The American Constitutional Society will host a conference this weekend to discuss civil liberties in an age of terrorism and examine American legal policy during times of war.

The event, featuring leading scholars from around the United States, will take place at the Law School. The esteemed group of panelists includes academics, practitioners, and judges who have particularly diverse perspectives about civil liberties, and American policy during times of war. “We invited dozens of conservatives and liberals at the top of the field in the hopes of encouraging true discourse,” said Emily Chatterjee, chairperson of the American Constitutional Society.

The speakers include Cass Sunstein and Geoffrey Stone from the Law School, as well as Kate Martin, director from the Center for National Security Studies and the Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin. The keynote address will be given by David Cole, Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center and author of the book Enemy Aliens and Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security.

The conference was organized by the American Constitutional Society (ACS) as an effort to provide understanding for legal and social concerns behind current events. “We picked the topic ‘Terrorism and the Rule of Law’ in large part because of the tremendous involvement Chicago faculty have had with the recent Supreme Court decisions in the detention cases and the ongoing Guantanamo litigation,” Chatterjee said.

The event will begin Friday afternoon at 12:15 and feature two panel discussions. The keynote address will be given after a wine reception. On the final day of the event, there will be three panel discussions, beginning at 10 and ending at 2:30. Breakfast and lunch will be served on Saturday. For more information, e-mail Emily Chatterjee at echatter@uchicago.edu, or visit acs.uchicago.edu.