Jed Shugerman

Jed Handelsman  Shugerman

Professor of Law

Joseph Lipsitt Scholar

BA, Yale University
JD, Yale University
PhD, Yale University


Biography

Jed Handelsman Shugerman joined BU Law in 2023 after spending a year as a visiting professor. He received his BA, JD, and PhD (History) from Yale. His book, The People’s Courts (Harvard 2012), traces the rise of judicial elections, judicial review, and the influence of money and parties in American courts. It is based on his dissertation that won the 2009 Cromwell Prize from the American Society for Legal History. 

He is currently working on two books on the history of executive power and prosecution in America. The first is tentatively titled “A Faithful President: The Founders v. Royalist Originalism,” questioning the Robert Court’s evidence for its theory of unchecked and unbalanced presidential power. This book draws on his articles “Vesting” (Stanford Law Review forthcoming Spring 2022), “Removal of Context” (Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities 2022), a co-authored “Faithful Execution and Article II” (Harvard Law Review 2019 with Andrew Kent and Ethan Leib), “The Indecisions of 1789” (forthcoming Penn. Law Review Fall 2022), and “The Creation of the Department of Justice,” (Stanford Law Review 2014). The book offers a new explanation for why a general removal power was not a traditional executive power in early modern America, and it turns out to be a surprising twist (called the “venality of office”) that helped create the modern nation-state and the modern administrative state.

The next book project is “The Prosecutor Politicians: Race, War, and the Causes of Mass Incarceration,” focusing on California Governor Earl Warren, his presidential running mate Thomas Dewey, the Kennedys, World War II and the Cold War, the war on crime, the growth of prosecutorial power, and its emergence as a stepping stone to electoral power for ambitious politicians in the mid-twentieth century. One of the most significant causes of mass incarceration is that American prosecutors doubled their rates of turning arrests into prosecutions in the late twentieth century. This book explains how prosecutors transformed from low-prestige, marginal figures throughout most of American history into arguably the most powerful officers over Americans’ lives.

Each of these books was shaped by his experience with clinical death penalty defense work and prisoners’ rights litigation as a law student and a graduate student. He is also a co-author of amicus briefs on the history of presidential power, the Emoluments Clauses, the Appointments Clause, the First Amendment rights of elected judges, and the due process problems of elected judges in death penalty cases. He wrote a series of op-eds and essays about Trump investigations and impeachments for the New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, the Atlantic, Politico, Lawfare, and other media.

Shugerman writes about law, history, politics, and sometimes sports on Shugerblog.com. He is a fan of the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Publications

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  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Ebb, Flow, and Twilight of Presidential Removal 49 Administrative & Regulatory Law News (2024)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman & Jodi L. Short, Major Questions About Presidentialism: Untangling the “Chain of Dependence” Across Administrative Law 65 Boston College Law Review (2024)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Movement on Removal: An Emerging Consensus on the First Congress 63 American Journal of Legal History (2023)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Indecisions of 1789: Inconstant Originalism and Strategic Ambiguity 171 University of Pennsylvania Law School (2023)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Biden v. Nebraska: The New State Standing and the (Old) Purposive Major Questions Doctrine 2022-2023 Cato Supreme Court Review (2023)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Amicus Brief in SEC v. Jarkesy on Original Public Meaning of Article II & Presidential Removal
    Scholarly Commons
  • Alan Z. Rozenshtein & Jed Handelsman Shugerman, January 6, Ambiguously Inciting Speech, and the Overt-Acts Rule 37 Constitutional Commentary (2022)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Vesting 74 Stanford Law Review (2022)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Bi-Partisan Enabling of Presidential Power: A Review of David Driesen's The Specter of Dictatorship: Judicial Enabling of Presidential Power (2021) 72 Syracuse Law Review (2022) (book review)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Removal of Context: Blackstone, Limited Monarchy, and the Limits of Unitary Originalism 33 Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities (2022)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Presidential Removal: The Marbury Problem and the Madison Solutions 89 Fordham Law Review (2021)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The (Joseph) Stories of Newmyer and Cover: Hero Or Tragedy? 52 Connecticut Law Review (2021)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Amicus Brief in Collins v. Mnuchin on Original Public Meaning of Presidential Removal and the 'Decision of 1789'
    Scholarly Commons
  • Ethan J. Lieb & Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Fiduciary Constitutionalism: Implications for Self-Pardons and Non-Delegation 17 Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy (2019)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Andrew Kent, Ethan J. Leib & Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Faithful Execution and Article II 132 Harvard Law Review (2019)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Professionals, Politicos, And Crony Attorneys General: A Historical Sketch Of The U.S. Attorney General As A Case For Structural Independence 87 Fordham Law Review (2019)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman & Gautham Rao, Emoluments, Zones of Interests, and Political Questions: A Cautionary Tale 45 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly (2018)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Symposium: Fighting Corruption in American and Abroad: Foreword 84 Fordham Law Review (2015)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Dependent Origins of Independent Agencies: The Interstate Commerce Commission, the Tenure of Office Act, and the Rise of Modern Campaign Finance 31 Journal of Law & Politics (2015)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Legitimacy of Administrative Law 50 Tulsa Law Review (2015)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Debra Lyn Bassett, Gregory S. Parks, Dmitry Bam & Rex R. Perschbacher, Caperton's next Generation: Beyond the Bank, 18 New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy (2015)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Creation of the Department of Justice: Professionalization without Civil Rights or Civil Service 66 Stanford Law Review (2014)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Golden or Bronze Age of Judicial Selection? 100 Iowa Law Review (2014)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Economic Crisis and the Rise of Judicial Elections and Judicial Review 2011 Revista Forumul Judecatorilor (2011)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Twist of Long Terms: Judicial Elections, Role Fidelity, and American Tort Law 98 Georgetown Law Journal (2010)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, In Defense of Appearances: What Caperton v. Massey Should Have Said 59 DePaul Law Review (2010)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, A Watershed Moment: Reversals of Tort Theory in the Nineteenth Century 2 Journal of Tort Law (2008)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, A Six-Three Rule: Reviving Consensus and Deference on the Supreme Court 37 Georgia Law Review (2003)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Marbury and Judicial Deference: The Shadow of Whittington v. Polk and the Maryland Judiciary Battle 5 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitution (2002)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Louisiana purchase and South Carolina's reopening of the slave trade in 1803 22 Journal of the Early Republic (2002)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Unreasonable Probability of Error 111 Yale Law Journal (2001)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, "Rights Revolutions and Counter-Revolutions" Book Note 13 Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities (2001)
    Scholarly Commons
  • Jed Handelsman Shugerman, The Floodgates of Strict Liability: Bursting Reservoirs and the Adoption of Fletcher v. Rylands in the Guided Age 110 Yale Law Journal (2000)
    Scholarly Commons

In the Media

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  • Amicus | Slate June 24, 2025

    Amicus: This End of Term at SCOTUS Is Unlike Any Other in History

    Jed Shugerman is interviewed.
    read more

  • WBAA June 11, 2025

    President Trump Continues to Appeal His Historic Criminal Case

    Jed Shugerman is interviewed.
    read more

  • NPR

    A Year Later, Trump Continues to Appeal His Historic Criminal Case. Here’s What We Know

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
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  • The Boston Globe June 5, 2025

    Trump Ordered an Investigation into Biden’s ‘Mental Acuity.’ Constitutional Experts Are Skeptical.

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
    read more

  • WBUR City Space June 4, 2025

    WBUR Festival | Amicus — SCOTUS and What’s at Stake

    Jed Shugerman is interviewed.
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  • Bloomberg Law May 23, 2025

    High Court Deals Blow to Agency Officials Fighting Trump Firings

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
    read more

  • Bloomberg Law May 22, 2025

    Trump Ramps Up Threats Against Political Foes After DOJ Shakeup

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
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  • The Dispatch May 16, 2025

    Trump’s Middle East Trip Calls Attention to His Personal Business Ties

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
    read more

  • Bloomberg Law May 15, 2025

    Fired Officials Go Before DC Circuit Judges Who Backed Trump

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
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  • Mother Jones May 5, 2025

    The Legal Theory Behind Trump’s Power Grabs

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
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  • Sidebar by Courthouse News April 1, 2025

    The Imperial Presidency

    Jed Shugerman is interviewed.
    read more

  • The Crimson March 27, 2025

    ‘A Ludicrous Decision’: Legal Experts Discuss Trump v. U.S. Immunity Ruling at HLS Talk

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
    read more

  • Mother Jones March 14, 2025

    The Framers Had a Plan to Protect Us from Elon Musk

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
    read more

  • Rolling Stone March 7, 2025

    Trump’s Shockingly Lawless Second Term

    Jed Shugerman is quoted.
    read more

  • The Boston Globe February 27, 2025

    ‘Fear-Mongering’ or Emergency? As Trump Flexes Executive Power, Here’s What to Know About Constitutional Crises.

    Jed Shugerman and Robert Tsai are quoted.
    read more

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Activities & Engagements

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Courses

Civil Procedure: LAW JD 873

4 credits

Examines the structure and function of civil procedure and the requirements of due process of law.

FALL 2025: LAW JD 873 A1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Janet Freilich
FALL 2025: LAW JD 873 B1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Jed Handelsman Shugerman
FALL 2025: LAW JD 873 C1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Maya Steinitz
FALL 2025: LAW JD 873 D1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Naomi M. Mann
FALL 2025: LAW JD 873 E1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Wed 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 David H. Webber

Historical Perspectives on Law: LAW JD 846

3 credits

This workshop-format seminar examines the interplay of law, constitutions, and culture from an historical perspective. The heart of the seminar is student engagement with works-in-progress by leading scholars in the history, theory, and culture of law, broadly understood. The first three class sessions will be devoted to developing the intellectual tools necessary for reading and engaging with such papers. Starting in week 4 of the semester, the class format will alternate between workshop sessions and more traditional seminar sessions. During the five workshop sessions, an invited scholar will present a current scholarly work-in-progress for discussion. Students will read the speaker's paper in advance and prepare discussion questions for the seminar. During the other sessions, the class will meet as a normal seminar, during which we will discuss readings related to the workshop papers and legal history more generally. The written work for the seminar will consist of a series of brief, critical essays in response to a student-selected subset of the workshop papers. NOTE: This course is open to law students and to graduate students from other departments. A background in history is not a prerequisite. Graduate students from outside the law school may be able to receive 4 credits for this course. Please consult the professor regarding this option. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT OPTION: Students may use this class to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement.

SPRG 2026: LAW JD 846 A1 , Jan 12th to May 8th 2026
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Wed 4:20 pm 6:20 pm 3 Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Torts: LAW JD 892

4 credits

Principles of civil recovery for injury, including strict liability, negligence, and the intentional torts, with emphasis on the social, economic, and moral underpinnings of the doctrines.

FALL 2025: LAW JD 892 A1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Andrew Elmore
FALL 2025: LAW JD 892 B1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Mon,Tue,Wed 9:15 am 10:30 am 4 James E. Fleming
FALL 2025: LAW JD 892 C1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Fri 10:30 am 11:45 am 4
Wed,Thu 9:15 am 10:30 am 4
FALL 2025: LAW JD 892 D1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 2:10 pm 4:10 pm 4 Kathryn Zeiler
FALL 2025: LAW JD 892 E1 , Sep 2nd to Dec 19th 2025
Days Start End Credits Instructors Bldg Room
Tue,Thu 8:30 am 10:30 am 4 Jed Handelsman Shugerman