Legal Historicism and Legal Academics: The Roles of Law Professors in the Wake of Bush v. Gore

Abstract

Mark Tushnet, whose many contributions to legal scholarship we celebrate at this symposium, has been a role model for law professors in general and for us in particular. The concept of role model has two meanings. First, it means that someone is exemplary. That Mark certainly is. He has been a central—we would say seminal—figure in constitutional law, in legal theory, and in legal history. If Mark had never written a word about constitutional law, he would still be remembered for his contributions to legal history, first as a historian of the law of slavery, and later as a historian of the civil rights movement. If he had never written a word of legal history, he would still be renowned for the stream of articles and books of the highest quality he has produced on virtually every facet of constitutional theory and constitutional doctrine. Finally, even putting his status in those fields to one side, he remains a central figure in the creation and development of one of the most important twentieth century jurisprudential movements: critical legal studies.