
- 248 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
A law professor's memoir of his own ascendancy from prosecutor to influential legal thinker.
From prosecuting murderers in Chicago, to arguing before the Supreme Court, to authoring more than a dozen books, Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett has played an integral role in the rise of originalism—the movement to identify, restore, and defend the original meaning of the Constitution. Thanks in part to his efforts, by 2018 a majority of sitting Supreme Court justices self-identified as "originalists."
After writing seminal books on libertarianism and contract law, Barnett pivoted to constitutional law. His mission to restore "the lost Constitution" took him from the schoolhouse to the courthouse, where he argued the medical marijuana case of Gonzeles v. Raich in the Supreme Court—a case now taught to every law student. Later, he devised and spearheaded the constitutional challenge to Obamacare.
All this earned him major profiles in such publications as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. Now he recounts his compelling journey from a working-class kid in Calumet City, Illinois to "Washington Power Breaker, " as the Congressional Quarterly Weekly called him.
In A Life for Liberty, Barnett writes candidly about his career strategies, and how he overcame his outsider status, his insecurities, and the mistakes he made along the way. The engaging story of his rise from obscurity to one of the most influential thinkers in America is an inspiringhow-to guide for anyone seeking real-world advancement of justice and liberty for all.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Teaser
- Part One: Gonzales v. Raich
- Part Two: Becoming Me
- Part Three: Becoming a Libertarian
- Part Four: Becoming a Lawyer
- Part Five: Becoming a Prosecutor
- Part Six: Becoming a Law Professor
- Part Seven: Becoming a Con Law Prof
- Part Eight: Becoming an Originalist
- Part Nine: Becoming a Washington Power Breaker
- Part Ten: Moving Originalism from Academia to the Courts
- Afterword: Unfinished Business
- Acknowledgments
- Index of Persons
- Index of Topics