Economic Liberty & the Constitution: Hertog Conversations with Hon. Don Willett

In 2015, then-Texas Supreme Court Justice Don R. Willett issued a widely read concurrence championing economic liberty and challenging courts’ traditional deference to legislatures on economic matters. In striking down an occupational-licensing requirement for eyebrow threading, Willett wrote, “Threaders with no license are less menacing than government with unlimited license.” Now a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Mr. Willett addresses Hertog fellows on the constitutional protections for economic freedom and the original meaning of these constitutional provisions.

This conversation was recorded via Zoom on July 27, 2020, and was moderated by Adam J. White (American Enterprise Institute). This conversation was part of the 2020 Political Studies Program.