Kevin Conway
Marquette parent gives major gift to endow internationally recognized Marquette Mentors program
Marquette University’s internationally recognized Marquette Mentors program has received a gift that will ensure its future in perpetuity thanks to a Marquette parent. Daniel S. Jaffee, who currently serves as a Marquette mentor, has had two of his three children graduate from Marquette and serve in the program. “I’ve always had a kinship with Marquette…
History and Tradition in First Amendment Intellectual Property Cases: A Critique
To define the contours of certain constitutional rights, the Supreme Court has recently turned to explicit appeals to “history and tradition.” For just two leading examples, consider New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen in 2022, involving the Second Amendment, and Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization the same year, concerning the…
Marquette Law School Poll to release results of national surveys on Iran war, Trump administration, U.S. Supreme Court, June 3-4
The Marquette Law School Poll will release the results of its national survey of public opinion via written releases over two days, June 3-4. On Wednesday, June 3, the Marquette Law School Poll will release results of a national survey on an extensive list of topics, including the Iran war, the 2026 congressional vote, and…
A Career Built on ‘a Strong Public Service Ethos’
Diane Sykes says she owes everything she has accomplished to her parents. Her father, Gerald Schwerm, was a civil engineer with a master’s degree in public administration. He was named village manager of the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer in 1966 and played a central role in developing the village. He later became transportation and…
Judge Sykes in Her Own Words
A “Bold,” “Confident,” and Entertaining Moment at the Dedication of Eckstein Hall In the photo above, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson (left) and Marquette University President, Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J., (right), respectively applaud and laugh as Justice Antonin Scalia smilingly greets Judge Diane S. Sykes, upon her introducing him as the…
Minimalism and Its Limits
This is an edited text of a speech Judge Sykes gave as the B. Kenneth Simon Lecture in Constitutional Thought at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., on September 17, 2014, shortly before the beginning of the Supreme Court’s 10th term during the tenure of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. The full version can…
Lincoln and the Human Dimension of Law Practice
This is an edited text of remarks by Chief Judge Sykes at the Marquette Law Review banquet on March 28, 2025. One hundred and eighty-eight years ago this month, another newcomer to the profession was—like you—standing at the threshold of a career in the law. He started inauspiciously, but Providence had other ideas in mind.…
Citizens United in the Montana Supreme Court
This is an edited text of a talk Judge Sykes gave on a number of occasions, starting in November 2012. When I came to the Seventh Circuit in 2004, I had been a state court judge for 12 years—seven years on the trial-court bench in Milwaukee and five years on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. So…
Thoughts on the Book, ‘Cosmic Constitutional Theory,’ by Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III
This an edited text of remarks by Judge Sykes to the Indianapolis Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society on December 12, 2012. One of the important and recurring themes in our perennial debate about constitutional adjudication is the role of judicial restraint. But the issue only rarely breaks through into the public consciousness. The role…
Learning the Rules, the Language—and the Pursuit of the Common Good
This is an edited text of remarks by Chief Judge Sykes at the orientation for first-year Marquette law students on August 22, 2025. I am a proud Marquette lawyer—Class of 1984—and I’m delighted to join you today as you begin your legal education at this wonderful law school. Forty-four years ago, I sat where you…