Marshall Forum Online Precursor Dialogue
On 24 September 2021, the Association of Marshall Scholars and American College of Trial Lawyers co–hosted a day–long online meeting that brought together distinguished American and British judges, lawyers, and legal experts to discuss the Rule of Law. The topics discussed included Covid–19 and the Courts, Free Speech and the Internet, and Separation of Powers
It is hoped that fuller and more detailed discussions on these topics will take place, in the United States, sometime in 2022.
The American delegation comprised twenty–two people including four US Supreme Court Justices, Judges from US Courts of Appeal and District Courts, American College of Trial Lawyers Fellows, and Marshall Scholars. The British delegation comprised ten people, including three UK Supreme Court Justices, the Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and her predecessor, the Master of the Rolls, the Chancellor of the High Court, Circuit Judges and Barristers.
Members of the US and UK delegations discussed their experiences as judges and practitioners throughout the Covid–19 pandemic. The delegations also reviewed structural differences in the US and UK that inform their jurisdictions, and the fundamental differences between the US and UK's constitutional approaches to free speech, highlighting differences in parliamentary and congressional power that allow for different degrees of legislative action.
The UK delegation wish to extend sincere thanks to the Association of Marshall Scholars and the American College of Trial Lawyers for their organisation of this most collegiate and successful meeting.
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