LEWISTON – Kenneth Starr, the former independent prosecutor who led the 1998 investigation into former President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, will speak at 7:30 p.m. today at Bates College.

Starr will speak on “Meaning of Marriage: Constitution and Judiciary” in the Edmund S. Muskie Archives. The event is free, open to the public and sponsored by the Bates College Republicans.

“Judge Starr’s lecture will draw on his extensive academic experience in the field of law and professional work as a prominent American jurist,” said Nathaniel Walton, chairman of the Maine College Republicans.

“The recent U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito bring particular poignancy to Judge Starr’s lecture and will certainly make this event a very worthwhile one for members of the Bates community,” Walton said in a prepared statement.

Starr is dean of Pepperdine Law School and a partner with the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, P.C., specializing in appellate work. He also teaches Issues in Constitutional Law as an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law and as a distinguished visiting professor at George Mason University School of Law.

He recently published his first book: “First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life,” which was widely acclaimed in legal circles.