August 27, 2007 Law Library of Congress To Host Sept. 12 Panel Discussion with Experts on National Security and the Constitution

In the aftermath of 9/11, measures were taken to formulate and implement a national security program. The impact of these policies on constitutional principles is the subject of a panel discussion to be held at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 12, in the Law Library’s Multimedia Room, located in Room 240 of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Law Library of Congress, the program is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and advance reservations are required; contact Alisa Carrel at acar@loc.gov. Topics to be discussed include the constitutional principles that govern and influence national security policy, emergency powers, inherent presidential power, the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the treaty process, National Security Agency surveillance, and the role of Congress and the president in formulating and carrying out national security policy. The panel will also explore the impact of 9/11 on national security policy and the readjustments that are now taking place. Chairing and participating on the panel will be Louis Fisher, a constitutional law specialist in the Law Library of Congress. From 1970 to March 2006, Fisher worked in the Congressional Research Service, where he was senior specialist in separation of powers. He is the author of “Presidential War Power” (2d ed. 2004), “In the Name of National Security: Unchecked Presidential Power and the Reynolds Case” (2006), “American Constitutional Law” (with David Gray Adler, 7th ed. 2007) and “Constitutional Conflicts between Congress and the President” (5th ed. 2007). Brian McKeon is deputy staff director and chief counsel on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he has served since 1997. He is responsible for all legal issues, treaties and nominations, and is the lead staff person on legislation regarding the State Department and the Broadcasting Board of Governors. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Georgetown University Law Center, he clerked for U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar and worked as a legislative assistant to Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.). He worked in the Clinton-Gore campaign in 1996 and as an assistant to Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Corrigan Maguire in Northern Ireland. Michael O’Neill is minority chief counsel and staff director for the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and was an associate professor at George Mason University School of Law. He previously served as general counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, special assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia and in the Honors Program at the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1996 and for Judge David B. Sentelle of the D.C. Circuit, 1990-91. O’Neill is a graduate of Brigham Young University and the Yale Law School. While at Yale, he was editor of articles and book reviews for the Yale Law Journal and articles editor of the Yale Journal on Regulation. The Law Library of Congress is celebrating the 175th anniversary of its founding through legislation enacted on July 14, 1832. Today the Law Library’s collection exceeds 2.5 million volumes. For more information about the Law Library, visit the Web site at www.loc.gov/law/public/law.html.