At 7 p.m. of December 25th, Prof. Lawrence K. Hellman, Dean Emeritus of the School of Law in Oklahoma City University, offered a frontier academic lecture in response to the invitation of School of Law and Politics from BNUZ. The lecture, which entitled The Meaning of Federal Court to the Constitution of United States, was held in the Moot Court. The Department Head of Anglo-American Law System, Associate Prof. Hongyou Sun from BNUZ presided over the lecture.

Starting with the drafting of Constitution after American Revolution, Prof. Hellman talked about today’s maturing triangular frame, which consists of legislation, administration and judiciary. On this basis, the formation of the Federal Court, the generation of Federal Judges, and the definition and types of jurisdiction were introduced. By referring to cases including the review of Immigration Act, the abolition of slavery, individual resistance of illegal arrest without due process, and requirement of blacks for equal protection rights, students recognized the developing process of interpreting similar cases differently in accordance with the same provisions from Constitution. Simultaneously, through analyzing the related ratio decidendi, students got a better understanding on the flexible explanation of some vague and controversial concepts.

Finally, Prof. Hellman introduced the OCU cooperation projects between the School of Law in Oklahoma City University and some Chinese universities, which include Nankai University, Hunan University, and BNUZ. He also played two short videos to show the colorful life of participated students, and encouraged more students to join in.

This lecture not only left students with initial impression of unconstitutional review, but also made them feel the courage of Constitution of United States in struggling for individual and collective rights. It is undoubtedly that the meaning of Federal Court to the Constitution of United States is significant.

Speaker Profile:
Lawrence K. Hellman is a Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus of the School of Law in Oklahoma City University. He was awarded Bachelor of Science, MBA, and Doctor of Judicial Science in Washington and Lee University and Northwestern University separately; and obtained the Law License of Oklahoma in 1970.

Prof. Hellman was the legal consultant of Anti-Monopoly Bureau in the US Department of Justice during the year 1970 to 1974. From 1977, he began to work and served as the Dean of School of Law in Oklahoma City University.

The main research areas that Prof. Hellman has undertaken are judicial ethics and legal education. He has also published a number of articles and essays in various core journals in the field of law.