What Does Virtue Have to Do with the Law?

Marc DeGirolami, Darrell Miller, Judge Martha Pacold, Richard W. Garnett, and Samuel Bray on April 23, 2026 at the University of Chicago Law School. The American experiment depends on the people holding something in common. But what was once taken for granted is now up for debate, as all sorts of norms and established beliefs are under attack. Is this the result of an improper intrusion of politics and morality into the legal realm? Should the law aspire to be morally naked? Or does the law depend upon a particular set of moral and political virtues? What makes for a good constitutional judge? Are personal and professional virtues necessary to good judgment? Or do they inhibit it? Is thinking in these terms helpful to address alienation, lack of trust, and institutional collapse? Or does it distract from the real issue? In this spirited conversation, law faculty from a number of philosophical positions come together to discuss the relationship between law, politics, tradition, and virtue. --- This project was made possible through the support of "In Lumine Tuo: Expanding and Sustaining the Catholic Intellectual Tradition Nationwide" (grant #63614) from the John Templeton Foundation and the generous support of our donors. The opinions expressed in this publication ​are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John ​Templeton Foundation.