Constitutional Law

In the wake of the FBI’s raid on President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, former White House counsel and Harvard Law lecturer Neil Eggleston reveals how departing presidents have typically preserved official records.

Ketanji Brown Jackson ’96 becomes the first Black woman to serve on the Court

Retired United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer ’64 is returning to Harvard Law School, where he will teach seminars and reading groups, write, and produce scholarship.

Nikolas Bowie ’14, a scholar of constitutional law, local government law, and legal history, was named a professor of law at Harvard Law School.

Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith says laws and norms established after President Nixon's resignation 'had a great run,' but the Trump presidency proved that new reforms are needed.

The Petrie-Flom Center hosted ‘Roe in limbo: A town hall on the leaked Dobbs opinion.’

Professor Guy-Uriel E. Charles, the Charles Ogletree, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

In this installment of “Cases in Brief,” Harvard Law Professor Richard Lazarus ’79 discusses the landmark citizen-suit case, Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife (1992), which hindered the ability to bring environmental citizen suits for much of the 1990s.

In a philosophical and wide-ranging Last Lecture, Harvard Law School Assistant Professor Nikolas Bowie ’14 reminded the Class of 2022 that they are on the verge of changing the world.

The Supreme Court stands poised to decide whether a high school coach’s penchant for prayers with players poses First Amendment problems.

In the first of the series, “Cases in Brief,” Harvard Law Professor Dehlia Umunna discusses the infamous “Scottsboro Boys” case, Powell v. Alabama (1932), in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the first time that defendants in capital cases have the right to adequate legal counsel.

The Hon. Loretta Lynch ’84, who was Attorney General of the United States from 2015 to 2017, will be this year’s speaker for the Class Day ceremonies at Harvard Law School.

During Winter Term, Cravath International Fellows pursued independent clinical placements or research projects, exploring legal frameworks and practices in six countries.

Professor Matthew Stephenson, an anticorruption law expert and founder of the Global Anticorruption Blog, explains the myriad ways corruption may play a role in Russia's war in Ukraine.

Ketanji Brown Jackson ’96 was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Biden. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

Jeffery Robinson ’81 has made challenging false narratives about racism his life’s work.

In his new book, Noah Feldman offers a fresh perspective on the decisions Abraham Lincoln made regarding the U.S. Constitution — many of which he describes as legally indefensible.

“There aren’t a lot of jobs where your only job is to figure out what the law is and apply it to the facts without anybody from the outside pressuring you to take a certain position or view it in a certain way,” says Jonathan Papik.

A wide range of books by faculty, from a collection of essays on the ethics of consumer genetic testing to a look at the fate of constitutional institutions in populist regimes to a delightful children's book by a legal philosopher

With the rise of social media and the decline of traditional news outlets, especially local news, “constitutional democracy itself is in the balance,” writes Minow in her new book.

In his book “The Authority of the Court and the Peril of Politics,” Justice Stephen Breyer explored how the Court can continue to maintain its vital role as a check on the rest of the government.

Harvard Law Today offers a look back at Justice Stephen Breyer's career and his legacy, and his lifelong connection to Harvard Law School.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer ’64, who focused on the consequences of his judicial decisions, has announced that he will step down after more than a quarter century on the Court.

In the wake of the news that Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer ’64 will retire at the end of the current term, Harvard Law School faculty members offer their thoughts on his tenure, legacy, and how the nation’s highest court could change after his departure.

Richard Lazarus ’79, a Supreme Court advocate and the Howard and Katherine Aibel Professor of Law, reflects on Justice Breyer's "striking pragmatism" — and passion — during his 28 years on the Court.

HLS Professor Andrew Crespo was one of 59 members elected to the American Law Institute this year. Thirteen Harvard Law School alumni were also elected.

Former White House Counsel Neil Eggleston says President Biden has “restored dignity and public purpose to the White House” but that his agenda faces strong opposition from some state attorneys general.

In this series, Harvard Law experts turn a critical eye to the Biden administration’s efforts on health care, the economy, criminal justice reform, and other areas important to Americans — and share their thoughts on its agenda for the future.

In a case that could have national implications, the Harvard Law School Crimmigration Clinic recently convinced judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to discredit the use of controversial municipal gang databases in immigration proceedings.

Harvard Law School expert Mark Tushnet says the Biden administration has succeeded in appointing federal judges and also “opened space” for discussion of Supreme Court reform.

Sanford Levinson speaks with Harvard Law Today on the question before the Supreme Court: Whether Boston can deny a religious group permission to fly a Christian flag on a Boston City Hall flagpole it labeled a “public forum” for “all applicants.”

Two Harvard Law School scholars explain why the Garland v. Gonzalez case could have broader implications for immigrants and advocates.

Harvard Law Today asked experts from across Harvard Law School to share their perspectives on January 6, 2021, the events that have unfolded since, and the implications for American democracy going forward.

The Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School (ALPP) and the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) have jointly filed an amicus curiae brief with the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, urging it to recognize that nonhuman animals can have legal rights.

At the recent Rappaport Forum, panelists discussed abortion rights and whether the Supreme Court should honor precedent — or jettison Roe v. Wade. 

When asked what he wanted to be remembered by, longtime Harvard Law Professor and former Watergate prosecutor Philip B. Heymann ’60 replied: “Speaking truth to power.” Heymann, a beloved colleague and distinguished public servant, died Nov. 30 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 89.

Professor Emeritus Mark Tushnet explains how the Supreme Court’s decision in Carson v. Makin could impact funding for religious schools.

Retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, now a senior lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, talks about the verdicts in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, how the trial was conducted, and comparisons to the ongoing trial of the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery.

On November 16, the Harvard Law School Ames Moot Court Competition returned to the Ames Courtroom, as two teams of students squared off on the subject of personal jurisdiction.

Can, or even should, Americans break the U.S. Constitution when, in their view, justice demands it? As Noah Feldman and Nikolas Bowie discussed at a recent Harvard Law School Library Book Talk, that question is very much alive today.

At a Harvard Law School Library Book Talk, Martha Minow, along with Vicki Jackson and Nikolas Bowie, discussed why the press is in danger — and how to save it.

To mark Veterans Day, Harvard Law Today highlights a few of the profiles and stories that illustrate the profound commitment of those in the HLS community to service and the law.

Members of the Veterans Legal Clinic at Harvard Law School are representing a same-sex widower in his appeal before the VA and in federal court in a potentially precedent-setting case.

As a U.S. Marine in Afghanistan, Nathan Lowry ’24 led a team of counterterrorism intelligence specialists targeting Taliban operations.

Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Mark Tushnet explains SCOTUS’s upcoming gun control case, New York Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.

Josh McDaniel, director of Harvard’s Religious Freedom Clinic, explains the Supreme Court's upcoming Free Exercise case — and how his clinic is involved.

In “Power to the People: Constitutionalism in the Age of Populism,” co-authors Mark Tushnet and Bojan Bugarič argue that populism is neither inherently conservative nor necessarily inconsistent with constitutional democracy.