Steven G. Calabresi to Deliver Doyle-Winter Lecture

Steven G. Calabresi ’83 will deliver the Michael A. Doyle ’62 and Bunny Winter Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law Lecture based upon his expertise on presidential power, comparative constitutional law, and the origins of judicial review. 

Calabresi is the Clayton J. & Henry R. Barber Professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law as well as a frequent visiting professor at Yale Law School. In the fall of 2024, Calabresi was the fourth Doyle-Winter Distinguished Visiting Professor in Law. 

Calabresi will present a lecture titled, “The Meese Revolution: The Making of a Constitutional Moment,” on Jan. 27.

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The lecture, based upon Calabresi’s 2024 book of the same title, addresses the work of Edwin Meese III as attorney general under President Reagan as well as Meese’s influential role in formalizing constitutional originalism. Originalism as legal theory prioritizes the text and original meaning of the Constitution as the authoritative source of legal interpretation over more emergent policies or fads. 

The book describes Meese’s central role in the rise of originalism, which was largely unknown in the legal academy or judicial process at the time of his appointment in 1985. 

“Meese,” Calabresi argues, “turned the U.S. Department of Justice into ‘the academy in exile,’ where originalism was developed, refined, theorized, and put into practice.” 

Today Supreme Court justices as well as lower court and state court judges routinely contend with originalism in their judicial decision-making. Meese’s legacy since the 1980s winds through history to impact ongoing legal and political issues in the 21st century, according to Calabresi. 

Each year since its inception, the Michael Doyle ’62 and Bunny Winter Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School position has invited 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.

Calabresi has written books on presidential power, comparative constitutional law, and the origins of judicial review. He and Gary Lawson ’83 are the co-editors of a casebook on U.S. constitutional law, and Calabresi is also the co-editor of a casebook on comparative constitutional law. Since 1990, he has authored more than 70 law review articles. 

In addition to his position at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Calabresi has taught at Brown University and Harvard Law School. 

Calabresi clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia and for Judges Robert H. Bork and Ralph K. Winter ’60. He was a special assistant for Attorney General Edwin Meese III, and he served as deputy to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs for the Reagan administration. He is a co-founder of the Federalist Society and co-chairman of its board of directors. Calabresi earned his B.A. from Yale College and his J.D. from Yale Law School.

The lecture will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 in SLB Room 127 and is open to the Yale community only. Registration is required.