Richard Primus
Theodore J. St. Antoine Collegiate Professor of Law
Richard Primus is one of the nation's most celebrated constitutional law professors, having won Michigan Law's top teaching award four times. He holds degrees from Harvard, Oxford, and Yale, and was awarded the first-ever Guggenheim Fellowship in Constitutional Studies in 2008. He clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi on the Second Circuit and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. His scholarship on constitutional history and enumerated powers has been widely influential in legal academia.
Teaching Style
Professor Primus is a four-time winner of Michigan Law's L. Hart Wright Award for outstanding teaching. He employs a deeply Socratic method, building elaborate chains of questions that force students to confront the implications of their arguments. He is known for making constitutional law intellectually thrilling, weaving together history, theory, and doctrine. He expects careful preparation and rewards students who engage thoughtfully with difficult questions.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Read assigned cases and any related historical materials thoroughly before class
- 2Be prepared to explain not just case holdings but the theoretical frameworks underlying them
- 3Think about how constitutional text, history, and precedent interact and sometimes conflict
- 4Practice articulating clear, concise positions on contested constitutional questions
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Yale Law School
- D.Phil., Balliol College, Oxford University
- A.B., Harvard University
Notable Publications
- The American Language of Rights (Cambridge University Press)
- The Oldest Constitutional Question: Enumeration and Federal Power (Harvard University Press)
Research Interests
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