Vikram David Amar (born 1963) is an American legal scholar focusing on constitutional law, federal courts, and civil and criminal procedure. In August 2015, he became dean of the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J. ...

and the Iwan Foundation Professor of Law. He was the first American-born person of Indian descent to serve as a dean of a major American law school.

Career

Prior to his arrival at Illinois Law, Amar was professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs at the UC Davis School of Law (King Hall). Before becoming a professor, he clerked for Judge

William Albert Norris William Albert Norris (August 30, 1927 – January 21, 2017) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Norris was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on February 27, 1980, to a seat vacated by ...

of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District o ...

and for Justice

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, Black ...

at the U.S. Supreme Court (where he appears to be the first person of South Asian heritage to have clerked). After serving as a clerk, Amar worked in the

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

office of

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

, then began his career in legal academia in 1993 at King Hall. He joined the UC Hastings faculty in 1998, before returning to King Hall in 2007. Amar received an A.B. in history from

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...

. In 1988 he earned his J.D. from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a 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.S. News & World ...

, serving as an articles editor for 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 ...

. He writes a biweekly column for justia.com. Previously, he wrote a regular column for

FindLaw FindLaw is a business of Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thom ...

Writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

. He also frequently appears on national radio and television programs as a commentator on contemporary legal issues. Amar is the younger brother of

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 w ...

law professor Akhil Reed Amar. Vikram Amar was a student at Yale Law School at the time Akhil Amar started teaching there. The two have collaborated on cutting-edge and influential articles on many important topics, includin
the "Amar Plan" proposal
for a

National Popular Vote Interstate Compact MD, NJ, IL, HI, WA, MA, DC, VT, CA, RI, NY, CT, CO, DE, NM, OR MI, PA, TX The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a proposed interstate compact among a group of U.S. states and the District of Columbia to award a ...

, and the implausibility o
the so-called "Independent State Legislature" notion

References

E.G., AMAR, VIKRAM DAVID, The Case for Reforming Presidential Elections by Subconstitutional Means: The Electoral College, the National Popular Vote Compact, and Congressional Power, 100 GEORGETOWN L.J. 237 (2011). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1936374 AMAR, VIKRAM DAVID AND AMAR, AKHIL REED, Eradicating Bush-League Arguments Root and Branch: The Article II Independent-State-Legislature Notion and Related Rubbish, 2021 SUPREME COURT REVIEW 1 (2022). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3731755

External links

*
University of Illinois College of Law Faculty: Vikram David AmarList of Amar's publications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amar, Vikram University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty 1960s births Living people American legal scholars American lawyers Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni UC Davis School of Law faculty University of California, Hastings faculty Yale Law School alumni American academics of Indian descent Deans of law schools in the United States People associated with Gibson Dunn Indian American American people of Indian descent Indian scholars

Career

See also

References

External links