Richard Epstein

:"This article is about Richard Epstein the professor of law; for the American game theorist, see Richard A. Epstein."

Infobox Scientist
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name = Richard Epstein


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birth_date = birth date and age|1943|4|17
birth_place = New York City
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fields = Law and economics
workplaces = University of Chicago Law School
alma_mater = Columbia University
Oxford University
Yale Law School
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Richard Allen Epstein (born April 17, 1943) is the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law, the Faculty Director for Curriculum, and the Director, Law and Economics Program at the University of Chicago Law School. He is also an Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute, and the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Beginning in 2007, he is a visiting professor of law at New York University Law School. Epstein is considered one of the most influential legal thinkers of modern times. [cite web |url=http://www.legalaffairs.org/poll/ |title=Who Are the Top 20 Legal Thinkers in America? |accessdate=2008-07-04 |work=Legal Affairs |publisher= |date= ]

Born in New York, he has written on a wide variety of legal topics, and is known for a generally libertarian approach to issues in legal theory. Epstein is well-known for his arguments against anti-discrimination laws, among other positions. At the Law School, Epstein is known for his cheerful, talkative manner as well as his confident views.

Perhaps his most well-known work is "Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain", published by Harvard University Press in 1985. In that book, Epstein argues the government should be regarded with the same respect as any other private entity in a property dispute. Though U.S. Senator Joseph Biden denounced the book for the confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas for the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the book served as a focal point in the argument about the government's ability to control private property. [ [http://www.law.uchicago.edu/news/epsteintakings.html News release] ]

Epstein graduated "summa cum laude" from Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in 1964. He received a B.A. in jurisprudence from Oxford in 1966 (with first-class honours). He graduated cum laude from Yale Law School with an LL.B. in 1968. He began his teaching career at the University of Southern California Law School.

Books Epstein has written or edited

*2007 (editor, with Michael Greve). "Federal Preemption: States' Powers, National Interests". AEI Press.
*2006. "How Progressives Rewrote the Constitution". Cato Institute.
*2006. "Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation". Yale University Press
*2004. "Cases and Materials on Torts", 8th ed. Aspen Law & Business., 7th. ed. Aspen Law & Business. 1995, 6th ed., Little, Brown & Co. 1990, 5th ed., Little, Brown & Co.
*2003. "Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Case for Classical Liberalism". University of Chicago Press.
*2001 (with Cass Sunstein). "The Vote: Bush, Gore & the Supreme Court". University of Chicago Press.
*2000 (editor). "Liberty, Property and the Law" (5 Volumes, with series introduction and volume introductions). Garlard Press.
*1999. "Torts". Aspen Law & Business.
*1998. "Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty with the Common Good". Perseus.
*1997. "Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Right to Health Care?" Addison-Wesley.
*1995. "Simple Rules for Complex World". Harvard University Press.
*1993. "Bargaining with the State". Princeton University Press.
*1993. "Torts Supplement for Epstein, Cases and Materials on Torts". Little, Brown Inc.
*1992. "Forbidden Grounds: The Case Against Employment Discrimination Laws". Harvard University Press.
*1992 (edited with Geoffrey R. Stone & Cass R. Sunstein). "The Bill of Rights in the Modern State". University of Chicago Press.
*1987. "Supplement to Cases and Materials on Torts". Little, Brown & Co.
*1985 (edited with Jeffrey Paul). "Labor Law and the Employment Market". New Brunswick: Transaction Press.
*1985. "Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain". Harvard University Press.
*1984 (with C. Gregory and H. Kalven). "Cases and Materials on the Law of Tort", 4th ed. Little, Brown.
*1981. "Supplement to Cases and Materials on the Law of Tort". Little, Brown.
*1980. "Modern Products Liability Law". Quorum Books of the Greenwood Press.

ee also

*Libertarian theories of law

External links

* [http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/epstein/ Richard Epstein's Home Page at University of Chicago]
* [http://reason.com/9504/epstein.apr.shtml "Taking Exception"] , interview in "Reason" by Steve Chapman
* [http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2007/02/richard_epstein.html Podcast featuring Epstein] Epstein discusses "Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation" on EconTalk
* [http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2006/09/legislators_vs.html Podcast featuring Epstein] Epstein discusses Wal-Mart on EconTalk
* [http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2006/06/the_economics_o_4.html Podcast featuring Epstein] Epstein discusses organ donation on EconTalk
* [http://fora.tv/fora/showthread.php?t=1489 Interview with Richard Epstein] , "Hoover Institution's Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson", October 29, 2006

References