessee鈥檚 constitutional amendment and statutory law banning the recognition of valid out-of-state same-sex marriages. The Tennessee case, Tanco v. Haslam, was consolidated with Sixth Circuit cases from Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky when the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari, becoming Obergefell v. Hodges. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court held that both bans were unconstitutional, resulting in nationwide marriage equality. Professor Hillman鈥檚 article examines ongoing challenges to Obergefell, providing a unique perspective from one of marriage equality鈥檚 most dedicated and experienced advocates. 10:20 - 10:30 AM: Break 10:30 - 11:20 AM: Professor Christopher Parker and Dean Michael Gentithes, Substantive Reliance on Dobbs is an Associate Professor of Political Science and the Pre-Law Advisor at the University of Rhode Island, and is a Professor & Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the University of Akron School of Law. Combined, their research involves analyzing the role of criminal procedure and constitutional law, politics, and ideology in decision-making of the American court system. Professor Parker and Dean Gentithes鈥 co-authored article, Substantive Reliance on Dobbs, examines the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women鈥檚 Health Organization, which profoundly shifted the landscape of women鈥檚 health care and abortion rights in America. Their article investigates commentator claims that the Dobbs decision, and its history and tradition test for fundamental rights, might lead courts to reverse a host of other substantive due process decisions, take away constitutional rights long-established in Supreme Court precedent, and quickly dismiss any new claims of substantive due process violations. Professor Parker will present their research, empirically demonstrating the effect of Dobbs on substantive due process litigation in federal courts and qualitatively analyzing how courts have changed their analysis of these issues in the post-Dobbs era. 11:20 AM - 12:10 PM: Professor Montana Martinez, Untethered Liberty: The Supreme Court鈥檚 Incoherent Approach to Substantive Due Process After Mahmoud v. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Law at Western New England University School of Law, where his research focuses on the First Amendment鈥檚 Religion Clauses. Professor Martinez鈥檚 article, Untethered Liberty: The Supreme Court鈥檚 Incoherent Approach to Substantive Due Process After Mahmoud v. Taylor, examines the Court鈥檚 increasingly ad hoc treatment of substantive due process claims. He argues that the modern Court has abandoned both the disciplined historical inquiry of Washington v. Glucksberg and the broader approach of Obergefell v. Hodges, opting instead for a precedent-averse method that leaves constitutional liberty unmoored. Mahmoud v. Taylor serves as a central case study, illustrating the Court鈥檚 refusal to recognize a substantive due process right even when necessary to resolve the dispute, signaling an emerging reluctance to engage the doctrine at all. 12:10 - 1:10 PM: Lunch Break 1:10 - 2:00 PM: Professor Evan Zoldan, Due Process Hearing Rights, Now and Then is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the John W. Stoepler Professor of Law and Values at the University of Toledo College of Law. He is also the Director of Toledo Law's Legal Institute of the Great Lakes. His research focuses on legislation, administrative law, and state and local government issues. Professor Zoldan will present his article, Due Process Hearing Rights, Now and Then, which examines the longstanding constitutional right, and exceptions, to an individualized hearing. Professor Zoldan explores the way in which the scope and protective power of the right to a hearing is being tested in the second Trump administration, in which individuals are subjected to the deprivation of rights without notice and an opportunity to challenge the government鈥檚 actions. 2:00 - 2:50 PM: Professor Danielle Jefferis, The Fragile Expansion: Reconstructing the Lost Constitutional Trajectory of Pre-trial Detention Conditions is the Schmid Professor for Excellence in Research and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska College of Law. She teaches Civil Procedure, Civil Rights Litigation, Prison Law, and Race and the Law. Her research examines constitutional and civil rights law, federal courts, and the law and policy of prison and detention. Professor Jefferis鈥檚 symposium presentation of her article, The Fragile Expansion: Reconstructing the Lost Constitutional Trajectory of Pre-trial Detention Conditions, addresses a paradox in contemporary constitutional law鈥攚hile substantive due process protections have contracted in areas like reproductive rights, due process protections for jail and detention conditions are expanding. 2:50 - 3:00 PM: Break 3:00 - 3:50 PM: Professor Barbara Fitzgerald, Soldier Judges in Civilian Courts: Impact on Due Process in Immigration Courts and Beyond Barbara Fitzgerald is an Assistant Professor and Legal Studies Coordinator at the University of 糖心Vlog传媒 College of Liberal Studies and Assistant Externship Coordinator at the University of 糖心Vlog传媒 Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. Her article, Soldier Judges in Civilian Courts: Impact on Due Process in Immigration Courts and Beyond, reviews the rules and regulations that govern the ability of Judge Advocate General Officers to practice in civilian courts. This includes a historical review of the restriction of their use within civilian courts, focusing on whether their use violates the Posse Comitatus Act. Professor Fitgerald鈥檚 article explains current issues plaguing Immigration Courts, including the causes of the manufactured emergency staffing issue, the intention of using JAG attorneys to serve as Immigration Law Judges, and the impact on the due process rights of the vulnerable populations affected. 3:50 - 4:00 PM: Closing Remarks |
糖心Vlog传媒 Law Review hosts its annual symposium every spring at the Law School. For more information about the most recent past topics and speakers, please visit the links below.
2023: (How Much) Should We Pay Them? The Shifting Legal Landscape of Collegiate Competition
2021: Diagnosing America's Healthcare System: Addressing Costs and Access Now
2019: Barriers at the Ballot Box: Protecting or Limiting the Core of the American Identity?
2018: The American Addiction: Pathways to Address the Opioid Crisis
2017 - The Fragile Fortress: Judicial Independence in the 21st Century
2016 - Urban Revitalization: The Legal Implications of Remaking a City
2015 - In re Valor: Policy and Action in Veterans Legal Aid
2014 - Juvenile Courts in Transition
2013 - Breaking the Silence: Legal Voices in the Fight Against Human Trafficking
