Akhil Reed Amar

Akhil Amar
Amar in 2011
Born
Akhil Reed Amar

(1958-09-06) September 6, 1958 (age 65)
NationalityAmerican
TitleSterling Professor (2008–present)
Spouse
Vinita Parkash
(m. 1989)
RelativesVikram Amar (brother)
AwardsAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007)
Academic background
EducationYale University (BA, JD)
InfluencesStephen Breyer
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 and criminal procedure. He holds the position of Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, and is an adjunct professor of law at Columbia University.[1] In 2008, a Legal Affairs poll placed Amar among the top 20 contemporary American legal thinkers.[2]

Early life and education

Amar was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his parents were medical students from India studying at the University of Michigan. His parents later became U.S. citizens.[3] He has two brothers, one of whom, Vikram Amar, also became a law professor and serves as dean of the University of Illinois College of Law.[4] Amar graduated from Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, California, in 1976.[5]

Amar attended Yale University, where he double majored in history and economics. He was a member of the Yale Debate Association and won its Thacher Memorial Prize, as well as Yale's Louis Laun Award for excellence in economics. Amar graduated from Yale in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude. He then attended Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1984.

After law school, Amar clerked from 1984 to 1985 for then-judge Stephen Breyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, who in 1994 became a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Amar then interviewed for a Supreme Court clerkship with Justice John Paul Stevens but did not receive an offer.

Academic career

In 1985, Amar joined the faculty of the Yale Law School, where he has remained ever since. 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—tops 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]

Amar was a consultant to the television show The West Wing, on which the character Josh Lyman refers to him in an episode in Season 5.[6]

Amar has repeatedly served as a Visiting Professor of Law at Pepperdine School of Law and at Columbia Law School and was recently a visiting professor at University of Pennsylvania Law School. He has also lectured for One Day University. He was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007.[7]

In 2008, U.S. presidential candidate Mike Gravel said that he would name Amar to the Supreme Court if elected president.[8]

Amar, a self-described liberal, has since engaged in advocacy considered controversial among progressive outlets, bloggers, and professors.[9][10][11] He argued in favor of Brett Kavanaugh's appointment to the Court[12] and argued that overturning Roe v. Wade would not affect other privacy rights.[13]

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,[14] Floyd Abrams,[15] and Gary Hart.[16]

Books

See also

References

  1. ^ Tam, Derek (November 7, 2008). "Amar Earns Sterling Rank". Yale Daily News. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  2. ^ "Who Are the Top 20 Legal Thinkers in America?". Legal Affairs. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  3. ^ "Akhil Reed Amar: "America's Unwritten Constitution"". The Diane Rehm Show. Washington, DC. September 13, 2012. National Public Radio. WAMU. Transcript.
  4. ^ "Vikram David Amar". University of Illinois College of Law. 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "5.10: The Stormy Present (with Bellamy Young)". The West Wing Weekly. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Lemieux, Scott (June 24, 2022). "Getting Real About the Post-'Roe' World". The American Prospect. The American Prospect, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  10. ^ Weissmann, Jordan (July 10, 2018). "The Liberal Case for Kavanaugh Is Complete Crap". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  11. ^ Koppelman, Andrew (May 22, 2022). "Akhil Amar and the Dobbs draft". The Hill. Nextstar Media, Inc. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  12. ^ Amar, Akhil Reed (10 July 2018). "Opinion | A Liberal's Case for Brett Kavanaugh". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Amar, Akhil Reed (13 May 2022). "The End of Roe v. Wade". Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ "The Purpose of the Truth". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Constitutionalists United". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Filibuster Finis". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 3 August 2023.

External links