
Robert L. Tsai
Professor of Law
Harry Elwood Warren Memorial Scholar
BA, magna cum laude, with Highest Honors in History and Political Science, UCLA
JD, Yale Law School
Biography
Robert L. Tsai is Professor of Law and Harry Elwood Warren Memorial Scholar at Boston University School of Law, where he teaches courses in constitutional law, presidential leadership, and individual rights. Professor Tsai has been named a ’24-’25 Laurance S. Rockefeller Visiting Faculty Fellow at the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, where he will spend the year working on a new book project. Titled, “Reasoning from Injustice,” the project brings together pragmatism and popular constitutionalism to develop a humanistic approach to politics capable of diagnosing injustice as a social practice and overcoming the forces of indifference.
He is keenly interested in political culture, legal change, democratic design, inequality, and popular sovereignty. Professor Tsai is the author of four books: Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer’s Pursuit of Equal Justice for All (W.W. Norton 2024); Practical Equality: Forging Justice in a Divided Nation (W.W. Norton 2019); America’s Forgotten Constitutions: Defiant Visions of Power and Community (Harvard 2014); and Eloquence and Reason: Creating a First Amendment Culture (Yale 2008).
Professor Tsai’s latest book, Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer’s Pursuit of Equal Justice for All, explores the life and times of Stephen Bright, who for nearly 40 years led the Southern Center for Human Rights. SCHR’s experiences handling capital cases and prison condition suits teach us about the strategies and ideas that worked during the early decades of mass incarceration in America. Kirkus Reviews calls the book “an excellent complement to Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy,” and Stevenson himself declares it “an inspiring account of one of our nation’s greatest lawyers” and the “human rights he has passionately defended.”
Joshua Rothman, writer for the New Yorker, observed, “The gap between intuition and argument—between outrage and the best response to that outrage—is the subject of Robert Tsai’s Practical Equality.” Aziz Rana hailed America’s Forgotten Constitutions as “a remarkable feat of excavation” in the Texas Law Review, while Susan McWilliams called the book “magisterial… one of the most captivating works on American political thought and constitutional history to be written in the last several years.” In Perspectives on Politics, Beau Breslin said Tsai’s first book, Eloquence and Reason, was “fresh,” “sophisticated… the theory presented is subtle in its complexity,” while legal historian Anders Walker deemed it “nuanced, novel, and compelling.”
He is working on two other longer projects: one about the virtues of adaptability and capacity within a constitutional order; another about a civil rights lawyer who founded a legal services organization in Eastern Kentucky and battled to stem the damage from overmining the land.
Professor Tsai has authored numerous law review articles and peer-edited essays. A representative sample of his work includes: “Abortion Politics and the Rise of Movement Jurists,” 57 U.C. Davis Law Review 2149 (2024); “After McCleskey,” 96 Southern California Law Review (forthcoming 2023); “Abandoning Animus,” 74 Alabama Law Review 755 (2023); “The Public Defender Movement in the Age of Mass Incarceration: Georgia’s Experience,” 1 Journal of American Constitutional History 85 (2023); “Can Sandel Dethrone Meritocracy?,” 1 American Journal of Law & Equality 70 (2021); “Inequality During a Pandemic, Parts I-II,” Harvard Law Review online (2020); “Manufactured Emergencies,”129 Yale Law Journal Forum 350 (2020); “Racial Purges,” 118 Michigan Law Review 1127 (2020); “Constitutional Borrowing,” 108 Michigan Law Review 459 (2010); “John Brown’s Constitution,” 51 Boston College Law Review 151 (2010); “Reconsidering Gobitis: An Exercise in Presidential Leadership,” 86 Washington University Law Review 363 (2008); and “Fire, Metaphor, and Constitutional Myth-Making,” 93 Georgetown Law Journal 181 (2004). Two of Tsai’s papers were selected for the Stanford-Yale Junior Faculty Forum—one in constitutional theory, one in constitutional history.
His scholarship has been featured by the New Yorker, Slate, NPR, MSNBC, Morning Joe, American Scholar, Daily Beast, Boston Globe, and Harvard Law Review. Additionally, he has served as a legal commentator on Meet the Press and MSNBC. His popular writings have appeared in the New York Review of Books, Washington Post, Politico, Los Angeles Review of Books, Boston Globe, Slate, and Boston Review.
Professor Tsai is a founding board member of the Journal of American Constitutional History, as well as Constitutional Studies. He was elected to the American Law Institute in July 2023.
Tsai is a graduate of Yale Law School and the University of California, Los Angeles. After law school, he clerked for Denny Chin, US District Court, SDNY, and Hugh Bownes, US Court of Appeals, First Circuit.
Before joining BU Law, Professor Tsai taught at American University. He has also taught at the University of Oregon. In fall 2019, he served as the Clifford Scott Green Chair and Visiting Professor of Law at Temple University.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Jurisprudence, Law & Government, Law & Social Sciences, and Legal History
Publications
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Robert L. Tsai, Chapter 3: Civic Education and Democracy's Flaws, in Civic Education in Polarized Times: NOMOS LXVI (Elizabeth Beaumont and Eric Beerbohm,2024)
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Robert L. Tsai, Demand the Impossible: One Lawyer's Pursuit of Equal Justice for All (2024)
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Robert L. Tsai & Mary Ziegler, Abortion Politics and the Rise of Movement Jurists 57 U.C. Davis Law Review (2024)
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Robert L. Tsai, Becoming Steve Bright 113 Kentucky Law Journal (2024)
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Robert L. Tsai, Roads Not Taken on Affirmative Action 54 Seton Hall Law Review (2024)
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Robert L. Tsai, Book Review: "Real Americans: National Identity, Violence, and the Constitution" by Jared A. Goldstein 138 Political Science Quarterly (2023)
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Robert L. Tsai, After McCleskey 96 Southern California Law Review (2023)
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Robert L. Tsai, The Public Defender Movement in the Age of Mass Incarceration: Georgia's Experience 1 Journal of American Constitutional History (2023)
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Robert L. Tsai, Abandoning Animus 74 Alabama Law Review (2023)
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Robert L. Tsai, Somewhere, USA, in After Life: A Collective History of Loss and Redemption in Pandemic America (Rhae Lynn Barnes, Keri Leigh Merritt, and Yohuru Williams,2022)
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Robert L. Tsai, Why Judges Can't Save Democracy 72 Syracuse Law Review (2022)
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Robert L. Tsai, The Place of the Presidency in Historical Time 101 Boston University Law Review (2021)
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Robert L. Tsai, The New Abortion Vigilantism The New York Review of Books (2021)
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Robert L. Tsai, Not Popular Enough no. 61 Democracy Journal (2021)
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Robert L. Tsai & Christopher Robertson, Biden’s attempts to diversify federal courts can’t come fast enough The Hill (2021)
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Robert L. Tsai, The Future of Materialist Constitutionalism The New Rambler (2021) (book review)
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Robert L. Tsai, Legacies of Pragmatism 69 Drake Law Review (2021)
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Robert L. Tsai, A Proper Burial 74 Arkansas Law Review (2021)
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Robert L. Tsai, Can Sandel Dethrone Meritocracy? Comment on M. Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit 2021 American Journal of Law and Equality (2021)
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Robert L. Tsai, Supreme Court Precedent and the Politics of Repudiation, in Law's infamy : Understanding the Canon of Bad Law (Austin Sarat, Lawrence Douglas & Martha Merrill Umphrey,2021)
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Robert L. Tsai, Racial Purges 118 Michigan Law Review (2020) (book review)
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Robert L. Tsai, Equality is a Brokered Idea 88 George Washington Law Review Arguendo (2020)
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Robert L. Tsai, Considerations of History and Purpose in Constitutional Borrowing 28 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal (2019)
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Robert L. Tsai, The Hidden Costs of Dissent 34 Constitutional Commentary (2019)
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Robert L. Tsai, Practical Equality: Forging Justice in a Divided Nation (2019)
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Robert L. Tsai, Immigration Unilateralism and American Ethnonationalism 51 Loyola University Chicago Law Journal (2019)
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Robert L. Tsai, Manufactured Emergencies 129 Yale Law Journal Forum (2019)
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Robert L. Tsai, Review of Extraordinary Racial Politics by Fred Lee 106 Journal of American History (2019) (book review)
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Robert L. Tsai, Obama's Conversion on Same-Sex Marriage: The Social Foundations of Individual Rights 50 Connecticut Law Review (2018)
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Robert L. Tsai, Legal Language: Expansion, Consolidation, Resistance, in The Routledge Research Companion to Law and Humanities in Nineteenth-Century America (Nan Goodman & Simon Stern,2017)
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Robert L. Tsai, Review of Bind Us Apart: How Enlightened Americans Invented Racial Segregation by Nicholas Guyatt 104 Journal of American History (2017) (book review)
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Robert L. Tsai, Review of The Civic Constitution: Civic Visions and Struggles in the Path Toward Constitutional Democracy by Elizabeth Beaumont 15 Contemporary Political Theory (2016) (book review)
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Robert L. Tsai, A Tradition at War with Itself: A Reply to Professor Rana's Review of America's Forgotten Constitutions: Defiant Visions of Power and Community 94 Texas Law Review (2016)
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Robert L. Tsai, Three Arguments About War 30 Constitutional Commentary (2015)
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Robert L. Tsai, Review of Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United by Zephyr Teachout 102 Journal of American History (2015) (book review)
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Robert L. Tsai, Conclusion. The Migration of Legal Ideas: Legislative Design and the Lawmaking Process, in Comparative Law in Legislative Drafting: The Increasing Importance of Dialogue Amongst Parliaments (Nicola Lupo and Lucia Scaffardi (eds.).,2014)
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Robert L. Tsai, America's Forgotten Constitutions: Defiant Visions of Power and Community (2014)
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Robert L. Tsai, "Simple" Takes on the Supreme Court 5 Alabama Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Law Review (2013)
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Robert L. Tsai, Introduction: The Politics of Hate 10 Journal of Hate Studies (2012)
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Robert L. Tsai & Nelson Tebbe, Notes on Borrowing and Convergence 111 Columbia Law Review Sidebar (2011)
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Robert L. Tsai, Aryans, Gender, and American Politics 4 Sexuality and Politics (2011)
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Robert L. Tsai & Nelson Tebbe, Constitutional Borrowing 108 Michigan Law Review (2010)
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Robert L. Tsai, From Words to Worlds: Exploring Constitutional Functionality by Beau Breslin 8 Perspectives on Politics (2010) (book review)
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Robert L. Tsai, The Ethics of Melancholy Citizenship 89 Oregon Law Review (2010)
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Robert L. Tsai, John Brown's Constitution 51 Boston College Law Review (2010)
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Robert L. Tsai, Public Forum, in Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (David S. Tanenhaus,2009)
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Robert L. Tsai, Chambers v. Florida, in Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (David S. Tanenhaus,2009)
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Robert L. Tsai, First Amendment, in Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (David S. Tanenhaus,2009)
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Robert L. Tsai, Sovereignty as Discourse 25 Constitutional Commentary (2008)
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Robert L. Tsai, Reconsidering Gobitis: An Exercise in Presidential Leadership 86 Washington University Law Review (2008)
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Robert L. Tsai, Eloquence and Reason: Creating a First Amendment Culture (2008)
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Robert L. Tsai, Democracy's Handmaid 86 Boston University Law Review (2006)
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Robert L. Tsai, Sacred Visions of Law 90 Iowa Law Review (2005)
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Robert L. Tsai, Fire, Metaphor, and Constitutional Myth-Making 93 Georgetown Law Journal (2004)
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Robert L. Tsai, Speech and Strife 67 Law & Contemporary Problems (2004)
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Robert L. Tsai, Conceptualizing Constitutional Litigation as Anti-Government Expression: a Speech-Centered Theory of Court Access 51 American University Law Review (2002)
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Robert L. Tsai, The System Worked: Our Schizophrenic Stance on Welfare 106 Yale Law Journal (1996) (book review)
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In the Media
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NBC News January 28, 2025
Meet the Press NOW
Robert Tsai is interviewed.
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The Boston Globe January 16, 2025
Trump’s Dangerous Bid to End Birthright Citizenship
Robert Tsai is quoted.
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Mother Jones November 26, 2024
The Plot Against Birthright Citizenship
Robert Tsai is quoted.
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Public Books November 13, 2024
The Fight for Justice Starts with Blocking Judges Who Are “Tough on Crime”
Robert Tsai pens an opinion.
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BU Today November 6, 2024
What Does Donald Trump’s Election Mean for…
Linda McClain, Sarah Sherman-Stokes, and Robert Tsai are quoted.
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Legal Talk Network October 15, 2024
Equal Justice for All Is Possible with Robert Tsai
Robert Tsai is interviewed.
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Medium September 20, 2024
Robert Tsai Tackles the Topic of Amendment Reform During His Constitution Day Lecture
Robert Tsai is mentioned.
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Bostonia August 7, 2024
Is Our Democracy at Risk?
Robert L. Tsai is quoted.
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Salon July 29, 2024
“They Have Way Too Much Power”: Experts Say “Modest” Biden Supreme Court Plan Needs to Go Further
Robert L. Tsai is quoted.
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Constitutional Accountability Center July 9, 2024
CAC’s Ghosh Discusses SCOTUS Presidential Immunity Case at Seattle U School of Law Webinar
Jed Shugerman and Robert Tsai are featured.
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Seattle University School of Law News Center July 8, 2024
Seattle U Law Convenes Webinar with Experts on Presidential Immunity
Robert Tsai and Jed Shugerman are mentioned.
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TIME June 28, 2024
Supreme Court Opinions Don’t Have to Be the End of the Fight for Justice
Robert L. Tsai pens an opinion.
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June 27, 2024
The Democracy Group’s 2024 Summer Reading List
Robert Tsai is mentioned.
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The Hill May 4, 2024
Equal Justice Is under Threat in Louisiana
Robert Tsai pens an opinion.
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New Yorker April 17, 2024
The Equality Conundrum
Robert Tsai's work is featured.
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Stories from The Record
Activities & Engagements
No upcoming activities or engagements.