First in the Nation: NH's 1776 Constitution to the Present
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In recognition of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership & Public Service and New Hampshire Humanities present First in the Nation: New Hampshire’s 1776 Constitution to the Present. The program features Judge. N. William Delker, an associate justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court, leading a conversation about the enduring significance of the New Hampshire Constitution. The sold-out event will take place on Thursday, February 19, 5:30–6:45 pm at the UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law, Room 282, 2 White Street, Concord, NH.
Adopted six months before the national Declaration of Independence, New Hampshire’s first constitution is considered a significant milestone in the colonies’ path toward American constitutional democracy. It was replaced in 1784 with a constitution that continues as the state’s basic law today. Hear unique stories about New Hampshire’s bold break from the Crown, look through the lens of “originalism,” and see how New Hampshire’s frequent constitutional amendments allow today’s voters to share the pen with original drafters.
Panelists include Lorianne Updike Schulzke, Visiting Associate Professor in Law at Yale Law School; and Robert F. Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, Rutgers University of School of Law and Former Director of the Center for State Constitutional Studies. The conversation will be moderated by Judge. N. William Delker, an associate justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court.
Panelists:
Lorianne Updike Schulzke is a Visiting Associate Professor in Law at Yale Law School. She comes from the faculty of the Northern Illinois University College of Law, where she teaches constitutional history, public international law, professional responsibility, and Torts. She also taught Constitutional Law and Constitutional Negotiations as a visiting Associate Professor at Penn State Law. Her expertise lies in constitutional interpretation and comparison, with particular interest in U.S., early state, and the Middle East and North Africa region constitution-writing processes and the Supreme Court's use of history. She has been published by or has forthcoming articles in The University of Chicago Law Review, The International Journal of Constitutional Law, The Connecticut Law Review, The Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law and The Columbia Journal of Race and Law. She has been cited by the Supreme Court and frequently files historical amicus briefs with students in appellate constitutional cases.
Robert F. Williams is Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, Rutgers University of School of Law and Former Director, Center for State Constitutional Studies. Professor Williams has been the legislative advocacy director and executive director of Florida Legal Services, Inc.; an International Legal Center Fellow in Kabul, Afghanistan; and a reporter for the Florida Law Revision Council’s Landlord-Tenant Law Project. In addition, he served as a legislative assistant to Florida Senator D. Robert Graham; a staff attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.; and a law clerk to Chief Judge T. Frank Hobson of the Florida Second District Court of Appeals. His books include The Law of American State Constitutions (2nd Ed. 2023); The New Jersey State Constitution (3d Ed. 2023) and State Constitutional Law, Cases and Materials (5th Edition, 2015. Among his articles are: “In the Supreme Court’s Shadow: Legitimacy of State Rejection of Supreme Court Reasoning and Result” (South Carolina Law Review), “Equality Guarantees in State Constitutional Law” (Texas Law Review), and “In the Glare of the Supreme Court: Continuing Methodology and Legitimacy Problems in Independent State Constitutional Rights Adjudication” (Notre Dame Law Review).
Moderator:
Judge N. William Delker is an associate justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court. He was appointed in August 2011. He served as supervisory judge for the Rockingham County Superior Court from July 2014 until December 2019, when he transferred to Hillsborough Superior Court–North in Manchester to fill a vacancy. In April 2022, he was appointed supervisory judge of that court.
Judge Delker is an active member of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Rules, the Judicial Conduct Committee, the New Hampshire Lawyers Assistance Program Board of Trustees, the NHBA Leadership Academy, and the Superior Court Law Clerk Committee, which he chairs. He is also involved in civics education with area schools and teaches Remedies and State Constitutional Law as an adjunct professor at University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law.
Prior to joining the bench, Judge Delker served as a senior assistant attorney general in the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, where he was a prosecutor for 13 years. During his tenure, he handled numerous high-profile homicide cases, including the capital murder prosecution of Michael Addison. He founded the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit, prosecuted white collar and public integrity crimes, and worked in the appellate unit. He also served as bureau chief of the Criminal Justice Bureau.
