Richard A. Posner

Posner was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan and served until his retirement in 2017. Over those 36 years, he wrote thousands of opinions and became one of the most influential appellate judges in American history.

The law and economics movement applies economic theory and analysis to legal problems, arguing that legal rules should be evaluated by their efficiency and effects on incentives. Posner's 1973 treatise 'Economic Analysis of Law' became the foundational text of the movement, which profoundly reshaped American legal scholarship and judicial reasoning in the late 20th century.

Posner stepped down in September 2017, citing disagreements with his fellow Seventh Circuit judges over the treatment of pro se litigants, particularly unrepresented prisoners and indigent appellants. He stated that he felt the court was not doing enough to provide access to justice for these individuals and that his colleagues were unwilling to change their approach.

Posner authored over 50 books and hundreds of articles across an extraordinarily wide range of topics including jurisprudence, economics, aging, the 2000 presidential election, and public intellectuals. His output made him one of the most cited legal scholars of the 20th century and arguably the most prolific federal judge in U.S. history.