Akhil Reed Amar

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Akhil Amar
Amar in 2014
Born (1958-09-06) September 6, 1958 (age 65)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA, JD)
TitleSterling Professor of Law and Political Science
RelativesVikram Amar (brother)
AwardsPaul M. Bator Award (1993)
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007)
Academic work
DisciplineConstitutional law
InstitutionsYale University
Columbia University
University of Pennsylvania
Notable students

Akhil Reed Amar (born September 6, 1958) is an American legal scholar known for his expertise in constitutional law. He holds the position of Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he is a leading scholar of originalism, the U.S. Bill of Rights, and criminal procedure.[1]

Raised in California, Amar was an undergraduate in Yale College before receiving his legal education at Yale Law School. He clerked for Judge (later Justice) Stephen Breyer then became a professor at Yale Law School at the age of 26. He is one of the most frequently-cited legal scholars by the U.S. Supreme Court.[2]

Amar has been active in the American Bar Association and the Federalist Society, with his work receiving awards from both organizations.[3] In 2008, a Legal Affairs poll placed him among the top 20 contemporary American legal thinkers.[4] According to a 2021 study by Fred R. Shapiro, Amar is the 18th most-cited legal scholar of all-time.[5]

Early life and education[edit]

Amar was born on September 6, 1958, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[6] He has two brothers, one of which is Vikram Amar, who is also a legal scholar and was the dean of the University of Illinois College of Law.[7] His parents were medical students from India who met as students at the University of Michigan.[6] His father became a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.[6]

Amar grew up in Walnut Creek, California, and graduated from Las Lomas High School in 1976.[8] He then attended Yale University, where he double majored in history and economics.[1] As a student, he was a member of the Yale Debate Association, winning its Thacher Memorial Prize, and was a chair of the Yale Political Union.[9] He befriended future journalist Richard Brookhiser in his first year in college,[6] and would graduate as a resident of Ezra Stiles College.[10]

In 1980, Amar graduated from Yale with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa.[9] He had developed a serious interest in history studying under professors Edmund Morgan and John Morton Blum, and chose to stay at the university instead of returning to California as he originally planned.[6]

In 1981, Amar entered Yale Law School, where he became an editor of the Yale Law Journal.[9] His teachers included Charles Black, Bruce Ackerman, Owen Fiss, Guido Calabresi, and Burke Marshall.[6] In 1984, Amar obtained his Juris Doctor degree. He was a law clerk for Judge Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1984 to 1985.[9] He then interviewed for a clerkship with Justice John Paul Stevens but did not receive an offer.

Academic career[edit]

Amar speaks with Justice Clarence Thomas (left) at the Constitutional Accountability Center in 2012

Amar joined the faculty of Yale Law School in 1985 as an assistant professor, then became an associate professor in 1988 and a full-time professor in 1990. From 1993 to 2008, he was the law school's Southmayd Professor of Law. He received the school's appointment as a Sterling Professor of Law in 2008.[9] Amar's former students have included four U.S. senators—Cory Booker, Michael Bennet, Chris Coons, and Josh Hawley—and government officials Jake Sullivan and Neal Katyal.[11] Justice Brett Kavanaugh was also a student of Amar.[12]

He is the author of publications and books, including The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840. Justices across the spectrum on the Supreme Court have cited his work in more than four dozen cases—the most among living non-emeritus scholars. In surveys of judicial citations and/or scholarly citations, he typically ranks among America’s five most-cited mid-career legal scholars.[citation needed]

He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007.[13] In 2008, U.S. presidential candidate Mike Gravel said that he would name Amar to the Supreme Court if elected president.[14]

Amar, a self-described liberal, has since engaged in advocacy considered controversial among progressive outlets, bloggers, and professors.[15][16][17] He argued in favor of Brett Kavanaugh's appointment to the Court[18] and argued that overturning Roe v. Wade would not affect other privacy rights.[19]

Since early 2021 he has co-hosted a weekly podcast, Amarica’s Constitution, with a fellow Yale alumnus, Andy Lipka. Guests have included Bob Woodward,[20] Floyd Abrams,[21] and Gary Hart.[22]

Personal life[edit]

Amar and his wife, Vinita Parkash, married in 1989. He has three children: Vikram, Kara, and Sara.[9]

Books[edit]

  • The Constitution and Criminal Procedure: First Principles (1997) ISBN 0-300-06678-3
  • For the People (with Alan Hirsch) (1997) ISBN 0-684-87102-5
  • The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction (1998) ISBN 0-300-07379-8
  • Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking (ed. with Paul Brest, Sanford Levinson, and Jack M. Balkin), (2000) ISBN 0-7355-5062-X
  • America's Constitution: A Biography (2005) ISBN 1-4000-6262-4
  • America's Unwritten Constitution: The Precedents and Principles We Live By (2012) ISBN 978-0-465-02957-0
  • The Bill of Rights Primer: A Citizen's Guidebook to the American Bill of Rights (with Les Adams) (2013) ISBN 978-1-62087-572-8
  • The Law of the Land: A Grand Tour of Our Constitutional Republic (2015) ISBN 978-0-465-06590-5
  • The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of Our Era (2016) ISBN 978-0-465-09633-6
  • The Words that Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840 (2021) ISBN 978-0-465-09635-0

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Tam, Derek (November 7, 2008). "Amar Earns Sterling Rank". The Yale Daily News. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Akhil Amar: Biography" (PDF). whitehouse.gov. July 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  3. ^ "Renowned Yale Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar Explores "The Founding Fathers and the Importance of Civil Discourse" in Captivating Baylor Law Lecture". Baylor University Law School. October 3, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Who Are the Top 20 Legal Thinkers in America?". Legal Affairs. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  5. ^ Shapiro, Fred R. (2021). "The Most-Cited Legal Scholars Revisited". University of Chicago Law Review. 88 (1): 1595–1618.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Nordlinger, Jay (May 22, 2022). "A Professor and the American Heritage". National Review. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Vikram David Amar". University of Illinois College of Law. 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  8. ^ "Obama Names Yale Professor to Key Administration Post". India-West. May 20, 2015. Archived from the original on August 4, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Amar, Akhil (July 2021). "CV – Akhil Reed Amar" (PDF). Yale Law School. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "Notable Alumni | Ezra Stiles College". Ezra Stiles College. Yale University. 2010. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  11. ^ "Akhil Amar: Looking at How America Governs Itself". Zip06. May 25, 2022. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  12. ^ "Filling the Court: From Midnight Judges to Court Packing to Garland, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh". Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. Hunter College. September 2018. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  13. ^ "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter A" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 10, 2011. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  14. ^ Kaplan, Thomas (February 7, 2008). "Gravel's justice of choice: Amar". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  15. ^ Lemieux, Scott (June 24, 2022). "Getting Real About the Post-'Roe' World". The American Prospect. The American Prospect, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  16. ^ Weissmann, Jordan (July 10, 2018). "The Liberal Case for Kavanaugh Is Complete Crap". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  17. ^ Koppelman, Andrew (May 22, 2022). "Akhil Amar and the Dobbs draft". The Hill. Nextstar Media, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  18. ^ Amar, Akhil Reed (10 July 2018). "Opinion | A Liberal's Case for Brett Kavanaugh". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Amar, Akhil Reed (13 May 2022). "The End of Roe v. Wade". Wall Street Journal.
  20. ^ "The Purpose of the Truth". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Constitutionalists United". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Filibuster Finis". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 3 August 2023.

External links[edit]

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