Stephen L. Carter: Law Professor, Policy Writer, Columnist, Novelist

Posted on 23. Oct, 2009 by Leshell Hatley in Faculty, I'm a Full Professor!, Law, Scholarly Celebrations

Stephen L. Carter (born October 26, 1954 – Happy Birthday!) is an American law professor, legal- and social-policy writer, columnist, and best-selling novelist. He is currently the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale Law School, where he has taught since 1982. At Yale he teaches courses on contracts, professional responsibility, ethics in literature, intellectual property, and the law and ethics of war. His non-fiction books have received praise from voices across the political spectrum, from Marian Wright Edelman to John Cardinal O’Connor. The Emperor of Ocean Park, spent 11 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list in 2002. His fourth novel, Jericho’s Fall, was published in July of 2009.

Carter earned his B.A. in history from Stanford University in 1976. At Stanford he served as managing editor for The Stanford Daily. Carter received a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1979. At Yale, he won the prize for best oralist in the Thurmond Arnold Moot Court Competition and served as a Note Editor on the Yale Law Journal. Following graduation from Yale, Carter served as a law clerk for Judge Spottswood W. Robinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and, subsequently, for US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first black tenured professor in Yale Law School’s history.

Carter was raised in Harlem, in Washington, D.C., and in Ithaca, New York. He graduated from Ithaca High School in 1972, and his essay “The Best Black” is based in part on his experiences there. At Ithaca High School, he was the editor-in-chief of The Tattler, Ithaca HS’s newspaper, and pushed hard for student representation on the local school board.

Carter has received eight honorary degrees, from schools including Colgate University, Bates College, and the University of Notre Dame.

Here’s a longer, yet interesting talk by Stephen Carter on books, bumper stickers, and the importance of voting in a democracy:

Information from wikipedia. Post requested by Freda.

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