On Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, Advisory Opinions hosts David French and Sarah Isgur recorded a live podcast at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. This special episode featured Professor Joel Alicea, Director of the Center for the Constitution and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Catholic University, and Trevor McFadden, a D.C. district court judge. The episode was titled "Law Schools vs. Conservative Scholars." One of the many fun facts revealed in this episode is that Prof. Alicea was Isgur’s successor as Harvard Law School Federalist Society President, and the two remain on a 25-year old email chain.

The discussion began with a focus on originalism and its current role in constitutional interpretation. Professor Alicea explained that he always starts his Constitutional Law I class by rooting the conversation in the text of the Constitution, as did his own former teacher, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Judge McFadden shared that during his education, constitutional law was taught with little focus on originalism. Both Alicea and McFadden stressed the importance of students understanding originalism, even if they don't adopt it as their own interpretative legal framework, as it remains a dominant method of judicial interpretation.

The conversation also addressed broader issues in legal education, including the gap between legal theory and practice, the need for political and practical viewpoint diversity within law schools, and the impact of rankings on students' career prospects. A memorable question from a student asked whether a law school’s ranking affects career opportunities. In response, David French encouraged law students, saying, "Credentials are nice… performance matters. You’re all going to have the opportunity to perform."

Listen to the full podcast here: https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/law-schools-vs-conservative-scholars/