Research Director, Independence Institute
David B. Kopel is Research Director at the Independence Institute; Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute; and Senior Fellow at the University of Wyoming College of Law, Firearms Research Center. He received his B.A. in history with Highest Honors from Brown University and his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.
He is the author of over 20 books, including the textbook Firearm Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy (Aspen Pubs. 4th ed. forthcoming 2026). His scholarship and briefs have been cited 7 Supreme Court cases--including Heller, McDonald, and Bruen--and in 140 lower courts opinions. He is the author of 120 scholarly articles. His shorter articles often appear on The Volokh Conspiracy blog, hosted by Reason magazine. His topics of interest include the right to arms throughout history, the Colorado Constitution, and law enforcement policy.
Olin-Darling Fellow, Stanford Law School
Lance Sorenson is currently the Olin-Darling Fellow at Stanford Law School.. He has a law degree from Pepperdine University and is a PhD candidate in Legal History at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is interested in legal systems and structures, particularly in the American West. His dissertation analyzes iterations of United States’ federalism as part of westward expansion.
Vice President, Practice Groups, The Federalist Society
Director, Faculty Relations, The Federalist Society
Katie McClendon is the Director of Faculty Relations at the Federalist Society, where she has worked since 2015.
Katie holds a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from Biola University, where she was a member of the Torrey Honors Institute. She is a fellow of the John Jay Institute and the Blackstone Legal Fellowship. Katie is originally from Los Angeles, and she now lives with her husband and four children in Atlanta.
Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Orin S. Kerr is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches and writes in the areas of criminal procedure and computer crime law. Kerr earned mechanical engineering degrees from Princeton University and Stanford University before graduating with a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a former law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the United States Supreme Court and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Professor of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law
Prof. Shannon has expertise in civil procedure, legal process, and federal courts and litigation. Prior to joining Florida Coastal School of Law in 2004, Prof. Shannon was an Instructor/Visiting Associate Professor at University of Idaho College of Law and an Attorney with Helsell Fetterman LLP. He earned a J.D. from University of Washington School of Law and a B.A. from University of Washington.
Retired
Tom Gede retired in 2023 as a principal in Morgan Lewis Consulting LLC and of counsel to the firm. He currently consults on a variety of legal and policy matters for both public and private clients. Tom has a national reputation and distinguished background in federal Indian law. Prior to retirement, he represented clients in complex governmental matters in litigation, administrative and regulatory proceedings, including high-profile matters involving state governments. A former senior deputy in the California Attorney General’s office, Tom was amicus coordinator and Supreme Court counsel, and argued cases in the US Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, and numerous state and federal appellate courts.
Tom also served as executive director of the Conference of Western Attorneys General (CWAG), coordinating activities on key legal and policy issues, such as federal Indian law, energy, environmental, public lands, financial services, and telecommunications, for the attorneys general of 18 western states and territories. In 2016, Tom was elected as a Member of the American Law Institute (ALI), and served as an Adviser on the Restatement of the Law Third - The Law of American Indians. Tom also taught federal Indian law as an adjunct law professor at the University of the Pacific - McGeorge School of Law. He served as an assistant editor for and the author of the Indian gaming chapter in CWAG’s American Indian Law Deskbook (2d & 3d eds.). He has been engaged in Indian gaming and Indian law matters for more than three decades, having focused on the gaming compacts with Indian tribes, as well as complex civil and criminal jurisdiction, land, natural resources, water and law enforcement issues in Indian country. He has testified before Congress on American Indian and Native Alaskan issues. In 2012 he was appointed by Speaker John Boehner to serve on the United States Indian Law and Order Commission, where he examined criminal justice issues in Indian country and Alaska, resulting in the issuance of an important report to the President and Congress.
Voisine v. United States - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
David B. Kopel
On June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court decided Voisine v. United States. Stephen Voisine was...
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Lance Sorenson
On June 9, 2016, the Supreme Court decided Puerto Rico v. Sanchez Valle. Sanchez Valle...
Fisher v. UT–Austin and the Future of Racial Preferences in College Admissions
Elizabeth Slattery
Note from the Editor: This article discusses the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fisher v. University...
The Federalist Paper, Summer 2016
Katie McClendon
The Supreme Court just wrapped up its 2015-2016 Term, and the Federalist Society has been...
Utah v. Strieff - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Orin S. Kerr
On June 20, 2016, the Supreme Court decided Utah v. Strieff. A police officer detained...
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Judicial Impartiality Must Not Be a Mere "Facade": On the Dangers of Individual and Systematic Judicial Bias
In an article published Tuesday on this blog, David Applegate applauds the New York Times...
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Trump Trumps Ginsburg
In an astonishing editorial – astounding because of its source, not its content – entitled...
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On May 31, 2016, the Supreme Court decided United States Army Corps of Engineers v....
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On June 9, 2016, the Supreme Court decided Dietz v. Bouldin. Petitioner Rocky Dietz sued respondent...
United States v. Bryant - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Thomas F. Gede
On June 13, 2016, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Bryant. Michael Bryant, Jr., has...