Attorneys General Phil Weiser of Colorado and Mark Brnovich of Arizona join for a bipartisan conversation on issues facing their states today, and what the Constitution—particularly the system of federalism—means to them and why it matters. They discuss everything from the founders’ vision of states’ rights to key Supreme Court cases on the subject, to issues they’re focused on and tackling in their states now, including managing coronavirus relief, elections and election reform, tech policy, consumer protection laws and lawsuits, and more. They also discuss the crucial roles that local governments and state AGs play in the constitutional system, and how state AGs can work together in bipartisan coalitions to fill in gaps left by the federal government on a number of issues. This program is presented in partnership with the Center for Excellence in Governance at the National Association of Attorneys General.
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PARTICIPANTS
Phil Weiser is the 39th Attorney General of Colorado. Previously, Weiser served as a Professor of Law and Dean of the University of Colorado Law School, where he founded the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship. Weiser served in senior leadership positions in the Obama administration, and was appointed to serve as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice and as Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation at the White House’s National Economic Council.
Mark Brnovich currently serves as Arizona's 26th Attorney General. Brnovich has also been a Judge Pro Tem of Maricopa County Superior Court, a Command Staff Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army National Guard, the Director for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute, and the Director of the Arizona Department of Gaming, and the Chairman of the Conference of Western Attorneys General.
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution. Rosen is also professor of law at The George Washington University Law School and a contributing editor of The Atlantic.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Federalist No. 39
- Federalist No. 45
- Federalist No. 46
- Federalist No. 51
- The National Commission on Federal Election Reform, “To Assure Pride and Confidence in the Electoral Process," (2001)
- The Voting Rights Act (1965)
- Voting Rights Reauthorization and Amendments Act (2006)
- Arizona House of Representatives, HB 2124: online content; publishers; liability (2020)
- New State Ice Company v. Liebmann (1932)
- Printz v. United States (1997)
- Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
- Chiafalo et. al. v. Washington (2020)
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (2020)
- Colorado v. United States Department of Justice (2020)
- Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (2020)
- High Plains Harvest Church v. Polis (2020)
- Lawsuit brought by bipartisan coalition of state AGs against Google
- "United States v. Google," We the People podcast
This episode was produced by Jackie McDermott, John Guerra, and Lana Ulrich. It was engineered by David Stotz. Research was provided by Alexandra "Mac" Taylor, Paige Britton, and Lana Ulrich.
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