Trevor W. Morrison
- Eric M. and Laurie B. Roth Professor of Law
- Dean Emeritus
- trevor.morrison@nyu.edu
- 22 Washington Square North 408 • 212.998.6011
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Assistant:
Kellene O'Hara kellene.ohara@nyu.edu
212.998.6195
AREAS OF RESEARCH
Constitutional Law, Executive Branch Legal Interpretation, Habeas Corpus and Executive Detention, Separation of Powers
Trevor Morrison’s research and teaching interests are in constitutional law and federal courts. He has served as Associate Counsel to President Barack Obama, as a Bristow Fellow in the Justice Department’s Office of the Solicitor General, as an attorney-advisor in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, and as law clerk to Judge Betty B. Fletcher of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the US Supreme Court. In 2021, he was appointed by President Biden to serve on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the American Law Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as Dean of NYU School of Law from 2013 to 2022. Before coming to NYU, he was on the faculties of Cornell Law School and then Columbia Law School.
“Presidential Power, Historical Practice, And Legal Constraint”
Courses
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1L Reading Group: The Supreme Court
We will read and discuss several recent books on the Supreme Court and certain of its personnel. The proposed reading list, which we will discuss at our first meeting, includes: Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong, The Brethren; Edward Lazarus, Closed Chambers; Jeffrey Toobin, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court; and Joan Biskupic, The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts.
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Colloquium on Constitutional Theory
This colloquium is geared toward students with an interest in reading and critically engaging with legal scholarship in the areas of constitutional law, constitutional theory, and public law more broadly. A series of scholars will be invited to present and discuss works in progress with enrolled students and NYU faculty. Students interested in enrolling in the class should send a short (no more than one page) statement of interest along with their CV to Professor Levinson (daryl.levinson@nyu.edu). There is no need to bid points.
Publications
- "Presidential Power, Historical Practice, and Legal Constraint," 113 Colum. L. Rev. 1097 (2013) (with Curtis A. Bradley)
- "Historical Gloss and the Separation of Powers," 126 Harv. L. Rev. 411 (2012) (with Curtis A. Bradley)
- "Constitutional Alarmism," 124 Harv. L. Rev. 1688 (2011)
- "Stare Decisis in the Office of Legal Counsel," 110 Colum. L. Rev. 1448 (2010)
- The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press, 2010) (with Michael C. Dorf)
Education
- JD, Columbia University School of Law, 1998
- BA (History), University of British Columbia, with honors and with distinction, 1994
Honors and Activities
- Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching, Columbia Law School Class of 2011, 2011
- 2008 Thurgood Marshall Award for Capital Representation, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 2008
- Faculty Convocation Speaker, Cornell Law School Class of 2007, 2007
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