Erroneous Knowledge: Mistaken Beliefs You Probably Have About the U.S. Constitution
Delivered by Philip C. Bobbitt, Herbert Weschler Professor of Federal Jurisprudence
Thursday, April 2nd, 2026
Lecture at 5:00 p.m.
Reception to follow
Professor Sir Philip Bobbitt will explore several widely accepted—but false—assumptions about American Constitutional Law. His lecture challenges various misconceptions including the view that, on the one hand, judicial review was invented in Marbury v. Madison and, on the other, that courts alone determine constitutional meaning.
He also debunks the conventional understanding of “separation of powers,” critiques the role of private funding in federal operations and reexamines claims about presidential immunity arising from United States v. Trump.
With clarity and wit, the lecture will invite attendees to reconsider what they think they know about the Constitution—and to engage more carefully with the methods and principles that actually sustain it.