Author to Lecture on 'America's Unwritten Constitution'

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2012) — The right to privacy. One person, one vote. The presumption of innocence. Americans, think of these freedoms, and many more, as constitutional rights. But they can’t actually be found in the text of the Constitution.

“While they’re not explicity written in our Constitution, these things are part of America’s working constitutional system — part of America’s unwritten Constitution,” says constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar, author of "America's Unwritten Constitution, The Precedents and Principles We Live By," published in September by Basic Books.

Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, will visit the University of Kentucky Tuesday, Oct. 9, to deliver the UK College of Law's Roy R. and Virginia F. Ray Lecture. The lecture will take place at 5 p.m. in the College of Law Courtroom at 620 South Limestone. Attendees are invited to join Amar for refreshments and hors d'oeuvres at a reception afterward where he will sign copies of his new book.

Amar is the author of four books, including "America’s Constitution: A Biography," which won the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association, and "The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction," which was awarded a Silver Gavel Certificate of Merit.

A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Senior Scholar at the National Constitution Center, Amar is often cited by the Supreme Court and is a frequent expert witness in Congressional hearings. A former consultant to the television show "The West Wing," he has also discussed constitutional issues on national television and radio programs.

The Roy R. and Virginia F. Ray Distinguished Lecture Series is the preeminent lecture series at UK Law. Established in 1977, the Ray Lecture has featured outstanding jurists and public figures discussing legal topics of current interest for the past 35 years.

For more information, please contact amanda.debord@uky.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Keith Hautala, (859) 323-2396; keith.hautala@uky.edu