Randy Barnett
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Randy E. Barnett is a lawyer, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and legal theorist in the United States, noted for his libertarian theory of law and his work on contract theory and constitutional law and theory.
After attending Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Barnett worked as a state's attorney (prosecutor) in Chicago, Illinois. Barnett initially taught at the Chicago-Kent College of Law of the Illinois Institute of Technology; he later became the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Law at Boston University where he served as the faculty adviser for the Federalist Society. Barnett has also twice been a Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He joined the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center in 2006. Barnett is a Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute and the Goldwater Institute. His book The Structure of Liberty was awarded the Ralph Gregory Elliot Book in 1998.
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[edit] The Structure of Liberty
Main article: The Structure of Liberty
The Structure of Liberty is a book by legal theorist Randy Barnett which offers a libertarian theory of law and politics. Barnett calls his theory the liberal conception of justice, emphasizing the relationship between legal libertarianism and classical liberalism. This theory is, perhaps, less libertarian than it is anarcho-capitalist. Barnett holds that private adjudication and enforcement of law, with market forces eliminating inefficiencies and inequities, is the only legal system that would provide adequate solutions to the problems of interest, power, and knowledge.
There have been several criticisms and reviews of Barnett's theory, including:
- N. Stephen Kinsella, Knowledge, Calculation, Conflict, and Law, 2 Q.J. AUSTRIAN ECON. 49 (1999).
- Richard Epstein, "The Libertarian Quartet", REASON, Jan. 1999 (avail. online at: http://reason.com/9901/bk.re.thelibertarian.shtml).
- David N. Mayer, Book Review, The Structure of Liberty, 20 CATO J. 279 (2000).
- Lawrence B. Solum, Book Review, The Structure of Liberty: Justice and the Rule of Law, 97 Mich. L. Rev. 1780 (1999).
- John K. Palchak & Stanley T. Leung, No State Required? A Critical Review of the Polycentric Legal Order, 38 GONZ. L. REV. 289 (2002).
[edit] Constitutional theory
Barnett has also done work on the theory of the United States Constitution, culminating in his book Restoring the Lost Constitution. He argues for an originalist theory of constitutional interpretation, and for constitutional construction based on a presumption of liberty.
Barnett was also a lead lawyer for the plaintiffs in Gonzales v. Raich, which won a victory before the Ninth Circuit, ruling that federal action against legal marijuana patients violated the Commerce Clause. Barnett's side, however, lost when the Supreme Court ruled on June 6, 2005, that Congress had the power to prevent states from legalizing medical marijuana.
Barnett is also known for his work on the history and original meaning of the Second and Ninth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Barnett is a leading proponent of the view that the "rights retained by the people" in the Ninth Amendment are judicially enforceable (through the presumption of liberty). He has also advanced the view that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms, albeit one subject to regulation by Congress through Article I Sec. 8 Cl. 16.
[edit] Contract theory
Barnett is also known for his work in contract theory. In that field he has advanced a distinctive theory of contract formation that emphasizes the intention to be bound as the key to contract law. He is also known for his work on the idea of a default rule, i.e. a rule of contract law that binds the parties if their contract does not cover the eventuality or condition that is the subject of the default rule.
[edit] Biographical Information
Barnett is married to Beth Barnett and they have one son and one daughter. His son Gary Barnett attends Georgetown University Law Center. His daughter Laura Barnett is currently living in Washington, D.C. and works for the Institute for Humane Studies.
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] Books
- Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty (2004)
- The Structure of Liberty: Justice and the Rule of Law (1998)
- Contract Cases and Doctrine (1995, 2ed 1999, 3ed 2003)
- Perspectives on Contract Law (1995, 2ed 2001)
[edit] Articles
- Randy Barnett, Justice Kennedy's Libertarian Revolution: Lawrence v. Texas (Social Science Research Network 2003).
[edit] See also
- Libertarian theories of law
- Libertarianism
- Classical liberalism
- Contract theory
- Default rule
- Philosophy of law
- Lawrence v. Texas
