U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, who has served as a legislator for more than 30 years, will visit MSU’s campus Friday to give a speech for ethics in the law profession.
The Frank J. Kelley Institute of Ethics and the Legal Profession, in the MSU College of Law, holds a yearly lecture series — Levin’s will be this year’s centerpiece.
The 12:30 p.m. speech will take place in the Law College Building on the subject of the “nuclear option,” a political tactic used in the U.S. Senate that allows the Senate to vote and decide on certain issues with a bare majority. This goes against some Senate bylaws that require two-thirds votes and 60 percent votes to pass certain things.
It’s not ordinary for someone of Levin’s stature to give the Kelley lecture, said Hannah Brenner, co-director of the institute and law professor. But Levin has a personal connection to the institute’s namesake.
Levin worked for then-attorney general of Michigan, Frank Kelley, after he graduated from Harvard Law School. Kelley is the longest-serving attorney general in U.S. history, having served for 37 years.
Brenner said the relationship is part of the reason for selecting Levin to give the lecture.
The lecture is open to the public, but attendants are usually affiliated with the law college, she said.
MSU Law School Democrats President Christopher Chavis rearranged his schedule Thursday afternoon so he could attend the lecture.
Chavis, a second year law student, said he’s interested in going into politics and wants to hear what Levin has to say about how Congress has changed during the time he’s been there.
“It’s great to be able to hear a prominent Democrat speak,” he said.
Levin is the longest-serving Michigan senator and plans to retire at the end of his term in 2014.
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