Justice Scalia Kicks Off 1st Meeting of Federalist Society in Baton Rouge

The Baton Rouge Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy got off to a spectacular start last month.
The first-ever meeting of the organization was hosted at the Governor’s Mansion by Gov. Bobby Jindal.  The main speaker for the sold-out event was United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
More than 150 Baton Rouge attorneys and law students were in attendance. Baton Rouge has had student chapters of the Federalist Society for years at the LSU Law School and the Southern Law School, but this marks the first time that practicing attorneys could be part of a Federalist chapter here.
The Federalist Society describes itself as a group of conservatives and libertarians who believe that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to the Constitution, and it is emphatically the duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.  The Federalist Society recognizes that the legal profession and the law schools are dominated by orthodox liberal ideology which advocates a centralized and uniform society.  The Society believes that the priorities of the legal order should be changed to put a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law.
Justice Scalia has been involved with the Federal Society for years and said he was happy to be able to address the members of the bar who were present.
For more on joining the Federalist Society in Baton Rouge, go to www.brfedsoc.org or email brfedsoc@gmail.com