Legal Definitions - Federalist Society

The Federalist Society is a prominent national organization in the United States composed primarily of lawyers, law students, and legal scholars.

Its core mission is to promote conservative and libertarian principles within the legal system, focusing on ideas such as originalism and textualism in constitutional interpretation, limited government, and individual liberty. The Society achieves this by fostering debate, publishing legal scholarship, and influencing judicial appointments and legal policy.

• Imagine a President is considering candidates for an open Supreme Court seat. The President's administration might consult with the Federalist Society to identify potential nominees who align with their judicial philosophy, knowing the Society has a network of legal professionals who share conservative or libertarian views on constitutional interpretation.

  This illustrates the Federalist Society's role in influencing judicial selections by providing a pool of candidates who adhere to their legal principles.

• A major law school hosts a panel discussion on the future of environmental law. One of the panelists is a distinguished legal scholar who is a member of the Federalist Society, and they present arguments advocating for less government regulation and more market-based solutions, consistent with libertarian principles.

  This demonstrates how the Federalist Society contributes to legal discourse by bringing conservative and libertarian perspectives to academic and public debates on various legal issues.

• A young law student, passionate about the idea of judicial restraint and the original meaning of the Constitution, decides to join their university's chapter of the Federalist Society. Through the chapter, they attend lectures by prominent conservative judges and legal thinkers, network with like-minded peers, and participate in discussions about current legal controversies from a conservative viewpoint.

  This example highlights the Federalist Society's function as a community and educational platform for law students and legal professionals who share a commitment to conservative and libertarian legal philosophies.