The Philip A. Hart Memorial Lectureship was established at Georgetown Law by the family and friends of Philip A. Hart, a distinguished U.S. Senator and alumnus of Georgetown University. Senator Hart was known as the “Conscience of the Senate” for his leadership in several important areas in which he stood by his convictions even when it risked his own political career. Hart led efforts to promote integration and busing, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965—for which he was a floor manager—championed the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, and defended the average worker against big business interests. A member of the “Greatest Generation,” Hart suffered injuries during the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, and was awarded a Purple Heart among other honors for his distinguished service. Each year, a prominent scholar or professional is invited to deliver a lecture at Georgetown Law on topics that were dear to Senator Hart in an effort to honor the “Conscience of the Senate” and to promote the principles with which he served.

Follow

Lectures

Dividing Lines and the Infrastructure of Inequality, Archer, Deborah N.
Date: 2025

Link

The Opening Argument for D.C. Statehood, Bowser, Muriel Elizabeth, Executive Office of the Mayor, Washington, D.C.
Date: 2019

Link

Locking Up Our Own: Race, Class, and the Politics of Mass Incarceration, Forman Jr., James
Date: 2018

Criminal Justice Reform: How We Got Here, Why We Need It, and the Path Forward, Yates, Sally, Former Deputy Attorney General and Acting Attorney General, Department of Justice
Date: 2017

The Freedom to Marry Win: Transformation and Triumph to Celebrate, Lessons to Adapt and Apply, Wolfson, Evan
Date: 2016

The Superior Virtues of Historical Originalism, Rakove, Jack
Date: 2016

The National Criminal Justice Commission Act – A Microcosm of Congressional Paralysis, Webb, James H., Former Senator, United States Congress
Date: 2014

The Strange History of The Bill of Rights, Maier, Pauline
Date: 2013

PDF

A Journey from the Heart of Apartheid Darkness Towards a Just Society: Salient Features of the Budding Constitutionalism and Jurisprudence of South Africa, Moseneke, Dikgang, Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa
Date: 2012

PDF

Courts, Social Change, and Political Backlash, Klarman, Michael
Date: 2011

PDF

Constitutionalism: A Skeptical View, Waldron, Jeremy
Date: 2010

PDF

Constitutional Law and International Law: National Exceptionalism and the Democratic Deficit?, Kirby, Michael, Former Justice of the High Court of Australia
Date: 2009

PDF

The Future of International Criminal Justice, Goldstone, Richard, Former Justice on the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Date: 2008

Human Rights in Times of Terror: A Judicial Point of View, Barak, Aharon
Date: 2007

PDF

The Refund Booth: Using the Principle of Symmetric Information to Improve Campaign Finance Regulation, Ayres, Ian
Date: 2006

The Structure of Academic Freedom, Post, Robert C.
Date: 2005

Equality in the American Constitution, Calabresi, Guido, United States Circuit Judge
Date: 2004

Will Anybody Know Who I Am? On Education, Justice, and Respect, Lawrence-Lightfoot, Sara
Date: 2003

The Internet’s Coming Silent Spring, Lessig, Lawrence
Date: 2002

PDF

Welfare, Children and Families: The Impact of Welfare Reform in the New Economy, Wilson, William Julius
Date: 2001

PDF

Religion-Centered Free Exercise: A Tribute to Justice Brennan, Carter, Stephen L.
Date: 1998

PDF

The World Bank’s Role in Controlling Corruption, Rose-Ackerman, Susan
Date: 1997

Do Curators Have Anything to Learn from Lawyers?, Heyman, Michael
Date: 1996

Thinking in an Emergency, Scarry, Elaine
Date: 1994

Life’s Dominion: An Argument About Abortion and Euthanasia, Dworkin, Ronald
Date: 1993

PDF

Two Cheers for Authority: Should Officials Obey the Law?, Schauer, Frederick
Date: 1992

PDF

Meanings of Marriage: The Structure of Marital Expectations in Nineteenth Century America, Hartog, Hendrik A.
Date: 1991

Government, Political Parties, and Liberal Democracy in the New Europe, Blondel, Jean
Date: 1990

PDF

A ‘Non-Power’ Looks at Separation of Powers, Morrison, Alan B., Dean
Date: 1989

Some Call It ‘The Right to Die’, Kamisar, Yale
Date: 1988

PDF

The Decline of Cause, Thomson, Judith Jarvis
Date: 1987

Does the Criminal Law Have Much to Do with Crime?, Kaplan, John
Date: 1986

PDF

Nativity Scenes and Judicial Responsibility, Dorsen, Norman
Date: 1985

The Training of Lawyers: From Bar Exam Passage to Full Lawyer Proficiency, Sacks, Albert M.
Date: 1984

Why Is the Federal Income Tax so Complicated?, Bittker, Boris I.
Date: 1983

Federalism–Old and New–and the Federal Courts, McGowan, Carl, Senior Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Date: 1982

The Role of the Solicitor General in Shaping Issues for the Supreme Court, McCree, Wade H., Solicitor General of the United States
Date: 1980