{"id":32005,"date":"2026-11-03T07:55:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=32005"},"modified":"2026-11-03T07:55:32","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:55:32","slug":"new-marquette-lawyer-magazine-offers-insights-into-the-state-of-the-nation-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2026\/11\/new-marquette-lawyer-magazine-offers-insights-into-the-state-of-the-nation-and-more\/","title":{"rendered":"New Marquette Lawyer\u00a0Magazine Offers Insights into the State of the Nation\u2014and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MarquetteIt is a longstanding tradition that the president of the United States gives a State of the Union address each year.\u00a0Consider the Fall 2026 issue of Marquette Lawyer<\/em> magazine a \u201cstate of the union\u201d report issuing from Marquette Law School as Americans mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But the magazine\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

It may seem initially curious that the most prominent part of this \u201cstate of the union\u201d report is titled \u201cUnstated.\u201d In the magazine\u2019s cover story, Thomas W. Merrill, the Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Law at Columbia University, analyzes how three \u201cimplicit ideas\u201d have reshaped the way the federal government operates\u2014to 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 \u201ca fundamental deformation of the Constitution.\u201d 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>. A piece profiling Merrill, titled \u201c\u2018A Centrist Kind of Guy,\u2019 with Impact,\u201d accompanies the text and may be read by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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 \u201can intensely practical document\u201d 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, \u201cSome Reflections on the Declaration of Independence,\u201d may be found by clicking here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Paired with this analysis of the Declaration is an article focused on the United States today: \u201cThe State of the People of the Union.\u201d The Marquette Law School Poll conducted a special nationwide survey to mark the 250th anniversary of independence. More than 1,500 people were asked about their thoughts on American society and for insights into their own lives. How much do you trust other people? How do you connect with other people? How active is your religious life? How close-knit are American families across several generations? Those questions and more were probed, and the survey results are described in the article, which may be read by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to the \u201cstate of the union\u201d articles, the new magazine offers other valuable reading, especially for lawyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Essential Power of Storytelling\u201d provides insights from Alan Jenkins, professor of practice at Harvard Law School, who has a wide-ranging history of involvement in legal advocacy, communications, and philanthropy. \u201cIn my experience, narrative is often the \u2018secret sauce\u2019 to effective brief-writing and oral argument,\u201d Jenkins writes. The article is based on the Robert F. Boden Lecture delivered by Jenkins at Marquette Law School on May 12, 2026. It may be read by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more than 25 years, the Milwaukee County District Attorney\u2019s office has placed prosecutors in city of Milwaukee police districts to help people deal with issues in their communities. Marquette Law School graduates have played key roles in the success of the community prosecutor program, which is described in an article titled \u201cAlways Be a Problem Solver.\u201d It may be read by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the future of law school accreditation?\u201d This important question in the world of the legal academy and the legal profession is addressed in an interview with Daniel R. Thies, who recently completed a term as chair of the Council of the American Bar Association\u2019s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Thies, an attorney in Champaign\u2013Urbana, Ill., was interviewed by Marquette Law School Dean Kearney and Professor James B. Speta, the Elizabeth Froehling Horner Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. An edited text of the interview may be read by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Law School News section of the magazine offers two articles about developments in the life of Marquette Law School.<\/p>\n

The first reports on a seven-figure gift from the Ray & Kay Eckstein Charitable Trust to support the Law School\u2019s Office of Public Service and, in particular, the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics. The gift includes a challenge to Marquette to raise additional funds\u2014which, if met, will bring the total endowment to $7 million. The article also spotlights the American Bar Association\u2019s recognizing the Law School\u2019s programs with a Pro Bono Publico award, only the fourth such recognition of a law school since the award was created in 1984. And the piece announces that Joshua Hernandez, L\u201922, has joined the public service office as assistant director of the MVLCs.<\/p>\n

The second Law School News article welcomes three new faculty members: Aaron Hernandez, L\u201913, who was named associate professor of practice and director of the National Sports Law Institute, which is part of the Law School; Jos\u00e9 Gir\u00f3n, an assistant professor of law with a focus on teaching criminal law and procedure; and Eric Liberatore, an assisting teaching professor and assistant director of student success.<\/p>\n

The Law School News pieces may be read by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The \u201cFrom the Podium\u201d section has four entries:<\/p>\n