Pamela Karlan | |
|---|---|
_crop3.jpeg) Karlan at theEdmond J. Safra Center for Ethics in 2020 | |
| Born | Pamela Susan Karlan 1959 (age 65–66) |
| Education | Yale University (BA,MA,JD) |
| Occupation | American legal scholar |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Partner | Viola Canales |
Pamela Susan Karlan (born 1959) is an American legal scholar who was the principal deputy assistant attorney general in theCivil Rights Division of theUnited States Department of Justice from February 8, 2021, until July 1, 2022.[1] She is a professor atStanford Law School.[2] A leading legal scholar onvoting rights andconstitutional law, she previously served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Voting Rights in theDOJ's Civil Rights Division from 2014 to 2015.[3]
Karlan graduated fromYale University, where she received a B.A. in history in 1980, as well as an M.A. in history andJ.D. in 1984.[4] AtYale Law School, she served as an article and book reviews editor of theYale Law Journal.[5]
After graduation from law school, Karlan worked as alaw clerk for then-U.S. District JudgeAbraham David Sofaer of theSouthern District of New York from 1984 to 1985. She went on to clerk forU.S. Supreme Court JusticeHarry Blackmun the following year. In a 1995 oral history withHarold Koh, Blackmun revealed that his dissent inBowers v. Hardwick had been written primarily by Karlan. He said that Karlan "did a lot of very effective writing, and I owe a lot to her and her ability in getting that dissent out. She felt very strongly about it, and I think is correct in her approach to it. I think the dissent is correct."[6]
After her clerkships, Karlan worked as an assistant counsel at theNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 1986-88. From 1988-98, she taught law at theUniversity of Virginia School of Law, where she won the All-University Outstanding Teaching Award in 1995–96 and theState Council of Higher Education for Virginia's Outstanding Faculty Award in 1997.[7] In 1998, Karlan joined the faculty ofStanford Law School. She is the school's Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor ofPublic Interest Law. In 2004, Karlan cofounded the Stanford Supreme Court LitigationClinic, through which students litigate live cases before theU.S. Supreme Court.[5] In 2002, Karlan won the school's prestigious John Bingham Hurlbut Award for Excellence in Teaching.[7]
On December 4, 2019, Karlan — alongside law professorsNoah Feldman,Michael Gerhardt, andJonathan Turley — testified before theHouse Judiciary Committee regarding the constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment in theImpeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.[8] She made a controversial statement delivered during the December 2019 impeachment hearing of President Trump, "Contrary to what President Trump has said, Article 2 [of the Constitution] does not give him the power to do anything he wants ... The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility, so while the president can name his son Baron [sic], he can't make him abaron", having mistaken the spelling of Trump's youngest child's name (Barron). Karlan was condemned byMelania Trump and others for attacking a 13-year-old boy[9] and apologized afterward.[10]
Karlan is a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences, theAmerican Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and theAmerican Law Institute.[7] On May 6, 2020,Facebook appointed her to itscontent oversight board,[11] from which she resigned in February 2021 to join theBiden administration as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at theCivil Rights Division of theDepartment of Justice.[1]
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In 2003, she was appointed to theCalifornia Fair Political Practices Commission byControllerSteve Westly. Until 2005, she served as commissioner to help implement and enforceCalifornia'scampaign finance,lobbying, andconflict of interest laws.[5]
On December 20, 2013, Karlan was appointed by theObama administration to serve as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Attorney General forVoting Rights in theUnited States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.[12] The position did not require confirmation by theU.S. Senate. Karlan took up her post on January 13, 2014, and served for one year.[13][14] For her work in implementing the Supreme Court decision inUnited States v. Windsor, she received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the DOJ's highest award for employee performance.[7]
Throughout her career, Karlan has been an advocate before theU.S. Supreme Court.[15] She was mentioned asa potential candidate to replaceSupreme Court JusticeDavid Souter when he retired in 2009.[16]
In November 2020, Karlan was named a volunteer member of theJoe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to theUnited States Department of Justice.[17]
In February 2021, Karlan was named a principal deputy assistant attorney general in theUnited States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.[18]
Peter Baker, aThe New York Timespolitical writer, described Karlan as "a full-throated, unapologeticliberal torchbearer".[19] Karlan has said that the United States should help Ukraine fight Russia so that the United States does not have to fight Russia on its own territory.[20]
Karlan toldPolitico in 2009, "It's no secret at all that I'm counted among theLGBT crowd".[21] She has described herself as an example of "snarky,bisexual, Jewish women".[22] Her partner is writerViola Canales.[23]
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