John Dean, former White House counsel, is the keynote speaker at the Constitution Day events on Wed., Sept. 17 at Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark. The public is invited to attend at no charge.

A free-speech forum with tables from area political groups and voter registration will open at 10 a.m. in front of the Performing Arts Center on campus. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided at 11:30 a.m.

Dean, a prolific author, lecturer and columnist for FindLaw.com, will address the community in the Main Stage of the Performing Arts Center at noon, with a question and answer session to follow.

The lecture will have no tickets or reservations, and seats in the 400capacity theater will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Dean, whose testimony before Congress in 1972 helped lead to the opening of impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon, is the author of several books, including "Blind Ambition" in 1976 and his most recent, "Broken Government: How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches," in 2007.

Constitution Day kicks off the Year of Democracy at the college. A calendar of events is available at www.moorparkcollege.edu/ yearof.