Kenneth L. Karst
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Kenneth L. Karst (26 June 1929 – 9 April 2019) was an American professor at the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
(UCLA) who wrote extensively on constitutional law and a wide range of other subjects. He was cited 12 times by 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 ...
.


Life

Kenneth L. Karst was born on 29 June 1929. He earned his bachelor's degree from UCLA in 1950, and graduated ''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 ...
in 1953. He worked at
Latham & Watkins Latham & Watkins LLP is an American multinational law firm. Founded in 1934 in Los Angeles, California, Latham is the second-largest law firm in the world by revenue. As of 2022, Latham is also one of the most profitable law firms in the world ...
for a short period, and was then a judge advocate general in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
. After this he was a professor of Law at
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
. He joined the faculty of the
UCLA School of Law The University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (commonly known as UCLA School of Law or UCLA Law) is the law school of the University of California, Los Angeles. History Founded in 1949, the UCLA School of Law is the third oldest of t ...
in 1965, where he taught for the next forty years. Karst, his wife Smiley and their four children moved to
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
in 1965. The children all attended Lincoln Junior High and
Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to Samohi or SMHS, is a public high school in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Bo ...
. Karst was appointed David G. Price and Dallas P. Price Distinguished Professor of Law. He specialized in
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 ...
, and was interested in the relationship of the constitution to evolving public and political attitudes. He believed in ensuring equal access to legal education, and helped the law school develop outreach programs aimed at minorities. He also contributed to debates on fairness and equal access to justice, as promised by the law. Thus in 1977 Karst wrote of ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
'' that it involved some of the most important aspects of a woman’s independence, control over her own destiny, and social roles. Focusing on the equality aspects of the right requires moving away from a balancing of woman versus fetus towards an examination of abortion as “an issue going to women’s position in society in relation to men." Karst’s view was shared and expanded upon by numerous scholars and eventually adopted by the Court. In 2000 an issue of the ''UCLA Law Review'' was dedicated to Karst. It noted that the Supreme Court had cited him twelve times. Other federal courts had cited him 77 times. Karst and his wife Smiley entered a health care facility in Santa Cruz in 2013. He died on 9 April 2019 at the age of 89.


Awards and honors

Awards and honors included: *
Dartmouth Medal The Dartmouth Medal of the American Library Association is awarded annually to a reference work of outstanding quality and significance, published during the previous calendar year. The Medal was designed by Rudolph Ruzicka. History Dartmouth Co ...
(1987) for best reference work from the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...
for ''Encyclopedia of the American Constitution'' (co-editor). * James A. Rawley Prize (1990) from the
Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad incl ...
for his book ''Belonging to America: Equal Citizenship and the Constitution''. *Teacher of the year by graduating UCLA law students (two occasions) *Dickson Award from UCLA in 2010-11 for continuing his distinguished academic pursuits in retirement *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 ...
(1996)


Publications

Karst wrote lengthy articles in the ''Law Review'' on subjects that included the First, Fifth and Fourteenth amendments; women's rights; affirmative action; civil rights and discrimination; gay and lesbian rights; lawyers and social change; and land-use reform in Latin America. Books included: * * * * * * * * * *


Notes


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karst, Kenneth L. 1929 births 2019 deaths American legal scholars UCLA School of Law faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni Harvard Law School alumni Ohio State University faculty People associated with Latham & Watkins