Akhil Reed Amar

Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he has taught since 1985. He holds the Southmayd Professorship and is one of the most frequently cited constitutional law scholars in American legal academia.

Amar has authored several influential books on constitutional law, including The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction (1998), America's Constitution: A Biography (2005), America's Unwritten Constitution (2012), and The Words That Made Us (2021). His works are known for their originalist approach and deep historical analysis of the framing and interpretation of the Constitution.

Amar is known for a distinctive brand of originalism that emphasizes the text of the Constitution and the historical context of its framing and ratification. Unlike some originalists, he places heavy emphasis on how the Constitution was understood by the public at the time of its adoption, a method sometimes called popular sovereignty originalism or democratic originalism.

Amar has been an influential voice in constitutional debates and has advised politicians across the political spectrum, though he has not held a formal government position. He has been mentioned as a potential Supreme Court nominee and has published extensively in both academic journals and mainstream publications like The Atlantic and the Wall Street Journal, making him one of the most publicly visible constitutional scholars in America.