Constitutional Chats
Live podcast hosted by Cathy Gillespie and students: Tova Love Kaplan, Jorne Gilbert and Jewel Gilbert
Topic: Live Podcast: Ep. 136 – Amendment I Part 1
When: Tuesday 9/27/2022 at 2:00 pm ET
Join us weekly as we chat with Constitutional experts on hot-topic issues via Zoom! The audience is not on camera but is encouraged to ask questions via the Q&A.
Meet the Guest
Bradley A. Smith
Bradley A. Smith holds the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law position at Capital University Law School. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on election law and campaign finance, and co-author of “Voting Rights and Election Law,” a leading casebook in the field. In 2010 he received the Bradley Prize from the Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, awarded annually “to recognize individuals of extraordinary talent and dedication who have made contributions of excellence defending the institutions of free, representative government and private enterprise.”
In 2000, he was nominated by President Clinton to fill a Republican-designated seat on the Federal Election Commission, where he served for five years, including as Chairman of the Commission in 2004. He has appeared as a guest on all major TV networks, including programs such as The O’Reilly Factor, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Hannity & Colmes, and many others. His 2001 book, “Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform” was praised by columnist George Will as “the year’s most important book on governance.” He has published widely with popular publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and National Review, and his scholarly work has appeared in the Yale Law Journal, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Georgetown Law Journal, the Harvard Journal of Legislation, the Harvard Business Law Review, the George Washington Law Review, the Stanford Law and Policy Review, and many other academic journals.
Professor Smith has been on the Capital University Law School faculty since 1993. From 2013-15 he held the Visiting Judge John T. Copenhaver Chair of Law at West Virginia University, and in 2018-19 was a James Madison Fellow in the Department of Politics at Princeton. He has also taught at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Virginia. Professor Smith earned his B.A. from Kalamazoo College and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and holds an honorary doctorate from Augustana College.
Meet the Hosts
Cathy Gillespie
Cathy Gillespie is the Chair of Constituting America and one of 16 private citizens serving on the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, helping organize the celebration of our country’s 250th birthday in 2026! She is a former Congressional Chief of Staff and former Commissioner of the White House Fellows Commission.
Tova Love Kaplan
Tova Love Kaplan is eighteen years old and lives in Chicago, Illinois. She currently serves as the National Youth Director for Constituting America and runs the National Youth Advisory Council. She is a three-time winner of the “We the Future” contest and is passionate about educating and empowering young people to use their constitutional rights!
Jorne Gilbert
Jorne Gilbert is a recent graduate of Moravian University where he designed a major entitled Dramatic Production and Musical Performance. He used what he learned to further develop the charitable organization Sing For America which he co-founded to produce musicals portraying the art of Truth and Light.
Jewel Gilbert
Jewel Gilbert is Executive Producer of Sing for America, a charity founded by him and his family. Sing for America reveals the Art of Truth and Light through live performance. He is the Operations Director for a new business venture, J. Barker Paving. Jewel holds a BA in Musical Performance/Dramatic