[Lwvcnmtopics] LWVCNM hosts a constitutional expert next Friday to help us understand this election - bring your own glass of something substantial and join us on Zoom

[kwentworth17 at comcast.net]

This has been a long week as we wait for the race for president to be
determined, and it is still not clear what is ahead for our nation. Next
Friday, November 13 at noon, Peter Kierst, constitutional law expert and
principal lecturer in Political Science at the University of New Mexico will
help us understand what happened in this presidential election, what the
electoral college has to do with it, and what may still lie ahead as
President Trump continues to challenge the vote totals.

 

Peter S. Kierst has been on the faculty since 2005, teaching Constitutional
Law and American political theory. He has an M.A. in Political Science and a
J.D., both from UNM. He practiced law, primarily as a litigator, from
1984-2014. Among his cases were the first plaintiff's sexual abuse lawsuits
brought in New Mexico, and New Mexico's lawsuit against the tobacco
industry. He represented three Governors of New Mexico in various matters.
>From 1991-2005 he was a partner in the firm of Eaves, Bardacke, Baugh,
Kierst and Kiernan, and then he joined Sutin, Thayer and Browne, PA. He is
AV (highest) rated by Martindale-Hubbell, the oldest and most valued lawyer
rating service, and in 2008, was awarded the New Mexico State Bar's Zenith
Award for excellence in teaching ethics and professionalism to lawyers.
Kierst has also received numerous recognitions from UNM student
organizations for his teaching. 

 

His last piece of litigation was as one of the lead counsel in Griego v.
Oliver, which in 2013 secured the right of same-sex couples to marry in New
Mexico. For this work the New Mexico ACLU gave him its prized Guardian of
Liberty Award. 

 

When asked to provide some points he expects to discuss, Peter replied,
"It's difficult to outline the points for my talk since it will depend in
such large part on what has happened between election day and the day of the
talk." He listed his goals for the talk as:

 

*Accurately explain the state of the election that day, and what might be
expected in the days to come.

*Explain the contending legal factions: the role of the states, the federal
government (in particular, Congress, and the political parties in
presidential elections

*The legal and historical context-to the extent time and interest permit

*Bush v. Gore(2000) and the constitutional fact that there is no individual
right to vote for president guaranteed by the Constitution.

*The primary roles of states in determining eligibility to vote, and in
certifying the results of elections.

*The reasons for the Electoral College and the anomalous result that the
candidate with the most votes is not necessarily the "winner." Created by
the Federal Convention of 1787 as a compromise between those who wanted a
direct, popular election of the president and those who thought that was an
impractical and unrealistic goal.

*This latter attitude prompted by the sheer size and complexity of the
country which was going to be electing the president, and the novelty of
electing a national executive---a thing for which there was no precedent.

*Why this unusual system persists long after the rationale for it has lost
much of its force.

 

Here is your Zoom invitation.

 

Topic: LWVCNM Member Meeting

Time: Nov 13, 2020 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

 

Join Zoom Meeting

 
<https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85482780366?pwd=RlFzZjFHS0JlVTRrTzM4UEZ4dTRXZz09>
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85482780366?pwd=RlFzZjFHS0JlVTRrTzM4UEZ4dTRXZz09

 

Meeting ID: 854 8278 0366

Passcode: 714137

One tap mobile

+12532158782,,85482780366#,,,,,,0#,,714137# US (Tacoma)

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Karen Wentworth

Co-President, LWVCNM

(505) 263-9066

Kwentworth17 at comcast.net <mailto:Kwentworth17 at comcast.net> 

 

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