Kaplan Johnson Abate & Bird
Cassie Chambers Armstrong focuses her practice on litigation. She has significant courtroom experience; prior to joining the firm, she was the lead attorney on multiple trials. She has worked on class actions, appeals, and other complex litigation.
Previously, she was a Skadden Fellow at a Kentucky nonprofit, where she formulated and implemented impact litigation strategies.
Her graduate degrees in Public Health and Public Management give her a unique perspective on the intersection between health care, government, and law.
Sheila M. McDevitt Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Election Law Center, Florida State University College of Law
Professor Morley joined FSU Law in 2018, and teaches and writes in the areas of election law, constitutional law, remedies, and the federal courts. He is best known for his work on election emergencies and post-election litigation, nationwide and other defendant-oriented injunctions, the jurisdiction of the federal courts and their equitable powers more generally. He has testified before congressional committees, made presentations to election officials for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and participated in bipartisan blue-ribbon groups to develop election reforms. The governor of Florida also appointed Professor Morley to the Criminal Punishment Code Task Force, to propose potential revisions to the legislature.
The U.S. Supreme Court has cited several of his articles, and he was counsel of record for the successful Petitioner in a landmark campaign finance case. Professor Morley has appeared on C-SPAN, Court TV, Fox News and numerous local news programs, and has been quoted in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, Politico, U.S. News and World Report, and a wide range of other national publications. His work has been published in many of the nation’s top law reviews, including the Georgetown Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, Boston University Law Review and Emory Law Journal.
Before joining FSU Law, Professor Morley was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School. Prior to his experience in academia, he served in government as special assistant to the General Counsel of the Army at the Pentagon, as well as a law clerk for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. During his tenure with the Army General Counsel’s office, he was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the Army Staff Lapel Pin. He also worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP and the Supreme Court & Appellate group of Winston & Strawn, LLP, both in Washington, D.C.
Professor Morley earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2003, where he was a senior editor on the Yale Law Journal; served on the moot court board; and received the Thurman Arnold Prize for Best Oralist in the Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals.
Member, Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC
John is a Member in Stoll Keenon Ogden’s Louisville office and has been with the firm since 2007. He has a track record of success in Labor and Employment Law spanning 35 years, and is honored to serve as Chair of the Kentucky State Labor Relations Board, which resolves disputes between public employers and their labor organizations.
He is responsible for creating binding legal precedent entitling employers to secure indemnity from other parties in harassment or retaliation cases. He has also established legal precedent holding that the claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress is preempted by statute. In a class discrimination case, he prevailed in challenging a claim brought by the federal government that women were categorically excluded from coal mining jobs.
For his many accomplishments, John has been distinguished with multiple local, state and national recognitions, including more than eight consecutive years of being listed in the Best Lawyers in America® peer-review publication.
Labor, Employment & Employee Benefits: John’s extensive experience encompasses the full breadth of employment law, including traditional labor law, claims of harassment and retaliation, breach of contract disputes and enforcement of trade secrets.
Appellate: Once a trial court decision has been made, John is fully prepared to take cases to court at the state or federal level as necessary to obtain a satisfactory resolution. He has obtained favorable verdicts for both appellants and appellees.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Amul R. Thapar serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His judicial career began in 2007 when President George W. Bush nominated him to serve on the Eastern District of Kentucky, making him the first South Asian Article III judge in American history. In 2017, he became President Donald J. Trump’s first appellate court nominee.
Before joining the bench, Judge Thapar served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. While United States Attorney, Judge Thapar worked on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (“AGAC”) and chaired the AGAC’s Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture subcommittee. He also served on the Terrorism and National Security subcommittee, the Violent Crime subcommittee, and the Child Exploitation working group.
Judge Thapar has worked in private practice, at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Columbia.
Judge Thapar received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, Judge Thapar worked as a law clerk to the Honorable S. Arthur Spiegel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Judge Thapar has also published in the Yale Law Journal, Michigan Law Review, and Catholic University Law Review. He teaches courses on originalism, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and legal writing at Notre Dame Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, and Vanderbilt Law School.
Former Justice, Supreme Court of Kentucky
Laurance B. VanMeter, of Lexington, Kentucky, served on the Kentucky Supreme Court from 2017 to 2025 where he was just the third Justice to have served at all four levels of the Kentucky unified court system. His fellow justices elected him as Chief Justice of Kentucky beginning in January 2023. His term ended in January 2025 following his decision not to seek a second term on the Court.
Before his election to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice VanMeter served thirteen years as a Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, having been first elected in November 2003. He also served as a Fayette Circuit Court judge and as a Fayette District Court judge.
Prior to his judicial service, he was a partner in the Kentucky firm of Stoll, Keenon & Park where his practice included business organization and planning, estate planning, real estate, and taxation, largely with the equine industry. Chief Justice VanMeter served on or chaired various committees within the Kentucky judicial branch: Evidence Rules Review Commission, Civil Rules Committee, Kentucky Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Commission, Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions, Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Judicial Form Retirement Systems, Ethics Committee of the Kentucky Judiciary, and Judicial Conduct Commission. In addition, he served as the Court of Appeals’ acting Chief Judge, and as its Chief Judge Pro Tempore.
He earned an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University with a major in history in 1980, and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1983. More recently, he earned an LL.M. degree, May 2020, from Duke University School of Law and, in July 2020, was elected to The American Law Institute. In 2024, Chief Justice VanMeter received the Kentucky Bar Association’s Distinguished Judge Award and his college fraternity’s Award for Distinguished Public Service. He was appointed to the Uniform Law Commission in May 2025.
Legal Director & General Counsel, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
Kent S. Scheidegger has been the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation since December 1986. He also served as Chairman of the Criminal Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society 2003 to 2005. His articles on criminal and constitutional law have been published in law reviews, national legal publications, and congressional reports. Legal arguments authored by Mr. Scheidegger have been cited and incorporated in several precedent-setting United States Supreme Court decisions.
After receiving a degree in physics with honors from New Mexico State University in 1976, Mr. Scheidegger served for six years in the United States Air Force as a Nuclear Research Officer. He took his law degree with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1982 and practiced civil law in Northern California. He was general counsel of California Cooler, Inc. from 1984 until 1986, when he joined the Foundation.
Principal, Legis Matters
Karl T. Kurtz is principal of Legis Matters, a consulting firm that focuses on strengthening democratic institutions, especially legislatures, at home and abroad. He previously worked for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) from its founding in 1975 until his retirement in 2014.
Karl has written, consulted and lectured widely on American state legislatures, elections and public opinion. He is coauthor of Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy and coeditor of Institutional Change in American Politics: The Case of Term Limits. He has provided advice and assistance in the development of democratic institutions to legislators and legislative staff throughout the world. As a consultant to NCSL, Karl is currently leading a national study of how legislatures can overcome problems of political polarization and effectively reach settlements and negotiate differences on critical issues.
Before joining NCSL, Karl taught political science at the University of Georgia. He worked on the staff of the United States Congress as a Congressional Fellow of the American Political Science Association. He holds an AB degree from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. from Washington University (St. Louis).
Former Congressman, VP and Dir., Center for Law and Government, Liberty University
Former Congressman Hurt is the Vice President and Director of the Center for Law and Government at Liberty University. From 2011 to 2017 he represented Virginia’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and served on the House Financial Services Committee.
Congressman Hurt began his time in public service in 2001 as a member of the Chatham Town Council. From 2002 to 2007, Hurt served in the Virginia House of Delegates, and from 2008 to 2010, he represented the 19th District in the Senate of Virginia for two years.
Congressman Hurt lives in Chatham, Virginia with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons, Charles, Clement and John.
Principal, Legis Matters
Karl T. Kurtz is principal of Legis Matters, a consulting firm that focuses on strengthening democratic institutions, especially legislatures, at home and abroad. He previously worked for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) from its founding in 1975 until his retirement in 2014.
Karl has written, consulted and lectured widely on American state legislatures, elections and public opinion. He is coauthor of Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy and coeditor of Institutional Change in American Politics: The Case of Term Limits. He has provided advice and assistance in the development of democratic institutions to legislators and legislative staff throughout the world. As a consultant to NCSL, Karl is currently leading a national study of how legislatures can overcome problems of political polarization and effectively reach settlements and negotiate differences on critical issues.
Before joining NCSL, Karl taught political science at the University of Georgia. He worked on the staff of the United States Congress as a Congressional Fellow of the American Political Science Association. He holds an AB degree from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. from Washington University (St. Louis).
Former Congressman, VP and Dir., Center for Law and Government, Liberty University
Former Congressman Hurt is the Vice President and Director of the Center for Law and Government at Liberty University. From 2011 to 2017 he represented Virginia’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives and served on the House Financial Services Committee.
Congressman Hurt began his time in public service in 2001 as a member of the Chatham Town Council. From 2002 to 2007, Hurt served in the Virginia House of Delegates, and from 2008 to 2010, he represented the 19th District in the Senate of Virginia for two years.
Congressman Hurt lives in Chatham, Virginia with his wife, Kathy, and their three sons, Charles, Clement and John.
Director, Campaign Finance Strategy, Campaign Legal Center
Erin Chlopak joined the Campaign Legal Center in August 2018, after spending nearly a decade working on a wide range of campaign finance issues in the Federal Election Commission’s Office of General Counsel. Her areas of focus include CLC’s appellate and district court litigation and its Federal Reform and State & Local Reform programs.
From 2017 to 2018, Erin served as the head of the FEC’s Policy Division, overseeing all of the Division’s work on FEC regulations, advisory opinions, and other legal policy guidance. From 2009 to 2017, Erin worked in the FEC’s Litigation Division as a staff attorney and then as Assistant General Counsel, litigating numerous constitutional and other campaign finance cases. She has argued before federal district and appellate courts, including before the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Holmes v. FEC, in which the court unanimously upheld the federal per-election limits on individual contributions to candidates.
Erin began her legal career as a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, after clerking for Judge Helen Gillmor of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. She received her undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and her law degree from American University’s Washington College of Law.
Senior Attorney, National Taxpayers Union Foundation
Tyler Martinez is a Senior Attorney at the Taxpayer Defense Center, the strategic litigation arm of National Taxpayers Union Foundation. He has experience setting up nonprofit public interest arms for multiple organizations in the Washington, DC area and thus has experience in First Amendment, Tax, and Administrative Law. He has practiced strategic litigation against government overreach since 2011, handling federal and state cases across the country.
Tyler’s interest in strategic public interest work and in tax law comes down to the simple principle: getting the government out of people’s business. Transparency is for the government, but privacy is for the people. He finds and focuses on examples of government overreach particularly those involving use of private information, dragnet data collection, and other attacks on privacy of association.
Tyler earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado Law School, while winning accolades for his advocacy skills and serving as Executive Editor of the Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law. He is licensed to practice law in Colorado and the District of Columbia. He is further admitted to the bars of the following federal courts: Supreme Court of the United States, D.C. Circuit, First Circuit, Second Circuit, Third Circuit, Fourth Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Eighth Circuit, Tenth Circuit, and various federal district courts across the country.
Stare Decisis Panel
Cassie Chambers Armstrong, Michael T. Morley, John O. Sheller, Amul R. Thapar, Laurance B. VanMeter
2019 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 7, 2019, The Federalist Society held a panel on Stare Decisis at its...
Mathena v. Malvo - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Kent Scheidegger
featuring Kent Scheidegger
On October 16, 2019, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Mathena v. Malvo, a...
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Hernandez v. Mesa
On November 12, 2019, the Supreme Court will once again take up Hernandez v. Mesa on...
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Nondelegation After Gundy
While the Supreme Court repeatedly has proclaimed that Congress cannot delegate its law-making power, in...
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The Recurring Money Question
As Wayne says, the question of money is always a hot topic. How money fits...
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Questions about Money
A retired university professor, a veteran central bank watcher, the former head of a Federal...
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51 Imperfect Solutions for the Ethical Practice of Law
Each of the States and the District of Columbia regulates the practice of law. In...
Necessary & Proper Episode 50: Laboratories of Democracy, Part 2: Can Congress learn from State Legislatures?
Karl Kurtz, Robert Hurt
The concept of states serving as important test cases for national governance dates to the...
Necessary & Proper Episode 50: Laboratories of Democracy, Part 2: Can Congress learn from State Legislatures?
Karl Kurtz, Robert Hurt
The concept of states serving as important test cases for national governance dates to the...
Is It Transparency or Is It Censorship? Washington Post v. McManus
Erin Chlopak, Tyler Martinez
In Washington Post v. McManus, various newspapers brought suit to strike down a new Maryland law...