It is a longstanding tradition that the president of the United States gives a State of the Union address each year. Consider the Fall 2026 issue of Marquette Lawyer magazine a “state of the union” report issuing from Marquette Law School as Americans mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But the magazine’s approach, a bit different from that in D.C., offers nonpartisan insights into the content of the Declaration itself, the dynamic realities of the American legal system, and the lives of the people of the union.

It may seem initially curious that the most prominent part of this “state of the union” report is titled “Unstated.” In the magazine’s cover story, Thomas W. Merrill, the Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Law at Columbia University, analyzes how three “implicit ideas” have reshaped the way the federal government operates—to put it more specifically and critically, how these unstated precepts have sidelined Congress and empowered the president and the courts. Merrill, an unusually well-respected figure in the legal world, calls the changes “a fundamental deformation of the Constitution.” The article, which is a lightly edited version of the E. Harold Hallows Lecture delivered by Merrill at Marquette Law School on March 2, 2026, may be read by clicking here. A piece profiling Merrill, titled “‘A Centrist Kind of Guy,’ with Impact,” accompanies the text and may be read by clicking here.

Law School Dean Joseph D. Kearney offered insights into the content and context of the Declaration of Independence in an address to the Milwaukee Rotary Club on July 14, 2026. Kearney called the Declaration “an intensely practical document” that sets out basic principles for the new nation while providing good legal and political arguments for why independence from Great Britain was necessary. The text of his remarks, “Some Reflections on the Declaration of Independence,” may be found by clicking here.

The Marquette Lawyer magazine often covers a broad range of important issues beyond the walls of the Law School. While this continues to be true in the new issue (Summer 2026), its contents also offer a propitious opportunity to draw readers’ attention—and, if we may, appreciation—to the faculty of Marquette Law School, as well as our alumni and supporters.

The cover feature profiling Judge Diane Sykes, L’84, leads a package of stories focused on one of the Law School’s most distinguished graduates. Sykes stepped down recently as chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, moving to senior status on the court.

Along with the profile, the magazine entries connected to Sykes include descriptions of how decisions and opinions from her work on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and on the federal appeals bench form part of the courses that seven members of the Marquette Law School faculty teach. The package also includes excerpts from speeches Sykes has given, including two at Marquette Law School. And “Seventh Circuit Day”—an occasion last September of oral arguments and legal education programs at the Law School—is described in a fourth piece, including a behind-the-scenes description of preparation for the court’s visit.