Department of Justice: Executive Supervision or Independence?

On June 17, 2021, The Federalist Society's Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group hosted a teleforum exploring the "Department of Justice: Executive Supervision or Independence?".With the change in presidential administration, some critics and scholars have argued that a need for independence at agencies like the Department of Justice should be reconsidered. To whom is the Department of Justice accountable? Whose interests does it represent? When a change in executive leadership occurs, should the policies at agencies like DOJ be subject to change as well? And, if so, how far does that latitude extend—to prosecutorial policies, to enforcement discretion, to the questions of constitutional and statutory and criminal law interpretation delegated for resolution to DOJ? This distinguished panel discussion will address these issues and the core question of which governmental actors our constitutional system has charged with directing the arc of the use of that authority.Featuring:-- Bob Bauer, Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence, New York University Law School; former White House Counsel-- Steven Engel, Partner, Dechert LLP; former Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice-- Jamie Gorelick, Partner, WilmerHale; former Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice-- Hon. Michael Mukasey, Of Counsel, Debevoise & Plimpton; 81st Attorney General of the United States-- Moderator: Hon. Chad Readler, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit