Anniversary of the date when the delegates in philadelphia concluded the work of the constitutional convention. They sent the constitution to the people beginning one of the greatest 10 month debates in american history. With the ratification of the constitution. Rook has provided copies of their final product to tens of thousands of teachers and students all across the country, and you all have a copy of this at your seat today. To celebrate Constitution Day, we are honored to have chad readler, appointed as acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Division at the United States department of justice on january 30, 2017. In this role, he oversees the largest Litigation Team at the department of justice with over 1100 lawyers who manage over 50,000 different matters each year. The Civil Division represents the United States in a wide array of civil litigation, including challenges to president ial executive orders, congressional statutes, federal agency actions, commercial contractincluding dispute and banking and insurance and patents, International Trade matters and enforcement of immigration laws. Now, i felt being someone from ohio who has known our speaker for quite a few years, i try not to hold it against him that his undergraduate and graduate degrees are from the university of michigan. He still roots for them over the buckeyes. But soon after that law degree, for judge nor so the u. S. Court of appeals for the sixth circuit before joining the department of justice. Mr. Readler was a partner at jones day, having successfully argue before the supreme court, the Ohio Supreme Court and lower appellate courts. He is also known for his commitment to pro bono clients. As americans we live in the greatest experiment in selfgovernment that the world has ever seen. It is reassuring to me to know that in this constitutional selfgovernment we have men like chad who have devoted their lives to defending and protecting our constitution. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming assistant attorney general chad readler. [applause] mr. Readler thank you. Good afternoon. I had it in my notes to thank roger for that warm introduction. We started to beer off course but overall i have to say thank you. But thank you to all of you for joining us in the celebration of the constitution in advance of Constitution Day. Of all the many events and individuals we honor in our country, it is difficult to think or a more impactful event in our Nation History then the adoption of the constitution. Ansd more impactful individuals then it siders. Signers. A reminder we all need from time to time, some more than others. Some you may have seen a story on cnn. Com yesterday, done in advance of this Constitution Day celebration. And, according to that story, one in three americans cannot name a single right protected by the First Amendment. And roughly the same number could not name a Single Branch of government. Roger thatownow from anyone associated with ashbrook could ace a quiz, but we have some educating to do. Speaking of roger, you have a terrific leader. For the last five years we had the privilege of working together on the Ohio Constitution Modernization Commission where we tried to think about ways to suggest ways to modernize the constitution, maybe make some of the leg which easier to follow or more tied to modernday practices. This took us into a whole host of areas of really deep discussion about constitutional meaning and constitutional interpretation. So, it was no surprise to me that roger was always at the intellectual fore of those discussions but it was not until some time to our Service Together that i learned that roger was not a lawyer. This is really remarkable to me that he did not have formal legal education. From rogers perspective, had to spend time with a bunch of lawyers, and maybe that is a rough situation but either way it was wonderful to serve on the commission and serve with roger. An extremely capable leader to carry you it is great to be back in ohio. For the last 19 years i practiced law in columbus into i took a job in january with the department of justice in washington. I do not get back to ohio or the midwest as often as i like. What better time or wait to come back than to celebrate Constitution Day with all of you. I did some research on Constitution Day before i came. Ohio is one of the first states to celebrate Constitution Day. My research that i first uncovered suggested ohio first celebrated it in 1952 and some individuals to the movement convinced and congress and president eisenhower to sign a law creating constitution week. I did more research and found out that other states claim that title of having the inspiration behind institution day. I am not sure i will be able to sort out that debate today. I am certain that ohioans are happy to share that honor just as the first 13 states shared the effort to draft and ratify our constitution. While we can debate the origins day, we canion agree that the constitution itself means more to our nation in a single holiday could ever reflect. Has revealed, government and nations have come and gone. Here we are in america in 2017, a nation of free people in a toociety, more than dissolve the bond that joined it to england. How has our nation injured so long when so many others have not . More than anything else, i will submit to you that we have our constitution to thank for our continued prosperity and freedom. How can such an honor be bestowed upon a single document of just over 4000 words in length . How can the signing of one paper by just over three dozen men rank among our nations most Historic Events . The answer, in my mind, is our constitutional protection of liberty, justice and democracy, which paved the way for some many of our future successors. The constitutions enactment was far from certainty. Spurred by years of corals by the states and unrest from the people, delegates of the Constitution Convention arrived in philadelphia with conflicting instructions from their respective states and in unclear relationship with the congress of the existing articles. Saw the way tos frame the document that would serve as a Stable Foundation for an enduring nation. And theggle of interest clash of personalities should many of the causes of our constitution. He sparked many conflicts. The most frequent speaker at the convention, he was passionate, argumentative and ostentatious. Best known from his abolitionist views, he sparked one debate including one over his proposal that language authorized in the congress to print paper money is stripped constitution. A new york representative responded that it would be better to have no constitution been to adopt his proposal. Day,e end, he carried the believing he had successfully hard for the rent from printing paper money. Barred the government from printing paper money. Removing the affirmative power to print money is not the same as for bidding paper money. , a seniorranklin statement at the time of the convention, showed the power of proprietor leadership. Matters,on substantive having james wilson read his remarks for him. He did speak to deliver a story, deliver a joke or propose a position that would be embraced and none of the other delegates present, such as his stillborn proposition that officials not be paid. For glenn was not without influence. Far toegate went so describe him as able to make the very heavens ok. Theelieves many of specifics were less important than that there be no cost to jeanette all. Approach positioned him to reshape the great compromise over equal representation in a plan that the delegates could swallow. In the end, must much of the constitution was to compromise and negotiation. Some very wellknown compromises in the constitution, including the 3 5 compromise. Many lesserknown changes from compromise had lasting effects on our nation. Weconstitutions preamble the people, was written we the people of new hampshire, massachusetts, connecticut and so on. The constitutional amendment process would have been required each time we added a new state. The incompatibility clause had senators barred from other Public Office after leaving the senate. That would have precluded many prominent appointments, mostly general sessions appointment to serve. Our nations leader had he would not have been referred to as the president but as his excellency. Think about that for a minute. There were elements rejected. Thelegate proposed limiting size of our army to 5000 soldiers. George washington wrote to state his opposition. He said i should be holy in favor of this proposal. It only needs to be expanded to only also require that no enemy shall ever invade with more than 5000 troops. The adoption of the constitution did not and in philadelphia end in philadelphia. Seeking to secure support for their propositions. In contrast to the convention with its assemblage of historic personalities, ratification involved the old in taverns, stables, by leaflets and newspapers. The structure of government is against that historic backdrop and the passage of over two centuries, one might fairly expect that any and all possible constitutional questions would have been answered at this point in our nations history. How could the nation still be with constitutional dimension over 200 years after the constitutions enact and when so much went into its crafting and with the nation to sort out any lingering or unanswered uninterpreted questions . Constitutional questions do remain. They are debated through social media rather than reflect. On Cable Television rather than in the town square. No matter the forum, we discussed the same constitution and the same fundamental questions over the balance of Constitutional Authority and limitation. Anddepartment of justice the Civil Division where i serve play a unique role in resolving questions. This is because the civil represents the United States along with its agencies and departments, including each of the branches of government, in the most many of these cases involve national policies, jurisdictional issues and other issues of such breadth. It is important that our governments week with a single voice. Government speak with a single voice. In many of our sensitive matters, the Civil Division is charged with how the constitution as it is over the structure and authority of our federal government. 230 yearur nations constitutional history, there remains no shortage of questions about the meeting of the constitution and the limits it imposes. Mostof our nations contentious political issues debated and legislature or the watercooler im not sure we have water coolers anymore. Oftentimes, the courts are left to resolve these matters, leaving it to the nonpolitical group branch of government. Spirit of this Constitution Day celebration, i would like to highlight some of these constitutional questions that the Civil Division is addressing today. Some of these issues may be familiar to you, others may not. All must be answered. As roger mentioned, i cannot discuss these cases at length. You a sense to give of the important questions being debated in the courts and being addressed by the department of justice. One of those is the ongoing 1780, whichefending has the title protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States. That executive order, about what. Uch has been said the president invoked his power as commanderinchief and as delegated by congress to suspend the entry for 90 days of certain nationals from six countries that presented heightened risks. Individuals challenged that executive order as violation of the constitutional amendment clause. Beenat issue, which has , was done by the Civil Division and introduction with the generals office. It is scheduled to be heard x month before the supreme court. Another matter of public isfunction discussion about century citys. Thers to a vote has a constitutional question at its core. This time imitating from the 10th amendment area and it reads that power is not delegated to the United States by the constitution nor prohibited by the states, but reserves their states respectively or to the people. Some assert that any effort by the United States to require operation on immigration related even where the cooperation is tied to a federal funding program. Questions that underlie broader states over immigration and lawenforcement. Beyond these wellpublicized areas, the Civil Division is tackling other unique questions in the public eye. One case involves the interaction between the First Amendment, the priority and ratifying states, and twitter. To those foreign together by force and buggy. Tweets from accessing from the real donald Trump Twitter account. Inh blocking constitutes violation of the First Amendment. The second set of cases asked about private business activities. A relevant part, that prohibits several officeholders from , office orny present title of any kind whatsoever. Plaintiff makes the night the unique claim that in associate and owned by the president constitutes his acceptance of a foreign present in violation of the cause. The final one has in ohio time. This involves the president s article to power, which reads President Shall appoint officers of the United States. This provision has been read to allow the president to appoint such officers, like members of his cabinet and to remove those officers for any reason. Created independent agencies that exercise executive power but are deemed independent because the president can only remit remove the heads of for anyencies for cause reason, and not at well. Will. They created a single head of the agency that is independent and removable only for a cause. That arrangement infringes upon the article to power of the president. These cases are not sparked debate over their outcome but to provide examples of important constitutional questions that continue to surface, even today. It is the enduring legacy of the cost to ship that individuals are freight free to raise claims and that is questions will be resolved in an orderly manner, as envisioned by the constitutions vision. If you are waiting throughout this talk for the answers to these questions, i can only tell you that the department of justice will vigorously advocate the position of each. I can offer some vital final guidance. December constitutions original meeting. Text,o the constitution structure and history to determine what the words of the constitution could be understood to mean and apply that meaning to todays constitution questions. Interpreting the constitution through its original meaning protects the rule of law, giving the written constitution a fix to meeting that binds everyone, including judges. And to the constitutions original meeting honors the tireless work of its drafters and provides consistent answers to the most difficult questions. They would expect nothing less. A closing thought. From my Office Window at the department of justice, i look out at the National Archives building. On two occasions now, i have gone to view the custom edition. Each time noting the irony that in the building next door, department of justice lawyers and interpreting and applying the words of this unraveled writing. The paper itself is showing its age, but its relevance has never been greater. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you, that was great. With thert constitution more broadly before we get to any modern issues. You and i spent a long time looking at the ohio cant the tuition. Constitution. They have a different character to them. They tend to be much longer and go into more detail. They have been amended far more frequently than the federal constitution. System you think of the that the founders set up that really made it difficult to amend the constitution . That prevented it from becoming like state constitutions . Durability . D to its 4000 words, fairly. Imply written left the courts and the people to interpret over time. Three quarters of the states, not something that is done frequently or lightly. Stay constitutions serve a different role. Federal constitution is an authorization of power to the federal government. Our state constitution limits power of the state has over citizens. In that sense, they serve different purposes. That the amendment than thes much easier amendment process for the federal constitution. We can debate whether those amendments were good or bad. Question ofe the should all these policy issues, whether it is something related to health care or voting, some of these issues should they be put in the constitution or enacted by the legislature . That then gives more flexibility as people find difficulties in executing the laws. When something is put to the constitution, it cannot be changed by legislature. It can be struck down by the court and amended later, but it cannot immediately change. We do need to think about this issue. Opposed to Public Policy result in the legislature. Amended as needed. Cannot let the opportunity pass. We have so Many High School and College Students here to ask you a couple questions about your career path. We like to make lawyer jokes. Mr. Readler i even made one. I showed restraint. About looking back of your career now . T has been very successful now moving to the department of justice. What advice wou