Power & The People: The Evolution Of The U.S. Federal Judiciary (OOL)
Osher Online | Registration opens Sunday, August 16, 2026 2:00 PM
The American Experiment began with the Declaration of Independence and led to the creation of the federal judiciary, one of the country’s greatest experiments. In this course, we will trace the evolution of the courts from their English roots to their formal establishment in the Constitution.
We will explore how the Supreme Court, lacking the power of the purse or military, derives its authority from its ability to connect with the people of the US and protect democracy. We will examine creation of the federal judiciary and the power of the Marshall Court, the Court’s evolution through the New Deal, the Vinson Court, the Warren Court’s “Rights Revolution,” and the role of today’s US Supreme Court.
This program will meet on Thursdays, 10/15/26 through 11/19/26 at 12:00 pm.
Each live session is 90 minutes
Thursday, October 15
Thursday, October 22
Thursday, October 29
Thursday, November 5
Thursday, November 12
Thursday, November 19
As this class is delivered by the National Resource Center for OLLIs (NRC) at Northwestern University, you will receive a welcome email from osheronline@northwestern.edu. The email will include your credentials (username & password) as well as a hyperlink to the Osher Online Website through which you will access your course website.
Please save the link once you receive it. Multi-session courses will use this same link each week.
Lauren Andersen
Lauren Andersen is the director of the Utah Judicial Institute. Andersen practiced appellate law in the state of California and presented arguments to the California Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court. During this time, Andersen closely studied the Roberts Court. She has lectured about the Supreme Court and the death penalty. Her opinions were quoted by The New York Times and the ABA Journal. She was previously the director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Utah.