Anthony Guy Amsterdam (born September 12, 1935) is an American lawyer and University Professor Emeritus at
New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...
. In 1981,
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and former law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law and American criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law School, where he was appoin ...
called Amsterdam “the most distinguished law professor in the United States.”
Education
Amsterdam grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
.
He received his
A.B.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
, ''
summa cum laude'' in French Literature from
Haverford College in 1957. He received his
LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
, ''
summa cum laude'' from the
University of Pennsylvania School of Law
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most ...
in 1960.
While at Pennsylvania he served as Editor-in-Chief of the
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
The ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'' is a law review published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law journal in the United States, having been publishe ...
.
Career
Following law school, Amsterdam was
law clerk to Justice
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...
.
He then served as
Assistant US Attorney
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal go ...
in the District of Columbia.
In 1962, Amsterdam began teaching at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. He then taught at
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 ...
from 1969 to 1981. In 1981, he was hired by New York University School of Law after a "heated contest" among top law schools for his service.
He was the Judge Edward Weinfeld Professor of Law at NYU.
Working with the
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City.
LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Altho ...
, Amsterdam argued and won ''
Furman v. Georgia'' in 1972, in which the
Supreme Court of the United States ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the
death penalty. He sits on the board of directors of the
Death Penalty Information Center
The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on disseminating studies and reports related to the death penalty. Founded in 1990, DPIC is primarily focused on the application of ...
.
Amsterdam wrote ''Perspectives on the Fourth Amendment,'' an influential paper which has been called ''"''one of the best, if not the best, law review article
written on the
Fourth Amendment."
He was elected a Fellow 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, a ...
in 1977.
See also
*
References
External links
*
Profile at New York University School of Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amsterdam, Anthony G.
1935 births
Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni
Living people
Haverford College alumni
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
American anti–death penalty activists
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
New York University School of Law faculty
Lawyers from Philadelphia
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers