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.S ...

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 of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Harry Blackmun at 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 ...

(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 The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California as ...

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 & Worl ...

, serving as an articles editor for the Yale Law Journal. He writes a biweekly column for justia.com. Previously, he wrote a regular column for FindLaw's

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 university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

law professor

Akhil Reed Amar Akhil Reed Amar (born September 6, 1958) is an American legal scholar known for his expertise in constitutional law and criminal procedure. He holds the position of Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, and is an adju ...

. 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