Constitution Day Talk Examines Presidential Power and Constitutional Limits

At 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, Geoffrey Corn ’83, the George R. Killam Jr. Chair of Criminal Law and director of the Center for Military Law and Policy at Texas Tech University School of Law, will deliver Hartwick College’s Constitution Day address, “Commander-in-Chief or Constitutional Overreach?,” in the Shineman Celebration Room in the Shineman Chapel House. A reception will follow from 6–7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. 

Corn’s lecture will examine the constitutional boundaries of presidential authority in matters of national security, using the landmark Steel Seizure Case of 1952 as a guide. Long regarded as a touchstone for defining executive power, the case—and particularly the Court’s concurring opinions—offers insight into current debates about the scope of presidential action. Corn will also draw connections to more recent disputes over executive authority.

A 1983 Hartwick graduate, Corn retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel after more than two decades of service. His military career spanned assignments as a tactical intelligence officer, defense counsel, prosecutor, and legal advisor, including roles as chief of international law for U.S. Army Europe and senior law of war expert for the Army. Following his active duty, he transitioned to academia, where he has become a leading scholar on military law, national security and constitutional limits on executive power.

This event is being presented in recognition of Constitution Day. It is part of the College’s True Blue Weekend and is sponsored by the Hartwick Institute of Public Service and the Office of Civic Engagement.