Constitution Day at the Connecticut State Library

CONNECTICUT STATE LIBRARY “3rd THURSDAY OF THE MONTH”BROWN BAG LUNCH SERIES

Wesley Horton, noted Attorney and Connecticut Constitutional Scholar, will speak on the differences between the United States Constitution and the Connecticut Constitution Thursday, September 16, 2010 from Noon to 12:45 p.m. at the Connecticut State Library, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, in observance of Constitution Day. “Studying the Constitution of Connecticut is not like studying the Constitution of the United States. The latter created a government where previously there was none” according to Horton, author of The Connecticut State Constitution: A Reference Guide.

On display at the State Library’s Museum of Connecticut are the founding documents of Connecticut and the United States. In addition to the Fundamental Orders, the Royal Charter, the 1818 and 1965 State Constitutions are Connecticut’s copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Horton is the opening speaker in the State Library’s 2010-2011 Third Thursday Brown Bag Speaker series. The program is free and open to the public. Constitution Day commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. Connecticut is celebrating its 375th annivesary and each 3rd Thursday program at the State Library will focus on important aspects and events relating to the state’s history. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Connecticut State Library and Supreme Court Building.

About the Speaker: Wesley Horton has appeared as appellate counsel, either at argument or on the brief, in hundreds of cases over a span of 36 years. He has participated in some of the most notable cases in the state, including the landmark condemnation case he successfully argued to the U.S. Supreme Court, Kelo v. New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005), and the de facto school desegregation case he argued to the Connecticut Supreme Court, Sheff v. O’Neill, 238 Conn. 1 (1996).

Attorney Horton is a strong advocate for the Connecticut Constitution. He wrote the only published book on the Connecticut Constitution. He published and annotated the debates of 1818 Constitutional Convention, previously available only in newspaper articles published in 1818. He is also a scholar on the history of the Connecticut judiciary, having written The History of the Connecticut Supreme Court, published by Thomsen/West in 2008.

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