David A. Strauss is an American legal scholar who is currently the Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

. He is a

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 ...

scholar and the author of ''The Living Constitution'' (2010), an influential work on the interpretation of the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

and judicial decision-making. He has argued 19 cases before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

Education and career

Strauss graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

with an A.B., ''summa cum laude'', in 1973. He studied at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, on a

Marshall Scholarship The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is considered among the most prestigious scholarsh ...

and received a

B.Phil. Bachelor of Philosophy (BPhil, BPh, or PhB; or or ) is the title of an academic degree in philosophy that usually involves considerable research, either through a thesis or supervised research projects. Unlike many other bachelor's degrees, the ...

in politics in 1975. In 1978, he graduated with a J.D., ''magna cum laude'', from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where he was developments editor of the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...

''. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Strauss clerked for Judge Irving L. Goldberg on the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * ...

. In 1979, he worked as an Attorney-Adviser in the

Office of Legal Counsel The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that supports the attorney general in their role as legal adviser to the president and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the atto ...

of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

. Between 1981 and 1985, he was an Assistant to the

Solicitor General of the United States The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

. Strauss joined the

faculty in 1985. He has published numerous articles on a variety of subjects, principally in constitutional law and related areas, and two books: ''The Living Constitution'' (2010) and '' Democracy and Equality: The Enduring Constitutional Vision of the Warren Court'' (2019) (with fellow Chicago professor

Geoffrey R. Stone Geoffrey R. Stone (born 1946) is an American legal scholar and noted First Amendment scholar. He is currently the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as the dean from 198 ...

). He has taught constitutional law, federal jurisdiction, elements of the law, and administrative law. He is also an editor of the ''

Supreme Court Review ''The Supreme Court Review'' is an annual peer-reviewed law journal covering the legal implications of decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States. It is published by the University of Chicago Press and was established in 1960. The journal ...

''. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

. He is a Fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. He is currently a faculty director of the

Jenner & Block Jenner & Block is an American law firm with offices in Century City, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The firm is active in corporate litigation, business transactions, the public sector, and oth ...

Supreme Court and Appellate Clinic. Strauss has argued 19 cases before the

. In 1990, he served as special counsel to the committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. Senate. He is a member of the national board of directors of the

American Constitution Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. He has also served as chair of the board of trustees of the

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools (also known as Lab, Lab Schools, or U-High, abbreviated UCLS) is a private, co-educational, day pre-school and K-12 school affiliated with the University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Almost half ...

and as a member of the board of governors of the Chicago Council of Lawyers. In 2021, Strauss, together with fellow faculty members William Baude and Alison LaCroix, was appointed by U.S. President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

to the

Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (PCSCOTUS), also known informally as the Supreme Court commission, was a Presidential Commission established by U.S. President Joe Biden to investigate the idea of reformin ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strauss, David A. 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford American legal scholars American legal writers Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Living people American scholars of constitutional law University of Chicago Law School faculty Year of birth missing (living people)