Prof. Kim Wehle participated in the 2024 World Expression Forum, an annual conference dedicated to empowering freedom of expression as a prerequisite for global sustainable development. The conference takes place in Lillehammer, Norway.
Wehle presented a keynote address, “Polarization and Disinformation Before the U.S. Election,” on May 28, 2024. In addition, Wehle participated in a discussion, “Why Do People Vote for Autocrats in the Information Age?” with panelists from Denmark, Poland, Norway and Ukraine.
Her books and commentaries on threats to American democracy, challenges to the rule of law, and a growing public acceptance of authoritarian ideas have garnered attention in Europe, where similar concerns pepper the political discourse. Recently, Wehle was named a Fulbright Scholar for 2024-2025.
Her Fulbright project, which will be conducted in conjunction with scholars in The Netherlands and the University of Virginia, entails empirical research, analysis, and public-facing discussion regarding how citizens actually internalize constitutional norms and use them, to varying degrees, to reinforce constitutional structures through voting, civic participation, financial support, and other means. She will visit The Netherlands during the Spring 2025 semester.
Wehle says she will work with Prof. W.J.M. Voermans, of the University of Leiden, and other scholars to study how social constructivism informs constitutional law and, in turn, how courts and government actors should consider the public’s internalized values in shaping the rule of law. It will continue their three-year collaboration comparing the two oldest constitutions in the world: the U.S. and Dutch Constitutions.
Wehle, who has been on the faculty at Baltimore Law since 2009, teaches administrative law, constitutional law, civil procedure and federal courts. She is the author of three books — How to Read the Constitution — and Why (2019), What You Need to Know About Voting — and Why (2020), and How to Think Like a Lawyer and Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas (2022).
Her forthcoming book, Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works — and Why, will be published in September 2024. Wehle will discuss her new book at the School of Law on Thursday, Oct.17.
UPDATES/University of Baltimore School of Law 