Federalism and Kelo: A Question for Richard Epstein

Abstract

Richard Epstein started his distinguished law-teaching career at the USC Law School. The year was 1968. He was 25. In that era, USC law faculty followed a strategy that has since come to be known as "moneyball"-the hiring of candidates undervalued by faculties of less adventurous law schools. Two years later, when I had the good fortune to be hired by USC, the median age of its law faculty was 33. In this hothouse of innovation, Richard was universally regarded as the most valuable player. This designation was literally true on the basketball court, where no other faculty member could jump high enough to touch the rim but Richard could touch it with the bottom of his palm. Richard visited at Chicago during 1972-73. Recognizing that he had found his natural home, he accepted Chicago's offer of a permanent position. When Dean Dorothy Nelson reported this outcome at a USC faculty meeting, there were gasps of dismay. We all knew that we had lost one of a kind.