The Society began holding re-enactments of Supreme Court cases in 1996. These occasional programs were usually held as part of lecture series or jointly sponsored program with other organizations and were held about once every three years. The re-enactments have proven to be among the Society’s most popular events and routinely sold out with waiting lists of up to 100 people per event. When Frank Jones announced his intention to step down as Society President, the Society took the opportunity to honor his legacy by making permanent the occasional re-enactment into a stand-alone event. A small endowment helps underwrite the costs of the re-enactments.
It is a long-term goal of the Society to conduct these re-enactments on the road, using local advocates and federal court judges.
Upcoming Reenactment
2023 — A staged reading of the Oliver Wendell Holmes play by Todd Peppers.
Previous Reenactments
2017 — Clay v. United States — Theodore Wells and Donald Ayer as advocates, Justice Sotomayor for the Court
2017 — Goessart v. Cleary — Deanne Maynard and Roy Englert as advocates, Justice Ginsburg for the Court (with Women’s Bar Association of DC)
2014 — McCullough v. Maryland — Neal Katyal and Jeff Bucholtz as advocates, Justice Breyer for the Court
2013 — Flood v. Kuhn — Roy Englert and Pamela Karlan as advocates, Justice Sotomayor for the Court
2011 — Texas v. White — Patricia Millett and David Beck as advocates, Justice Scalia for the Court
2010 — Ware v. Hylton — Philip Allen Lacovara and Richard A. Schneider as advocates, Justice Alito for the Court (with Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association)
2008 – Muller v. Oregon – Barbara Underwood and Vicki Jackson as advocates, Justice Ginsburg for the Court
2006 – The Aaron Burr Treason Trial – Eugene Scalia and Robert Fiske as advocates, Justice Scalia for the Court (National Heritage Lecture)
2002 – Gibbons v. Ogden – Teresa Roseborough and Phillip Lacovara as advocates, Justice Scalia for the Court (National Heritage Lecture)
1999 – Chisholm v. Georgia – Griffin Bell and Seth Waxman as advocates, Justice Scalia for the Court (with Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association)
1996 – Gold Clause Cases – Charles Cooper and Phillip Lacovara as advocates, Justice Scalia for the Court.