Reva B. Siegel (born 1956) is the
Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor of Law at
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
. Siegel's writing draws on legal history to explore questions of law and inequality, and to analyze how courts interact with representative government and popular movements in interpreting the Constitution. She is currently writing on the role of social movement conflict in guiding constitutional change, addressing this question in recent articles on reproductive rights,
originalism
Originalism is a legal theory in the United States which bases constitutional, judicial, and statutory interpretation of text on the original understanding at the time of its adoption. Proponents of the theory object to judicial activism ...
and the Second Amendment, the "de facto ERA," and the enforcement of Brown. Her publications include Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking (with Brest, Levinson, Balkin & Amar, 2014); The Constitution in 2020 (edited with Jack Balkin, 2009); and Directions in Sexual Harassment Law (edited with Catharine A. MacKinnon, 2004). Professor Siegel received her B.A., M.Phil, and J.D. from Yale University, clerked for Judge
Spottswood William Robinson III
Spottswood William Robinson III (July 26, 1916 – October 11, 1998) was an American civil rights lawyer, jurist, and educator who served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ...
on the
D.C. 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. courts of appeals, ...
, and began teaching at the University of California at Berkeley. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is active in the American Society for Legal History, the
Association of American Law Schools
The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), formed in 1900, is a non-profit organization of 175 law schools in the United States. An additional 19 schools pay a fee to receive services but are not members. AALS incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non- ...
, the American Constitution Society, in the national organization and as faculty advisor of Yale's chapter.
She was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 2018.
Scholarship
One of her most notable works is "She the People: The Nineteenth Amendment, Sex Equality,
Federalism
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...
, and the Family," 115
Harv. L. Rev. 947 (2002), which argues that the history leading up to the enactment of the
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its U.S. state, states from denying the Suffrage, right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recogni ...
, guaranteeing
woman suffrage, should serve as the foundation for a more robust jurisprudence of sex equality.
Siegel's most recent work focuses on popular constitutionalism and Section Five of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments. Considered one of the most consequential amendments, it addresses Citizenship of the United States ...
, how social movements shape constitutional law, the rise of the New Right, and the popularization of antiabortion arguments that focus on protecting women.
Career
Siegel graduated from
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
in 1986, where she was an editor of ''The
Yale Law Journal
''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...
''. She joined the Yale faculty in 1994 after teaching at the
Boalt Hall School of Law. She serves on the boards of the American Society for Legal History, the Center for WorkLife Law, and the
Harvard Law & Policy Review. She is an active member 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 ...
and faculty advisor to the ACS chapter at Yale Law School.
Selected works
Articles
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Books
* Processes of Constitutional Decisionmaking (6th ed., 2014) (with Paul Brest, Sanford Levinson, Jack Balkin, and
Akhil Amar
Akhil Reed Amar (born September 6, 1958) is an American legal scholar known for his expertise in U.S. constitutional law. He is a Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he is a leading scholar of originalism, ...
)
* Before ''Roe v. Wade'': Voices that Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court's Ruling (Kaplan Publishing, 2010) (with Linda Greenhouse).
* The Constitution in 2020 (forthcoming) (edited with Jack Balkin), including an essay by Professors Siegel and Balkin on ''Remembering How to Do Equality'' and an essay co-authored with Robert Post on ''Democratic Constitutionalism''
* Directions in Sexual Harassment Law, co-edited with Catharine A. MacKinnon (Yale University Press, 2004). Collection of 40 essays, including authored introductory essay, ''A Short History of Sexual Harassment''
References
External links
Reva Siegel faculty profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siegel, Reva
American women lawyers
American legal scholars
Feminist studies scholars
1956 births
Living people
Yale Law School alumni
Yale Law School faculty
Members of the American Philosophical Society
American women legal scholars
Harvard Law School people
American women academics
21st-century American women