Mitchell Berman

Mitchell Berman is the Leon Meltzer Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, and Co-Director of the Institute of Law and Philosophy. His research spans constitutional law and theory, criminal law philosophy, jurisprudence, and the philosophy of sport. He is known for his work on nonoriginalist constitutional interpretation, retributivist punishment theory, and the jurisprudence of sport. Berman has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles and co-authored The Jurisprudence of Sport: Sports and Games as Legal Systems, a foundational text in legal-theoretic analysis of sport. His scholarship addresses topics such as blackmail, unconstitutional conditions, and legal positivism.

As an award-winning teacher, Berman has contributed to legal education through innovative pedagogical frameworks linking legal concepts to sport rules. His public engagement includes op-eds critiquing governmental overreach, such as leveraging federal funding to suppress constitutional rights. His interdisciplinary approach bridges legal theory, moral philosophy, and institutional analysis.

Key research themes include constitutional decision rules, principles of proportionate punishment, and the interplay between law and artificial normative systems. Berman’s work frequently appears in top journals like Harvard Law Review, Michigan Law Review, and Philosophy & Phenomenological Research.