2025 Cincinnati Law Spring Lectures

Presenter
Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit 

Lecture Overview
A central question in American history is: What should be national, and what should be local? Over the past century, American constitutional law has often favored national solutions—addressing the Great Depression, curbing Jim Crow, and tackling challenges of a globalized economy. While these national efforts are essential and their lessons enduring, as we approach the midpoint of our third century, it may be time to give greater weight to the localism side of federalism. Our fifty state constitutions and courts have crucial roles to play, offering valuable perspectives in debates about American constitutional law.

About the Presenter
Jeffrey S. Sutton is Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Chair of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He has previously chaired the Federal Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules, and the Supreme Court Fellows Commission.

An adjunct professor at The Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law since 1993, he teaches courses on State Constitutional Law, the U.S. Supreme Court, and Appellate Advocacy, as well as a class on State Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School. His publications include Who Decides? States as Laboratories of Constitutional Experimentation, 51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law, and several co-authored works, such as State Constitutional Law: The Modern Experience and The Law of Judicial Precedent. He is also a co-editor of The Essential Scalia.

A member of the American Law Institute since 2006 and its Council since 2017, Chief Judge Sutton holds degrees from Williams College and The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law.

CLE: 1 hour of general CLE credit has been approved for OH and KY.  

Presenter
Lee C. Bollinger, President Emeritus and Seth Low Professor, Columbia University

About the Lecture
President Emeritus Bollinger's lecture will address key legal developments in higher education, including topics such as free speech, freedom of the press, curriculum, and affirmative action.

About the Presenter
Lee C. Bollinger served as President of Columbia University for 21 years, the longest tenure of any modern Ivy League president. He remains at Columbia as its first Seth Low Professor of the University and a Columbia Law School faculty member.

A leading First Amendment scholar, Bollinger has authored numerous books and articles on freedom of speech and the press, addressing contemporary challenges in times of sharp debate.

Before Columbia, he was President of the University of Michigan (1996–2002), where he led landmark litigation in Grutter v. Bollinger, the Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of affirmative action in higher education. Although later overturned, Bollinger continues to advocate for the value of diversity in education and society.

He has served as a director of Graham Holdings Company, chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and member of the Pulitzer Prize Board. He is affiliated with the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.

Bollinger’s honors include the National Equal Justice Award from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the National Humanitarian Award from NCCJ, the Clark Kerr Award from UC Berkeley, and multiple honorary degrees.

A graduate of the University of Oregon (BS) and Columbia Law School (JD), Bollinger clerked for Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the Second Circuit and Chief Justice Warren Burger of the U.S. Supreme Court.

CLE: 1 hour of general CLE credit has been approved for KY; OH is pending approval.