Ely the Transgressor
7 Pages Posted: 5 Feb 2010
Date Written: April 1, 2004
Abstract
Top-of-the-charts citation counts hardly capture John Hart Ely's formidable role in American constitutional law. John's impeccable Establishment credentials as a student, teacher, and dean - at schools including Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and Stanford - misleadingly suggest that he was influential because he was an insider.' John's uncanny ability to be present (and directly involved) at the creation of such significant matters as Gideon v. Wainwright, the Warren Commission, and the 1964 Term of the Warren Court might underscore such a misperception. In fact, John delighted to cross the usual lines and to elude classification. Perhaps it was his strong ego that allowed him to be generous to the unfamous and to those in need of protection.
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