Anthony J. Bellia Jr.

Anthony J. Bellia Jr. is the O’Toole Professor of Constitutional Law and Concurrent Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame’s Law School. He joined the faculty in 2000 and also served as a visiting professor at the University of Virginia School of Law (2007). He directs the Notre Dame Program on Constitutional Structure and is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). Bellia specializes in constitutional law, federal courts, federalism, legal history, civil procedure, and contracts. His work includes foundational texts like the first American casebook on Federalism and The Law of Nations and the United States Constitution (Oxford 2017). His research often intersects with historical legal analysis, judicial methodology, and the interplay between federal and state authority.

Bellia earned his J.D. summa cum laude from Notre Dame Law School (1994), where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Notre Dame Law Review, and a B.A. summa cum laude from Canisius College (1991), recognized as outstanding in economics and political science and a Truman Scholar. Before academia, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, and District Court Judge William Skretny, then practiced litigation at Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin, focusing on constitutional, criminal, and commercial cases.

His scholarship emphasizes constitutional structure, federal jurisdiction, and historical application of legal principles. Notable works include analyses of the Alien Tort Statute, Article III jurisdictional origins, and federal common law. His articles frequently address transnational law, judicial federalism, and originalist interpretations of constitutional text.

Bellia’s teaching spans Contracts, Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, and Federalism. He has contributed to over 20 law review articles and authored/co-authored major casebooks. His work bridges historical legal scholarship with contemporary doctrinal debates, particularly in federalism and separation of powers.