In a
discussion of Trump v. Anderson, 601 U.S 100 (2024) (per curiam), Professor
Akhil Amar stated:
Legally, I think
actually our position [in our amicus brief] was correct, but the Justices [of the U.S. Supreme Court] took
a different kind of off-ramp. They didn’t say, actually, what some others were
saying, oh, presidents aren’t officers [laughing] within the meaning of the 14th
Amendment, Section 3. They didn’t say anything, like, batshit like that. But
they did take an off-ramp.
Akhil Reed Amar & Andy Lipka, Season 6, Episode 1 (Show 262), High Fives, Amarica’s Constitution (Jan. 21, 2026) (at 1:33:05ff), <https://akhilamar.com/podcast-2/>.
Compare
Professor Akhil Amar (Yale Law School) in Charlie Savage, Offbeat Interpretation From Legal
Outsider Could Shape Election, New York Times, Feb. 8, 2024, at A21
(Amar opining that Tillman’s position is a “gimmick”), with id. (Amar
further opining that Tillman is “brilliant” and “one of the genuinely
interesting people in the world”).
See generally Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Re: Application for a Lateral Position at Yale Law School’ (Sept. 14, 2023, posted: Dec. 24, 2024), <https://ssrn.com/abstract=5070417>.
We need legal academics. We really do. We need civil debate on contentious legal & political issues. We really do.
Seth Barrett Tillman, Why We Need Legal Academics and Civil Debate on Contentious Legal & Political Issues (and talented interviewers), New Reform Club (Jan. 22, 2026, 9:33 AM), <https://reformclub.blogspot.com/2026/01/why-we-need-legal-academics-and-civil.html>;
see also Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Re: Application for a Lateral Position at Yale Law School’ (Sept. 14, 2023, posted: Dec. 24, 2024), <https://ssrn.com/abstract=5070417>;
cf. ‘Renowned Yale Law Professor Akhil Reed Amar Explores “The Founding Fathers and the Importance of Civil Discourse” in Captivating Baylor Law Lecture,’ Baylor University (Oct. 5, 2023), <https://law.baylor.edu/news/story/2023/renowned-yale-law-professor-akhil-reed-amar-explores-founding-fathers-and>.
The cynic in me thinks the professor is being sarcastic about the academics (Akil Amar) who actually commented on the case, as not presenting civil debate, or any debate. Rather, comments like "off ramp" are not usefully productive. IOW, we need the debate if only academics would provide one.
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