The Institute for Justice’s Center for Judicial Engagement and the Liberty and Law Center at Antonin Scalia Law School are pleased to announce a conference: “The Other Declarations of 1776.”
While 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it also marks the anniversary of various new states issuing declarations of rights in conjunction with their new state constitutions. The conference will feature research, discussion, and debate that explores the history and ramifications of those “other” declarations of 1776. The day-long conference will be held on Friday, April 10, 2026 at Antonin Scalia Law School in Arlington, Virginia. The papers presented will later be published in the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy.
We will open with Dr. Nicholas Cole, of Oxford University’s Pembroke College and director of its Quill Project, as our keynote speaker. Dr. Cole will provide an overview of the “Other Declarations” and their legacy. Then we will turn to the scholars who have written papers for this conference on various aspects of the history and the meaning of state declarations of rights. Finally, we will end with a mock argument from the early days of the Republic, dramatizing how declarations of rights came to be seen as subject to judicial review. Register below for your opportunity to join us in person at Antonin Scalia Law School. Lunch will be provided but if you want a free lunch make sure you register by April 8!
Agenda for The Other Declarations of 1776
8:30 AM: Registration Opens
9:10 AM: Welcome
- David E. Bernstein, University Professor of Law, Executive Director, Liberty and Law Center at Antonin Scalia Law School
- JoAnn Koob, Associate Professor of Law, Director of the Liberty and Law Center at Antonin Scalia Law School
9:20 AM: Introduction
- Anthony Sanders, Director of the Center for Judicial Engagement at the Institute for Justice
9:30 AM: Keynote Address
- Nicholas Cole, Senior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford and Director of the Quill Project
10:30am: Panel I: From English Constitutionalism to American Constitution Making
- Charles Thelen Plambeck, Adjunct Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
- American Declarations of Rights and the Ancient Constitution
- Lorianne Updike Schulzke, Assistant Professor of Law, Northern Illinois University College of Law
- Sufficient Bills of Rights
- Commentary by Laura Donohue, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and National Security, Georgetown Law School
- Moderator: Lael Weinberger, Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School
11:30 AM: Break
11:45 AM: Panel II: Slave Labor and Free Labor
- Robinson Woodward-Burns, Associate Professor, Howard University
- The Declaration of Independence, Constitutions, and the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1763-1787
- Joshua Windham, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
- The Right to Right to Earn a Living in Pennsylvania
- Commentary by Robert J. Cottrol, Harold Paul Green Research Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School
- Moderator: Keith Neely, Attorney, Institute for Justice
12:45 PM: Lunch
1:45 PM: Panel III: Originalism and Change
- Peter J. Allevato, Associate, Consovoy McCarthy
- Originalism and the Weight of the First Declarations: A Case Study of Free Press Provisions
- John Dinan, Professor, Wake Forest University
- State Constitutional Amendment Processes and Development of State Declarations of Rights
- Commentary by Eric R. Claeys, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School
- Moderator: Justin Pearson, Managing Attorney, Institute for Justice’s Florida Office
2:45 PM: Break
3:00 PM: The Other Declarations Go to Court: A Time-Travel Mock Argument
- For the Plaintiff: Madame Diana Simpson, Esq.
- For the Defendant: Mr. Samuel Gedge, Esq.
- Before:
- Justice G. Barry Anderson, Supreme Court of Minnesota (ret. but unret. for today)
- Laurent Sacharoff, Professor of Law, Sturm College of Law
- Cate Stetson, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law, Partner, Hogan Lovells
4:00 PM: Final Thoughts and Reception
Conference Speakers
Senior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Oxford and Director of the Quill Project
Wake Forest University Department of Politics & International Affairs Professor and Department Chair
Originalism and the Weight of the First Declarations: A case-study in Free Press Provisions
By Peter Allevato
State constitutional amendment processes and development of state declarations of rights
John Dinan
American Declarations of Rights and the Ancient Constitution
Charles Thelen Plambeck
Sufficient Bills of Rights
Lorianne Updike Schulzke
The Right to Earn a Living in Pennsylvania
Joshua Windham
The Declaration of Independence, Constitutions, and the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1763-1787
Robinson Woodward-Burns
Materials for the Time-Travel Mock Argument
By John Wrench
The Other Declarations of 1776
Date: Friday, April 10th
Time: Registration begins at 8:30 AM, introduction session at 9:10 AM
Location: 3351 Fairfax Dr, Arlington, VA 22201
The conference will be held at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University’s Arlington campus in the Van Metre Building. Signs will be posted directing registrants to the check-in desk.
If you’re traveling by metro, it is across the street from the Virginia Square station.
Visitor Parking:
George Mason University Parking Services has upgraded to the Metropolis parking system for all garage access at the Mason Square Campus only.
- Visitor parking is available in the Vernon Smith Garage and Van Metre Garage. The rates are set at the prevailing rates for all University visitor garages.
- The first 30 minutes are complimentary. Parking beyond 30 minutes incurs an automatic charge.
- Payment methods accepted: Visa and MasterCard.
- Currently, the rates are $5/hour with a daily maximum of $19 Monday – Friday.
There is metered parking in front of the law school on Fairfax Drive and long-term metered parking across the street in front of St. Charles Church.
For more info, visit the venue website: Mason Square Parking – Parking & Transportation – George Mason University
*Note: We are unable to validate parking.
Thank you for your interest in registering for the Conference on “The Other Declarations of 1776”. Registration has officially closed, however, we welcome you to walk in to the conference, however we will be unable to provide you with a nametag or a lunch. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].