RCLL Panel Discussion: Is the Constitution Still Relevant to You? - Summed up
October 10, 2025
On Tuesday, September 30th, 2025, the Riverside County Law Library hosted the first of hopefully many events oriented around civics education. The event was a panel discussion titled “Is the Constitution Still Relevant?” We managed to draw in about 10 patrons in-person and 11 on zoom for the panel of four experts discussing this important question. Our panelists were: Peter Mort (Professor | Attorney), Hadley Bajramovic – (Attorney), Mohammad Asef – Attorney, and John W. Cioffi - Professor | Attorney. The video is now available on YouTube.
The discussion was lively and both panelists and members of the audience wished there was more time for the event to go longer. I was pleased that so much enthusiasm could be generated for a seemingly boring topic. As I mention in my opening remarks, I was rather ignorant about the constitution and its implications for civic life. I asked the panelists in earnest whether it was relevant or not, and I was surprised to see how much debate, if not controversy, this simple question could spin up. I think the lively response indicates the way this question speaks to something at the heart of people’s concerns about the country.
With different career orientations and legal expertise, the panelists brought their own unique perspectives to the table. Professor Mort was an attorney, and, in his retirement, he was approached by UCR to teach MOOT court and constitutional law. Both his professional and educational background shined through his pedagogical approach to the discussion. Hadley Bajramovic is an immigration attorney who opened and leads a private practice in the Canyon Crest Town Center. For her, the disruptions to the legal processes of immigration court were emphasized and elaborated at length. Anxieties around the deterioration of immigration court seem to permeate the panel as other voices thought it indicated a general breakdown of an old legal system and the ushering in of a new one. Civil litigator Mohammad Asef shared his overall enthusiasm for the unique nature of America’s constitution against the background of his experience growing up in Afghanistan, a country with no such document. His contribution treated the audience to the consequences and sometimes paradoxes of the debate between an originalist interpretation of the constitution and the interpretation of it as a living document. Finally, Professor John Cioffi, although having been an attorney in his past life, went for a more historical and scholarly approach to his discussion. Following Professor Mort, it was also pedagogical, giving context and quick historical summaries of the developments of certain legal processes.
Despite differences in background and approach, all panelists shared in anxieties that due process, as they had known it through their legal and teaching careers, was beginning to dissolve. This meant that predictability in the law was dissolving, and the country’s legal system was heading for unknown waters. As the panelists frequently stressed, it is a truly open question about where the country is going, and they seemed reticent to place all their hopes in the constitution as a guide to that future.
For my part, I found all these contributions enlightening and worth listening to, and I am proud that the library could host this important conversation. It’s interesting to think we could have 4 different panelists presented with the same question and the panel could have turned out completely different.
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Written by Yanis Ait Kaci Azzou, Library Assistant
