NDLS Communicator: Week of 01.26.26

The Latest News Notre Dame Program on Law and Economics Visiting Professor: Gideon Parchomovsky Alumni News Cameasha (Cam) Turner ’19 J.D Jorge Barrera-Rojas ‘25 J.S.D. Faculty Briefs Emily Bremer Sadie Blanchard Daniel Slate Paul Miller O. Carter Snead Rick Garnett Derek Muller ND Law News Notre Dame Law School’s Immigration Clinic Notre Dame Education Law Project Events Law & Economics Workshop: Gideon Parchomovsky, Penn & Hebrew U Law & Technology Seminar: Sofia Ranchordás, Tilburg Law School and LUISS Guido Carli Iran & Venezuela Through the Lens of International Law With Professors Mary Ellen O’Connell and Jimmy Gurulé, and Professor Emeritus George A. Lopez of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies Faculty Colloquium: Diane Desierto IGP: Lunch and Learn: Mark Hill Around the Watercooler Pictures from the January Birthdays Celebration Spot Staff Awards Accepting nomination

Faces of Formalism

Formalist approaches to legal interpretation, such as textualism and originalism, are ascendant in federal statutory and constitutional law. Yet with success have come uncertainty and dissatisfaction. Formalists and their critics observe that textualism and originalism can seem as open-ended as the purposive and dynamic methods they were supposed to replace. This Article tries to diagnose the source of this discontent. It does so by identifying two different faces of formalist interpretation: the formalism of authority—adherence to original sources of law—and the formalism of method—constraint through predictable, rule-bound interpretation. Defenses of formalism often assume these two paths to constraint run together, but they can come apart. The careful search for an authoritative source is not readily amenable to rules. At the same time, seeking certainty and impersonality through mechanical methods risks interpretive drift from original, authoritative norms. Once we notice this tension, we see it everywhere in arguments about interpretive formalism: intentionalism versus public meaning, what kind of intentionalism, what kind of public meaning, the force of original expected applications, whether to treat interpretive method as law, and the centrality of rules over standards. Answers to these questions turn on how we reconcile or prioritize these two faces of formalism. It turns out that the standard contrasts between “form and substance,” or “form and function,” or “letter and spirit,” miss important parts of the picture. Different substantive visions about law and interpretation compete within the confines of form. Method formalism’s goals are more functional, while the spirit of authoritative formalism is less likely to confine itself to the letter. Although no synthesis should obscure either face of formalism entirely, the most plausible approach places the search for authority at the center of the practice

The U.S. Immigration Crackdown: Moral, Legal, and Policy Perspectives

Monday, February 2, 2026 | 12:30 PM | Jenkins Nanovic Halls, Room 1050 The Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rights will host a multidisciplinary panel of faculty experts to discuss the U.S. government’s recent actions related to immigration across the country — including ICE enforcement, effects on education, questions of civil rights, and the Catholic Church’s response. Monday, Feb. 2, at 12:30 p.m. in 1050 Jenkins Nanovic Halls. Lunch provided. Learn more at https://klau.nd.edu/news-events/events/. Sponsor: Klau Institute for Civil and Human Rightshttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/2229/thumbnail.jp

War Powers and Recent U.S. Military Operations

Thursday, February 5, 2026 | 12:30 PM | Eck Hall of Law, Room 3140 Sponsored by the Global Human Rights Clinic; Join us for an engaging panel discussion on the use of war powers in the United States in the present administration. Sponsor: Global Human Rights Clinichttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/2233/thumbnail.jp

MMU: 04/20/26-04/26/26

This Week @ NDLS Mass Times Commons Daily Menu Saint of the Week General Announcement

Interfaith Dinner

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 | 7:45 PM | Jenkins Nanovic Halls, Forum Join us on Tuesday, March 31 for a dinner celebrating Eid, Easter, Passover, Nowruz, and Holi hosted by the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion and the Notre Dame Law School. The campus community is welcome to join for evening prayers, dinner, and brief remarks from members of our Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Baha’i, and Hindu communities. Food will be catered by Port of Peri Peri, and kosher options are available as well. Dates, water, and matzah will be provided. All are welcome to attend. Sponsors: Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion Notre Dame Law Schoolhttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/2305/thumbnail.jp

Champions for Justice Ceremony

Tuesday, April 7, 2026 | 5:30 PM | McKenna Hall Fr. Hesburgh once called upon our law students to have a hunger for justice, to realize that competence in the law without compassion leads the lawyer to use the law for other purposes than the works of justice, blinds him to the sad plight of persons who suffer injustice for want of a lawyer champion. We are excited to honor those among our third-year class who have exhibited an exemplary commitment to public service during the course of their time in law school. More specifically, we will be celebrating these groups of students: - The recipients of the Law School\u27s Shaffer Fellowships - Those students selected for the Department of Justice\u27s Attorney General\u27s Honors Program and er Government Honors Programs - Those students who have committed to the Judge Advocate General Corps - Those students who have exceeded a high threshold of public interest work through their participation in summer internships and/or law school clinics and externships The final group will be recognized as Champions for Justice in recognition of Fr. Hesburgh\u27s call to all ND law students. Sponsor: Notre Dame Law Schoolhttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/2249/thumbnail.jp

The Two Robes of Judge Bianco: My Faith Journey to Becoming a Judge and Deacon

Monday, February 23, 2026 | 12:30 PM | Eck Hall of Law, Room 1140 Judge Joseph F. Bianco of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will be speaking about his Catholic faith and how he came to be both a federal judge and an ordained Deacon of the Catholic Church. This event will take place in Eck 1140 and Papa Vinos will be served. Sponsor: St. Thomas More Societyhttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/2263/thumbnail.jp

Externship Lunch-n-Learns: Save the Dates

Monday, February 23, 2026 - Thursday, March 5, 2026 | 12:20 PM | Eck Hall of Law, Rooms 2108 and 2173 See the below poster for all the Externship Lunch-n-Learn events this week and next. Application deadline for all fall externships is March 23 in IrishLink (except the Appalachia Externship). Sponsor: Notre Dame Law Schoolhttps://scholarship.law.nd.edu/ndls_posters/2262/thumbnail.jp

NDLS Communicator: Week of 03.16.26

The Latest News U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Reflects on Law, Faith, and Judicial Responsibility at Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School Delegation Visits Insper in São Paulo, Brazil for Joint Faculty Workshop and Scholarly Exchange Notre Dame Law School continues exchange partnership with Ukrainian Catholic University Alumni News Kyle Sommer \u2709 J.D. Student News J.S.D. candidate Perla Khattar Faculty Briefs Ashley Sanchez Derek Muller Emily Bremer Paul Miller Brett Cavanaugh Paolo Carozza Jimmy Gurulé Mary Ellen O\u27Connell A.J. Bellia Patrick Corrigan Daniel Slate & Paolo Carozza Vincent Phillip Muñoz Lloyd Mayer ND Law in the News The Eviction Clinic was featured in The Observer The Exoneration Justice Clinic was highlighted in The South Bend Tribune and IndyStar Events Law & Technology Seminar - Andrea Simoncini, University of Florence, The Constitutional Dimension of AI. A Phenomenology of Cybernetic Power Law & Economics Workshop - Tom Zur, Harvard University Early Isn’t Always Better: Experimental Evidence on the Deterrent Effect of Delayed Enforcement Faculty Colloquium - Emily Bremer Housing on Church Property: Perspectives on an Emerging Movement Policy, moderated by Rev. Patrick Reidy, C.S.C. Faculty and Staff Birthday Celebration! Private Law Workshop: Deconstructing Employment Contract Law, Rachel Arnow-Richman, Gerald A. Rosenthal Chair in Labor & Employment Law Levin College of Law Defending Religious Freedom: A Conversation with Dean Marcus Cole and Senator Jim Banks Different Kind of Lawyer Day NDLA Board Meeting All Day Alumni Affinity Weekend Looking Ahead Law & Technology Seminar: Hans Micklitz, Professor Emeritus of Economic Law at the European University Institute Law & Economics Workshop - Patrick Corrigan, Is Confidential Supervisory Information Material to Investors? Evaluating the Conflict between Banking and Securities Law Faculty Colloquium - Fr. John Paul Kimes Priestly Trust, the Bishops, and the Church, Join us for a discussion of Rebuilding Trust (CUA Press, 2025), Fr. John Paul Kimes Second Annual Death Penalty Abolition Week Announcing New Global Visitors Dr. Giuseppe Portonera Prof. Andrea Simoncini Prof. Rodrigo Rodriguez Around the Watercooler Share your favorite book recommendation ND Law Employees at the Service Time Recognition Dinner January & February Spot Award Nominees (Heather Clark-Grabarek, Heather Ellerbrock, Kathy Brothers, & Arienne Caling