Tuesday, June 26, 2012

SPS 2012: Supreme Court Session with Kevin Baine


In preparation for our trip to the United States Supreme Court tomorrow, this afternoon the St. Albans School of Public Service class of 2012 took part in a lively, Socratic-style Q&A with First Amendment lawyer Kevin Baine.  The SPSers examined the role of the Supreme Court in shaping policy and talked about the Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare") case that is due to come out this week.  The group got a little taste of law-school style discussion, with a few students being put on the spot (but rising to the occasion).  A highlight was Mr. Baine handing Max H. a Constitution and asking him to identify the constitutional basis for an argument Max had made.  (Don't worry, Max went straight to the Fourteenth Amendment -- always a good choice!)  Mr. Baine has both clerked at the Supreme Court (for Justice Thurgood Marshall) and argued before the Court, and we were fortunate to have his insights as we focus on the Court this week at the School of Public Service.
Photo 1: Max stakes out a constitutional argument

Photo 2: Mr. Baine hands over a pocket-sized U.S. Constitution to Max!

Photo 3:  Max is cool, calm, and collected as he studies the Constitution just before citing the Fourteenth Amendment.