Constitution Day Presentation: “Are You Talking to Me?: Who Are Those “People” in the Tenth Amendment?”

Event:  ”Are You Talking to Me?: Who Are Those “People” in the Tenth Amendment?”

Date: September 17, 2012

Time: 12noon

Location:  Great Hall, Armstrong Hall, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law on the Tempe campus

Description:  Did you know that the original Constitution didn’t protect your vote? In fact, the original Constitution didn’t give you many rights at all? So where do we get them?

Let’s look at the 10th Amendment!

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

THE TENTH AMENDMENT  Are you one of “the People” or not?

Robert J. McWhirter will present an engaging and informative illustrated presentation on the history of the Tenth Amendment for Constitution Day, September 17, 2012, beginning at 12:00 pm in the Great Hall, Armstrong Hall, Room 114, in the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law on the Tempe campus. Taken from his soon to be published book on the History of the Bill of Rights (ABA Press), Mr. McWhirter’s talk will focus on what it means to have rights in America – all them more relevant in this election year!

About the presenter:

Robert J. McWhirter is a nationally and internationally known speaker and author on trial advocacy, immigration law, and the history of the bill of rights. He is a Certified Specialist in Criminal Law with the State Bar of Arizona and first chair qualified to defend capital cases by the Arizona Supreme Court.

During 2010-2011, Mr. McWhirter served for a year in El Salvador administering an $11 million USAID contract to reform the justice system. He successfully developed and oversaw programs and trainings for the Salvadoran courts, police, prosecutors, and public defenders.

The American Bar Association will publish Mr. McWhirter’s upcoming book BILLS, QUILLS, AND STILLS: THE EPIC STRUGGLES (AND PARTIES) THAT GAVE US THE BILL OF RIGHTS (working title) in 2012. The American Bar Association has published his books THE CRIMINAL LAWYER’S GUIDE TO IMMIGRATION LAW: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS, 2nd Ed. 2006 and THE CITIZENSHIP FLOWCHART, 2007. In 2010, in Padilla v. Kentucky Justice Alito extensively quoted from his book.

Mr. McWhirter has served on the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section and on the Standard Committee writing the CRIMINAL JUSTICE STANDARDS. In 2009, Mr. McWhirter was named a Southwest Super Lawyer, a rare instance for a public defender. Mr. McWhirter is also the 2009 recipient of the Phoenix Saint Thomas More Award and the immediate past president of Arizona Attorney’s for Criminal Justice.