معرفی
Ashutosh Bhagwat is the Boochever and Bird Endowed Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality and Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Davis School of Law. He joined the faculty in 2011 after seventeen years at UC Hastings College of the Law. His research focuses on constitutional rights, free speech, administrative law, and energy law. Bhagwat holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and a B.A. in History (summa cum laude) from Yale University.
He has served as a clerk for Judge Richard A. Posner (7th Circuit) and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy (U.S. Supreme Court). Before academia, he practiced appellate law at Sidley & Austin in Washington, D.C. Bhagwat has been active in public service, including on the California Independent System Operator’s Board of Governors since 2011.
His research interests span constitutional law, free speech, administrative law, and energy policy. He has authored influential books like Our Democratic First Amendment (2020) and The Myth of Rights (2010), along with numerous articles in top journals like the Yale Law Journal and California Law Review.
- Education:
- J.D., University of Chicago Law School, 1990
- B.A. History, Yale University, 1986 (summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa)
- Awards and Affiliations:
- 2003 Rutter Award for Teaching Excellence (UC Hastings)
- Member, American Law Institute
Bhagwat’s publications often address modern challenges to free speech, such as digital platforms’ role as “gatekeepers” and the tension between government regulation and constitutional rights. He has contributed to debates on topics like social media liability, religious exemptions in compelled speech cases, and the evolution of First Amendment jurisprudence under Justice Kennedy.
