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Philip Hamburger

Philip Hamburger is a leading scholar of constitutional law and its history who works on many topics, including religious liberty, freedom of speech, academic censorship, judicial review, the office and duty of judges, administrative power, and the early development of liberal thought. He also directs Columbia Law School’s Center on Law and Liberty, which has hosted renowned scholars for discussions on academic freedom and anti-Semitism, due process and sexual assault on college campuses, and free speech.

In 2017, Hamburger was awarded the prestigious Bradley Prize for “innovative thinkers and practitioners.” He has received many other honors as well, including the Hayek Book Prize for his book Is Administrative Law Unlawful?, in which he argues that administrative law is an unlawful return to pre-constitutional absolutism. Hamburger’s current research focuses on tax code restrictions on political speech for tax-exempt organizations.

The administrative state has become the government’s predominant mode of contact with citizens. Ultimately this is not about the politics of left or right. Unlawful government power should worry everybody.

The Wall Street Journal