ÑÇÖÞAV

Ilya Somin is Professor of Law at ÑÇÖÞAV and the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute. His research focuses on constitutional law, property law, democratic theory, federalism, and migration rights. He is the author of(Oxford University Press, revised and expanded edition, 2022),ÌýÌý(Stanford University Press, revised and expanded second edition, 2016), andÌýÌý(University of Chicago Press, 2015, rev. paperback ed., 2016),Ìýcoauthor ofÌýÌý(Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), and co-editor ofÌýÌý(Cambridge University Press, 2017).ÌýDemocracy and Political IgnoranceÌýhas been translated into Italian and Japanese.

Somin’s work has appeared in numerous scholarly journals, including theÌýYale Law Journal,ÌýStanford Law Review,ÌýNorthwestern University Law Review,ÌýGeorgetown Law Journal,ÌýCritical Review, and others.ÌýSomin has also published articles in a variety of popular press outlets, includingÌýtheÌýNew York Times,ÌýWashington Post,ÌýWall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, CNN, NBC,ÌýThe Atlantic,ÌýUSA Today,ÌýBoston Globe,ÌýUS News and World Report,ÌýSouth China Morning Post,ÌýNational Law JournalÌýandÌýReason. He has been quoted or interviewed by theÌýNew York Times,ÌýWashington Post,ÌýWall Street Journal,ÌýTime,ÌýNewsweek,ÌýThe Economist,ÌýtheÌýChristian Science Monitor, theÌýFinancial Times,ÌýThe Guardian, the Associated Press, CBS, MSNBC, NPR, BBC, Reuters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Al Jazeera, and the Voice of America, among other media.

Somin’s writings have been cited in decisions by the United States Supreme Court, multiple state supreme courts and lower federal courts, and the Supreme Court of Israel. He has testified on the use of drones for targeted killing in the War on Terror before the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights. In 2009, he testified on property rights issues at the United States Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Somin writes regularly for the popularlaw and politics blog, now affiliated withÌýReasonÌýmagazine (previously affiliated with theÌýWashington PostÌýfrom 2014 to 2017). From 2006 to 2013, he served as Co-Editor of theÌý,Ìýone of the country’s top-rated law and economics journals.

Somin has served as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He has also been a visiting professor or scholar at the Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Hamburg, Germany, the University of Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Zhengzhou University in China. He is a University Affiliate of the Schar School of Policy and Government at ÑÇÖÞAV, and an affiliated faculty member of the ÑÇÖÞAV Institute for Immigration Research. Before joining the faculty at George Mason, Somin was the John M. Olin Fellow in Law at Northwestern University Law School in 2002-2003. In 2001-2002, he clerked for the Hon. Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Professor Somin earned his B.A.,ÌýSumma Cum Laude, at Amherst College, M.A. in Political Science from Harvard University, and J.D. from Yale Law School.