Saikrishna Prakash ’93 to Deliver Doyle-Winter Lecture

Saikrishna Prakash ’93 will deliver the Michael A. Doyle ’62 and Bunny Winter Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law Lecture on Oct. 30. Prakash, who is nationally recognized for his work on separation of powers, will engage with members of the Yale Law School community in his lecture, titled “Spirit.”

The lecture will discuss how the Constitution's Founders frequently referenced the perceived spirit of the law in order to make sense of it. According to Prakash, sometimes the spirit took the law beyond its letter and other times a law's spirit restrained or created exceptions to the letter. 

During the fall 2022 term, Prakash served as the second Michael Doyle ’62 and Bunny Winter Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School. The visiting professorship brings faculty from a wide range of perspectives for semester-long visits with the aim of expanding the community’s intellectual horizons. The professorship is made possible thanks to a generous gift from Michael Doyle ’62 and Bunny Winter.

Prakash is the James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law and the Albert Clark Tate, Jr., Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. A widely published scholar and frequent media commentator, Prakash has testified before Congress at the request of both Democrats and Republicans. The University of Virginia School of Law recognized Prakash with its Roger and Madeleine Traynor Faculty Achievement Award in 2015.

Prakash has authored more than 75 articles and two books. His most recent book, The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument Against Its Ever-Expanding Powers (Harvard Belknap Press, 2020), focuses on the modern presidency and proposes legislative reforms. The arguments raised in The Living Presidency serve as a bookend to Prakash’s first title, Imperial from the Beginning: The Constitution of the Original Executive (Yale University Press, 2015).

Prakash’s areas of expertise range from presidential and congressional powers to impeachment and executive privilege. His work has appeared in national publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Los Angeles Times. 

The lecture will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 30 in SLB Room 127 and is open to the Yale Law School community and invited guests only. Food will be served. Please register for the event in advance.