Pamela Susan Karlan (born 1959) is an American legal scholar who is the principal deputy assistant attorney general in the

Civil Rights Division The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is the institution within the federal government responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin. The ...

of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

. She is on a leave of absence from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

. A leading legal scholar on

voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...

, she previously served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Voting Rights in the DOJ's Civil Division from 2014 to 2015.

Education

Karlan earned her B.A. degree in history from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1980, as well as an M.A. degree in history and J.D. degree in 1984. At

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

, she served as an article and book reviews editor of the ''

Yale Law Journal The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', 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 ...

''. After graduation from law school, Karlan worked as a

law clerk A law clerk or a judicial clerk is a person, generally someone who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial clerks often play significant ...

for former U.S. District Judge

Abraham David Sofaer Abraham David Sofaer (born May 6, 1938) is an American attorney and jurist who served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and legal adviser to the United States State Departm ...

of the

Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New Y ...

from 1984 to 1985. She went on to clerk for

U.S. Supreme Court Justice 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 U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

Harry Blackmun Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Blac ...

the following year. In a 1995 oral history with

Harold Koh Harold Hongju Koh (born December 8, 1954) is an American lawyer and legal scholar who served as the legal adviser of the Department of State in the Obama administration. He was nominated to this position by President Barack Obama on March 23, 20 ...

, Blackmun revealed that his dissent in ''

Bowers v. Hardwick ''Bowers v. Hardwick'', 478 U.S. 186 (1986), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld, in a 5–4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults ...

'' had been written primarily by Karlan. He said that Karlan "did a lot of very effective writing, and I owe a lot to her and her ability in getting that dissent out. She felt very strongly about it, and I think is correct in her approach to it. I think the dissent is correct."

Career

After her clerkships, Karlan worked as an assistant counsel at the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 1986 to 1988. From 1988 to 1998, Karlan taught law at the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

, where she won the All-University Outstanding Teaching Award in 1995–96 and the

State Council of Higher Education for Virginia The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the Commonwealth's coordinating body for higher education. SCHEV was established by the Governor and General Assembly in 1956. Its mission, which is outlined in the Code of Virginia§2 ...

's Outstanding Faculty Award in 1997. In 1998, Karlan joined the faculty of

. She is the school's Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of

Public Interest Law Public interest law refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor, marginalized, or under-represented people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms ( ''pro bono publico''), often in the fields ...

. In 2004, Karlan cofounded the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation

Clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

, through which students litigate live cases before the

U.S. Supreme Court 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 U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. In 2002, Karlan won the school's prestigious John Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching. On December 4, 2019, Karlan—alongside law professors

Noah Feldman Noah R. Feldman (born May 22, 1970) is an American academic and legal scholar. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and chairman of the Society of Fellows at Harvard University. He is the author of 10 books, host of ...

Michael Gerhardt Michael J. Gerhardt is the Samuel Ashe Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill. He is also the director of the Center on Law and Government at the University of North Carolina a ...

, and

Jonathan Turley Jonathan Turley is an American attorney, legal scholar, writer, commentator, and legal analyst in broadcast and print journalism. A professor at George Washington University Law School, he has testified in United States Congressional proceedi ...

—testified before the

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...

regarding the constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment in the Impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. She made a controversial statement delivered during the December 2019, impeachment hearing of President Trump, "Contrary to what President Trump has said, Article 2

f the Constitution F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...

does not give him the power to do anything he wants", noting that "The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility, so while the president can name his son Barron, he can't make him a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

." Karlan apologized afterward. Karlan is a member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) 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 ...

, the

American Academy of Appellate Lawyers The American Academy of Appellate Lawyers is a non-profit organization consisting of the Fellows who have been elected to the Academy. It was founded in 1990 and incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1991. Its mission is to "advance the highest standards ...

, and the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

. On May 6, 2020,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

appointed her to its content oversight board, from which she resigned in February 2021 to join the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the

of the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

Public service

In 2003, she was appointed to the

California Fair Political Practices Commission The Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) of California is a five-member independent nonpartisan commission that has primary responsibility for the impartial and effective administration of the Political Reform Act of 1974. The Commission's o ...

Controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

Steve Westly Steven Paul Westly (born August 27, 1956) is an American venture capitalist, entrepreneur, educator, and politician. He was the State Controller of California from 2003 to 2007 and was one of the top candidates in the Democratic primary for Gov ...

. Until 2005, she served as commissioner to help implement and enforce

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

campaign finance Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...

lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...

, and

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

laws. On December 20, 2013, Karlan was appointed by the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

to serve as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for

Voting Rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

in the

United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is the institution within the federal government responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion Religion is usually d ...

. The position did not require confirmation by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. Karlan took up her post on January 13, 2014, and served for one year. For her work in implementing the Supreme Court decision in ''

United States v. Windsor ''United States v. Windsor'', 570 U.S. 744 (2013), is a landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case concerning same-sex marriage. The Court held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition o ...

'', she received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the DOJ's highest award for employee performance. Throughout her career, Karlan has been an advocate before the

. She was mentioned as a potential candidate to replace

Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...

David Souter David Hackett Souter ( ; born September 17, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 until his retirement in 2009. Appointed by President George H. W. Bush to fill the seat t ...

when he retired in 2009. In November 2020, Karlan was named a volunteer member of the

Joe Biden presidential transition The presidential transition of Joe Biden began on November 7, 2020 and ended on January 20, 2021. Unlike previous presidential transitions, which normally take place during the roughly 10-week period between the election in the first week o ...

Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the

. In February 2021, Karlan was named a principal deputy assistant attorney general in the

Political views

Peter Baker, a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

political writer The following people are authors of writings on political subjects: See also *Lists of writers The following are lists of writers: Alphabetical indices A – B – C – D – E – F – G – H&n ...

, described Karlan as "a full-throated, unapologetic

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

torchbearer". Karlan has said that the United States should help Ukraine fight Russia so that the United States does not have to fight Russia on its own territory.

Personal life

Karlan told ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

'' in 2009, "It's no secret at all that I'm counted among the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

crowd". She has described herself as an example of "snarky,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, Jewish women". Her partner is writer Viola Canales.

Works and publications

Selected books

* *

Selected journal articles

* * * * *

References

External links

Pamela S. Karlan
at

Stanford University Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford ...

*
Pamela S. Karlan
at

Social Science Research Network The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a repository for preprints devoted to the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in the social sciences, humanities, life sciences, and health sciences, among others. Elsevier bought SSRN from Soc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karlan, Pamela S. 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Bisexual women Bisexual writers Jewish American attorneys LGBT Jews American LGBT writers Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Living people Stanford Law School faculty University of Virginia School of Law faculty Women legal scholars Yale Law School alumni Bisexual academics 20th-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American women writers American women academics Facebook Oversight Board members 1959 births 21st-century American Jews