Gillian E. Metzger (born October 2, 1965) is a
United States constitutional law
The constitutional law of the United States is the body of law governing the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution. The subject concerns the scope of power of the United States federal government compared to the indi ...
scholar and a professor of law at
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked ...
.
Early life and education
The daughter of
Columbia University history professor Walter P. Metzger, Gillian grew up on campus in faculty housing.
She earned a bachelor's degree in
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the worl ...
in 1987, and then worked as a legislative aide for
District Council 37, a local union in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Metzger then earned a master's degree in philosophy at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
After several years as a staff analyst for New York City government, Metzger enrolled in
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked ...
, earning her
J.D. degree in 1995.
Professional career
After law school, Metzger first clerked with
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. federal appellate cou ...
judge
Patricia Wald
Patricia Ann McGowan Wald (September 16, 1928 – January 12, 2019) was an American judge who served as the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) and as a judg ...
and then clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...
.
After completing her clerkship with Ginsburg, Metzger became a staff attorney for the
Brennan Center for Justice
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is a nonprofit law and public policy institute. The organization is named after Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Generally considered liberal, the Brennan C ...
at the
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in New ...
for several years. During her time at the Brennan Center, Metzger worked on two notable causes: challenging Florida's permanent disenfranchisement of convicted felons and defending campaign finance reform measures.
Her work on felon disenfranchisement earned her an invitation to testify before the
United States House Committee on the Judiciary
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...
on October 21, 1999.
Metzger joined Columbia Law's faculty in 2001. Her areas of expertise are
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...
,
administrative law
Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regulations"), a ...
,
federalism
Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (provincial, state, cantonal, territorial, or other sub-unit governments) in a single po ...
, and institutional reform.
She also has served as the faculty advisor to the school's
American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
The American Constitution Society (ACS) is a progressive legal organization. ACS was created as a counterweight to, and is modeled after, the Federalist Society, and is often described as its progressive counterpart.
Founded in 2001 following to ...
chapter. She has argued for an expanded reading of
Article Four of the United States Constitution
Article Four of the United States Constitution outlines the relationship between the various states, as well as the relationship between each state and the United States federal government. It also empowers Congress to admit new states and admin ...
.
Gillian E. Metzger, ''Congress, Article IV, and Interstate Relations''
, 120 Harv. L. Rev. 1468 (2007).
Personal
Metzger and her husband, New York City Department of Finance
The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is the revenue service, taxation agency and recorder of deeds of the government of New York City. Its Parking Violations Bureau is an administrative court that adjudicates parking violations, while its ...
Director of Tax Policy Research Michael Hyman, live on Manhattan's Upper West Side
The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...
. They have two sons, Oliver and Nathaniel Hyman-Metzger.
See also
*
References
External links
Columbia University profile
Articles by Gillian Metzger
at ''Harvard Law Review''
Profile of Gillian Metzger
at the Federalist Society.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzger, Gillian E.
1965 births
Living people
American lawyers
Yale University alumni
Columbia Law School alumni
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Columbia University faculty
Columbia Law School faculty
Scholars of constitutional law
American women lawyers
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Women legal scholars
American women academics
21st-century American women