Federal Consent Decrees [2021 National Lawyers Convention]

The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The topic of the conference was "Public and Private Power: Preserving Freedom or Preventing Harm?". This panel discussed "Federal Consent Decrees: Good Governance, an Expansion of Federal Power, or Both?".

In a 1987 article entitled Why Hold Elections?, Prof. Michael McConnell noted a trend that had been emerging since the 1970s: the use of consent decrees to settle federal lawsuits against state and local governments. These decrees are entered as judgements enforceable by contempt, but without full litigation. Nonetheless, these decrees often contain hundreds of requirements that dictate the policies, budgets, and personnel of local government agencies for years or even decades. This panel explored the important topic of federal court consent decrees, diving into the history of such decrees and the arguments for and against their use.

Featuring:

- Mr. Andrew McCarthy, Senior Fellow, National Review Institute

- Mr. Jesse Panuccio, Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

- Prof. Robert Percival, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

- Mr. Benjamin S. Wolf, Former Legal Director and Institutional Reform Project Director, ACLU of Illinois

- Moderator: Judge Elizabeth “Lisa” Branch, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speakers.