Photo of Professor Eugene Mazo
Posted: February 6th, 2014 | By: Lauren Sarno
Professor Eugene Mazo will speak at the symposium, “The Future of Campaign Finance Reform,” hosted by the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy and Duke’s Center on Law, Race, and Politics on Friday, Feb. 7, 2014.
The event, held at Duke University, brings together many of the leading scholars in the fields of election law and campaign finance. Questions and ideas to be addressed according to the symposium description include: “The Supreme Court recently heard McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, and it may be poised to enact further changes to the campaign donation system. This presents a great opportunity to discuss issues related to the state of campaign finance and the possible need for reform after Citizens United. What is the identifiable role of big money in politics? How should we identify corruption in campaign finance? Should we bring back soft money?”
The keynote address will be given by Professor Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University. Professor Lessig’s address will address reforms to the election system.
Professor Mazo’s lecture is titled, “The Appearance and Disappearance of Corruption.” He will argue that “political corruption is a lot like ‘love,’ ‘democracy,’ or even ‘pornography’ – we all know what these things are when we see them, even if the terms can be difficult to define.” His point will focus on the idea that “scholars should move beyond working to come up with a specific definition of ‘corruption,’ as many are spending their energies doing today, and toward thinking more about how we can better regulate the role of big money in American politics and in political campaigns.”
The symposium schedule follows:
9 a.m. Introductory Remarks
9:15 a.m. Classifying Corruption
Authors:
Yasmin Dawood, Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Richard L. Hasen, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Moderator: Zephyr Teachout, Fordham University School of Law
Commentator: James A. Gardner, SUNY Buffalo Law School
10:25 a.m. Break
10:40 a.m. Regulating Corruption
Authors:
Eugene Mazo, Wake Forest University School of Law
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Stetson University College of Law
Moderator: Guy-Uriel Charles, Duke University School of Law
Commentator: Jason A. Abel, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
11:50 a.m. Break/ Change of Venue
12:20 p.m. Lunch and Keynote Address by Lawrence Lessig
1:20 p.m. Break
1:30 p.m. Big Money/Soft Money
Authors:
Raymond La Raja, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Lynda W. Powell, University of Rochester
Moderator: Richard L. Hasen, University of California, Irvine School of Law
Commentator: Michael D. Gilbert, University of Virginia School of Law
2:40 p.m. Break
2:50 p.m. Next Steps
Authors:
Renata E. Strause, The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law
Zephyr Teachout, Fordham University School of Law
Moderator: James A. Gardner, SUNY Buffalo Law School
Commentator: Ellen D. Katz, University of Michigan Law School
4 p.m. Break
4:10 p.m. Closing Remarks
The Duke Journal of Constitutional Law and Public Policy Symposium will be held in the Sanford 223 Rhodes Conference Room for the morning panels and in Law 4047 for the afternoon panels. For more information, visit the symposium website here.
For more information, please contact Sudeep Paul at sudeep.paul@duke.edu or Tara McGrath at tara.mcgrath@lawnet.duke.edu.
