Robert A. Levy

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Join us Friday, April 5th at 7:30 am as we welcome Robert A Levy to speak to us at our breakfast meeting. Robert A. Levy was, for 14 years, chairman of the board of directors at the Cato Institute. He joined Cato as senior fellow in constitutional studies in 1997 after 25 years in business. The Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies is named in his honor.

Toward a Better Constitution

Bob Levy will discuss how the U.S. Constitution should be interpreted — analyzing the views of liberals and conservatives, and explaining how those views differ from the libertarian perspective embraced by legal scholars at the Cato Institute, where Bob chaired the board for many years.  Additionally, Bob will compare and contrast two leading theories of constitutional interpretation: originalism and “the living constitution.”  He’ll also examine several controversial constitutional questions, describe how the Supreme Court has occasionally subverted the document’s original design, and recommend three constitutional amendments – involving the taxing power, interstate commerce, and the administrative state.

Full Bio:

Bob Levy was, for 14 years, chairman of the board of directors at the Cato Institute.  He is now chairman emeritus.  Bob joined Cato as senior fellow in constitutional studies in 1997 after 25 years in business. The Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies is named in his honor.  He has also served on boards of the Federalist Society, the Foundation for Government Accountability, and the Institute for Justice.  Bob received his PhD in business from the American University in 1966, then founded CDA Investment Technologies, a major provider of investment information and software.  At age 50, after leaving CDA in 1991, Bob went to George Mason law school, where he was chief articles editor of the law review and class valedictorian.  He received his JD degree in 1994.  The next two years he clerked for Judge Royce Lamberth on the US District Court and Judge Douglas Ginsburg on the US Court of Appeals, both in Washington, DC.

For many years, Bob was an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University.  His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, National Review, and many other publications.  He has discussed public policy on national radio and TV programs, including ABC’s Nightline, Fox’s The O’Reilly Factor, PBS’s Newshour, and NBC’s Today Show.  Bob’s latest book, co-authored with William Mellor, is The Dirty Dozen: How 12 Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom.  Bob served as co-counsel in District of Columbia v. Heller, the successful Supreme Court challenge to Washington, D.C.’s gun ban.