The Administration of Democracy⏤The George Mason Law Review‘s Second Annual Symposium on Administrative Law

Featuring a keynote conversation with former White House Counsels Robert Bauer and Donald McGahn

Friday, October 4, 2019

On October 4, 2019, the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State co-hosted the George Mason Law Review’s second annual Administrative Law Symposium.

In 2018, we inaugurated this series with an issue then at the forefront of Supreme Court litigation: agency adjudication and the rule of law. For 2019, we selected a theme that goes to the heart of constitutional self-government: the administrative state’s role in the democratic process itself. Or, as we call it, “The Administration of Democracy.”

For the 2nd annual symposium, Scholars wrote papers on such fundamental questions as: Is nonpartisan campaign-finance regulation possible? Who should draw electoral maps—and how? How can we best protect voting rights? How should the census be administered? How do we preserve the regulatory process’s democratic legitimacy? And, as we enter the next presidential election cycle, are members of Congress entitled to see the President’s tax returns? These papers are forthcoming in the George Mason Law Review.

In addition to panel discussions on these topics, we are honored and grateful to host a “Keynote Conversation” with two former public servants with deep expertise in both governance and campaigns: Robert Bauer and Donald McGahn. Mr. Bauer served as White House Counsel to President Obama and is a leading expert on campaign finance regulation; Mr. McGahn served as White House Counsel to President Trump and is former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

We are thankful for the scholars, policymakers, and practitioners who brought their experience and expertise to this event, and the hardworking student editors of the George Mason Law Review.

Agenda

All sessions held in the Historic Decatur House’s Carriage House 

8:15 – 9:00 am – Registration and Breakfast, Historic Decatur House (748 Jackson Place NW, Washington DC 20006)

9:00 – 9:10 am – Welcome, Carriage House

Adam White, Executive Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, and Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Conor Woodfin, Editor-in-Chief, George Mason Law Review 

9:10 – 10:30 am – Panel 1: The Administration of Federal Campaign Finance Laws

Richard J. Pierce, Jr., Lyle T. Alverson Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
Trevor Potter, Founding President, Campaign Legal Center
Bradley A. Smith, Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law, Capital University Law School
Ciara C. Torres-Spelliscy, Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law

Moderator: Adam White, Executive Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, and Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

10:30 – 10:40 am – Break

10:40 – 11:50 am – Panel 2: The Administration of Elections

Michael T. Morley, Assistant Professor, Florida State University College of Law
Richard H. Pildes, Sudler Family Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University School of Law
Jason Torchinsky, Partner, Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky PLLC

Moderator: Andrew Kloster, Deputy Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State

11:50 am – 12:05 pm – Break             

12:05 – 1:20 pm – Lunch & Keynote Conversation, Carriage House

Bob Bauer, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, and Co-Director of the Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic, NYU School of Law
Donald F. McGahn II, Partner, Jones Day, and former Counsel to President Donald J. Trump

1:20 – 1:30 pm – Break 

1:30 – 2:30 pm – Panel 3: The Administration of the Census

The Honorable Ronald A. Cass, Dean Emeritus, Boston University School of Law; President, Cass & Associates, PC; and Distinguished Senior Fellow, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State
Allyson N. Ho, Partner, Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP
Jesse Panuccio, Public Service Fellow, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, and former Acting Associate Attorney General of the United States

Moderator: Conor Woodfin, Editor-in-Chief, George Mason Law Review

2:30 – 2:45 pm – Break 

2:45 – 3:45 pm – Panel 4: The Democracy of Administration

Reeve T. Bull, Research Director, Administrative Conference of the United States
Maleka Momand, Chief Executive Officer, Esper
Russell L. Weaver, Professor of Law and Distinguished University Scholar, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville

Moderator: Caroline Cecot, Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

3:45 – 4:00 pm – Break 

4:00 – 5:20 pm – Panel 5: The IRS, Congress, and the President’s Tax Returns

Andy Grewal, Joseph F. Rosenfield Scholar and Professor of Law, The University of Iowa Law School
Kate Shaw, Professor of Law, and Co-Director, Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University
Michael L. Stern, Director, Point of Order
Elizabeth B. Wydra, President, Constitutional Accountability Center

Moderator: Adam White, Executive Director, The C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, and Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

5:20 – 6:30 pm – Reception

6:30 pm – Adjourn

Research Papers for the Symposium

Papers for the symposium were published in the George Mason Law Review volume 27:2, which can be viewed here.