Richard C. Schragger

Richard C. Schragger is a Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, where he has been a faculty member since 2001. He currently holds the Walter L. Brown Professorship (since 2022) and previously held the Perre Bowen Professorship (2013-2022). Schragger co-directs the Program in Law, Communities and the Environment (PLACE) with Cale Jaffe.

• Education: J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School (1994), where he served as a supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review; M.A. in legal theory from University College London.
• Career: Clerked for Judge Dolores Sloviter (Third Circuit), practiced law at Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin (1994-1996), and has been a visiting professor at multiple institutions including the University of Chicago, NYU, and Columbia Law School.

Schragger's research intersects constitutional law, local government law, federalism, and law and religion. His work examines the constitutional and economic status of cities, religious liberty, and the legal constraints on urban governance. His recent articles focus on government speech doctrine, religious accommodations, land use deregulation, and the political economy of city power.

Selected Scholarly Contributions: Author of City Power: Urban Governance in a Global Age (Oxford University Press, 2016); Cities, Not States: The Law and Politics of Federalism (forthcoming, 2024); and co-author of The Cross, the Confederate, and the Constitution (2023, work in progress). His upcoming book argues against the constitutional primacy of states in favor of urban actors.

Scientific Contributions & Affiliations:

• Faculty Fellow, Miller Center
• Member, American Law Institute
• Faculty Adviser, Local Solutions Support Center
• Co-author of the Principles of Home Rule for the 21st Century (2020)

Schragger's publications span top law reviews and journals, with a focus on the interaction between cities and states in constitutional frameworks, religious liberty jurisprudence, and urban economic development. His empirical work analyzes municipal bankruptcy disclosures and zoning impacts on housing supply.