How To Reform Law Schools: Boycott Law Clerks Or Divest Funding?
On Wednesday, I was honored to hear Judge Amul Thapar deliver the Story Lecture at the Heritage Foundation. The theme of his lecture is that originalists courts need originalist classrooms. I couldn’t agree more. At most law schools, originalism is taught, if at all, as something of a strawman. Professors will introduce it, briefly, and then spend the bulk of time explaining why the doctrine is incoherent. I can count on two hands the number of originalist constitutional law professors in the United States. Law schools are derelict in not hiring more of these scholars. Even if faculties reject originalism, they must recognize that courts are receptive of these arguments, and students need to be trained on originalism.
However, it seems that a different facet of Judge Thapar’s remarks made headlines. Judge Thapar offered a proposal of how to ensure that law schools promote originalism.
“Make no mistake: money talks. Only when the taxpayers and donors alike demand it will law schools start to change,” Thapar said. “When law schools do change, the hefty price paid for a law degree might actually be worth it, because lawyers will leave law school equipped to practice in today’s courts.”
Indeed, many legislatures in conservative states are taking a closer look at university curriculums. And several states have established classical institutes within colleges, some of which can confer degrees, to provide students with a different approach to knowledge. But these alternative institutions are
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