This lecture is supported by the fund established to honor Robert W. Kastenmeier, an outstanding graduate of University of Wisconsin Law School, who served with great distinction in the United States Congress from 1958 to 1990.
The Kastenmeier Fund was created to recognize the Congressman's contributions by fostering important legal scholarship in the fields of intellectual property, corrections, administration of justice, and civil liberties. It is a fitting tribute to the leadership of Robert W. Kastenmeier in these areas.
Robert W. Kastenmeier Biography
During his tenure, Congressman Kastenmeier made special contributions to the improvement of the judiciary and to the field of intellectual property law. He drafted the rules for the House Committee on the Judiciary that were used for the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon, as well as the articles of impeachment against Judge Harry Claiborne.
In 1985, Congressman Kastenmeier received the Warren E. Burger Award, presented by the Institute for Court Management, and the Service Award of the National Center for State Courts. In 1988, American Judicature Society honored him with its Justice Award for his contributions to improving the administration of justice.
Support the Robert W. Kastenmeier Lecture
You can support Congressman Kastenmeier's legacy by making a gift to the Kastenmeier Lecture fund today.
Previous Lectures
2024-2025 Kastenmeier Lecture
"Justifications for Fair Uses"
Speaker Biography
Pamela Samuelson is the Richard M. Sherman Distinguished Professor of Law and Information at the University of California, Berkeley. She is recognized as a pioneer in digital copyright law, intellectual property, cyberlaw and information policy. Since 1996, she has held a joint appointment at Berkeley Law School and UC Berkeley’s School of Information. Samuelson is a director of the internationally-renowned Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. She is co-founder and chair of the board of Authors Alliance, a nonprofit organization that promotes the public interest in access to knowledge. She also serves on the board of directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as well as on the advisory boards for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Center for Democracy & Technology, and Public Knowledge. Learn more about Professor Samuelson.
View a Complete List of Kastenmeier Lectures
| 2024-25 |
Pam Samuelson, "Justifications for Fair Uses" |
|---|---|
| 2023-24 |
Judge Michael J. Luttig, "American Democracy and the Rule of Law in Peril." Moderated by Charlie Sykes. |
| 2022-23 | Larry Krasner, Philadelphia District Attorney, "A Conversation with Larry Krasner" |
| 2021-22 | Daniel P. Dinapoli, Andrei Iancu, Lisa Larrimore Ouelette, "Patents and the Public Interest in Pandemic Vaccine Policy," moderated by BJ Ard |
| 2019-20 | Vanita Gupta, “The Federal Government and Local Policing: A Conversation with Vanita Gupta” |
| 2018-19 | Shirley S. Abrahamson, “A Conversation with Justice Shirley Abrahamson” |
| 2017-18 | Maria A. Pallante, "I am the Captain Now: Resisting Piracy and Contortion in the Copyright Marketplace" |
| 2016-17 | Sonia Sotomayor, "A Discussion with Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Supreme Court of the United States" |
| 2015-16 | James Sensenbrenner, "A History of the USA FREEDOM Act" |
| 2014-15 | Bryan Stevenson, "Just Mercy: Confronting Mass Incarceration and Excessive Punishment in America" |
| 2013-14 | John Dean, "Crossing the Line: Watergate, the Criminal Law and Ethics" |
| 2012-13 | Mark A. Lemley, "Software Patents and the Return of Functional Claiming" |
| 2011-12 | Barbara Crabb, "Bridging the Divide between Congress and the Courts" |
| 2010-11 | Bob Herbert, "Afghanistan: What Are We Fighting For?" |
| 2009-10 | Walter Dickey, Cecelia Klingele and Michael Scott, "Re-Imagining Criminal Justice: Implications for Practice, Research and Teaching" |
| 2008-09 | David Obey, "Economic Injustice" |
| 2007-08 | Harold Hongju Koh, Tom Petri, and Russ Feingold, "The National Security Constitution in a Time of Terror" |
| 2006-07 | Carl Gulbrandsen (with remarks from Birch Bayh), "The Law in Action: What the Bayh-Dole Act Means to the University of Wisconsin and the State of Wisconsin and an Effective National Science Policy" |
| 2005-06 | George McGovern, "The Iraq War: Lessons from the Past" |
| 2004-03 | Frank Tuerkheimer, "Civil Rights Act of 1964: Hopes and Promises" Roger Wilkins, "Bob Kastenmeier and 1960s Civil Rights Legislation: Leadership Through Commitment and Foresight" |
| 2003-04 | Lawrence Lessig, "The Forgotten Balance of Robert Kastenmeier" |
| 2002-03 | Anthony Lewis, "Civil Liberties in a Time of Terror" |
| 2001-02 | Douglas Berman, Michael Smith, John Steer, and moderator Thomas W. Hutchison, "Sentencing Criminals: After a Quarter Century of Reform, Where Are We?" |
| 2000-01 | Martin Abrams, Deirdre Mulligan, Paul Schwartz, and moderator Robert Gellman, "From the Bill of Rights to the Internet: Protecting Privacy Rights and Interests in the New Millennium" |
| 1999-00 | Robert Drinan, Michael Gerhardt, Stanley Kutler, Frank Tuerkheimer, and moderator David Broder, "From Watergate to the Present: Impeachment, Presidential Accountability, and the Separation of Powers" |
| 1997-98 | Paul Goldstein, "The Transformation of American Copyright Law" |
| 1996-97 | Abner J. Mikva, "Political Extremism: Is It New, Is It Worse, Is It Curable?" |
| 1995-96 | Symposium: "Is Effective Crime Policy Possible?" |
| 1993-94 | Symposium: "Computer Software Protection: Reinventing Intellectual Property" |
| 1992-93 | William H. Rehnquist, "Seen in a Glass Darkly: The Future of the Federal Court" |
Digital Repository
Visit the UW Law School Digital Repository for more about past Kastenmeier Lectures »
