Pamela S. Karlan

Karlan graduated from Yale University, where she received a B.A. in history in 1980, as well as an M.A. in history and J.D. in 1984. At Yale Law School, she served as an article and book reviews editor of the Yale Law Journal. After graduation from law school, Karlan worked as a law clerk for then-U.S. District Judge Abraham David Sofaer of the Southern District of New York from 1984 to 1985. She went on to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun the following year. In a 1995 oral history with Harold Koh, Blackmun revealed that his dissent in Bowers v. Hardwick had been written primarily by Karlan. He said that Karlan "did a lot of very effective writing, and I owe a lot to her and her ability in getting that dissent out. She felt very strongly about it, and I think is correct in her approach to it. I think the dissent is correct." == Career ==

After her clerkships, Karlan worked as an assistant counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund from 1986-88. From 1988-98, she taught law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she won the All-University Outstanding Teaching Award in 1995–96 and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia's Outstanding Faculty Award in 1997. She made a controversial statement delivered during the December 2019 impeachment hearing of President Trump, "Contrary to what President Trump has said, Article 2 [of the Constitution] does not give him the power to do anything he wants ... The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility, so while the president can name his son Baron [sic], he can't make him a baron", having mistaken the spelling of Trump's youngest child's name (Barron). Karlan was condemned by Melania Trump and others for attacking a 13-year-old boy and apologized afterward. Karlan is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and the American Law Institute. from which she resigned in February 2021 to join the Biden administration as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. The position did not require confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Karlan took up her post on January 13, 2014, and served for one year. For her work in implementing the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, she received the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the DOJ's highest award for employee performance. Throughout her career, Karlan has been an advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was mentioned as a potential candidate to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter when he retired in 2009. In November 2020, Karlan was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of Justice. In February 2021, Karlan was named a principal deputy assistant attorney general in the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. == Political views ==

Peter Baker, a The New York Times political writer, described Karlan as "a full-throated, unapologetic liberal torchbearer". Karlan has said that the United States should help Ukraine fight Russia so that the United States does not have to fight Russia on its own territory. ==Personal life==

Karlan told Politico in 2009, "It's no secret at all that I'm counted among the LGBT crowd". She has described herself as an example of "snarky, bisexual, Jewish women". Her partner is writer Viola Canales. ==Works and publications==

Selected books • • Selected journal articles • • • • • == Supreme Court cases argued ==

• ''O'Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier'' (2023) • Bostock v. Clayton County (2019) • Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida (2017) • Dolan v. United States (2009) • Herring v. United States (2008) • Riley v. Kennedy (2007) • ''Whitman v. Dep't of Transportation'' (2005) • Rousey v. Jacoway (2004) • Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia (1995) • Chisom v. Roemer (1990) == See also ==