Suzanna Sherry is an American legal scholar in the area of

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 fe ...

with particular emphasis in the subject of federal courts. She is the Herman O. Loewenstein Chair Emerita at the

Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...

Education

Sherry earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Middlebury College, where she studied under Murray Dry. She earned a Juris Doctor from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Sherry served as a law clerk for Judge

John Cooper Godbold John Cooper Godbold (March 24, 1920 – December 22, 2009) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Education and career Born ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

. She later worked as an associate at Miller Cassidy Larroca & Lewin in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

From 1982 to 2000, she was on the faculty of the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...

. She joined

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in 2000. Sherry's primary works are ''Desperately Seeking Certainty: The Misguided Quest for Constitutional Foundations'', ''Beyond All Reason: The Radical Assault on Truth in American Law'', and ''A History of the American Constitution'' (each with Daniel A. Farber of the University of California's

Boalt Hall The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of ...

). Beginning in 1986, Sherry studied Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's opinions to as a part of research on female jurists. She written numerous law review articles and essays, including on the topics of constitutional law,

judicial activism Judicial activism is a judicial philosophy holding that the courts can and should go beyond the applicable law to consider broader societal implications of its decisions. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The term usually ...

, and the federal court system. Sherry's work has been published in the '' Harvard Law Review'', ''

Texas Law Review The ''Texas Law Review'' is a student-edited and -produced law review affiliated with the University of Texas School of Law (Austin). It ranks number 6 on Washington & Lee University's list, number 11 on Google Scholar's list of top publications i ...

'', ''

Iowa Law Review The ''Iowa Law Review'' is a law review published five times annually by the University of Iowa College of Law. It was established in 1915 as the ''Iowa Law Bulletin''.About Us, ''Iowa Law Review'', http://www.uiowa.edu/~ilr/about.htm It is ranked ...

'', ''

Michigan Law Review The ''Michigan Law Review'' is an American law review and the flagship law journal of the University of Michigan Law School. History The ''Michigan Law Review'' was established in 1902, after Gustavus Ohlinger, a student in the Law Department ...

'', the ''William & Mary Law Review,'' and others.Sherry retired from Vanderbilt in 2022, assuming the position of chair emerita.

Personal life

Sherry is married to Paul Edelman, a professor of law and mathematics, who has authored and collaborated on many quantitative analysis of law and law and economics articles.

External links

References

American legal scholars Middlebury College alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Living people American women lawyers Women legal scholars Year of birth missing (living people) Vanderbilt University Law School faculty American women academics {{US-legal-academic-bio-stub