John Fabian Witt, Yale Law School, will deliver the 2026 McCorkle Lecture, “Power Not Rights: The Secret History of 20th-Century Constitutionalism,” at the University of Virginia Law School on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at 4:00 and will be introduced by Risa Goluboff will introduce Witt. A reception will follow. He explains, “What if what we think we know about the rights revolution of the 20th century is wrong? What if landmarks like Brown v. Board of Education originated not in ideas about rights at all? As liberal constitutionalism passes from the scene, ‘Power Not Rights’ proposes a revisionist history of its origins with trenchant lessons for the present.”
--Dan Ernst