Willamette University

Faculty

Norman R. Williams

Norman R. Williams

Ken and Claudia Peterson Professor of Law; Director of the Center for Constitutional Government

  • J.D. New York University, summa cum laude, Order of the Coif
  • B.A. Harvard University, magna cum laude

Curriculum Vitae

Professor Williams graduated from New York University School of Law, where he was senior articles editor of the NYU Law Review. After graduation in 1995, Williams clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. From 1996 to 2001, he practiced in the U.S. Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group of the New York law firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt. He joined the Willamette law faculty in 2001. He teaches Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, Administrative Law, Advanced Constitutional Law (seminar) and Advanced Administrative Law (seminar). In addition to directing the Willamette Center for Constitutional Government, Williams is faculty co-advisor to the Willamette Law Review.

SSRN Author Page

Books, Chapters and Contributions

  • "Nixon v. United States," in THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES (Macmillan Gale, David S. Tanenhaus ed., 2008).
  • "State Sovereignty," in THE OXFORD INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LEGAL HISTORY (Oxford University Press, Stanley N. Katz, ed., 2008).
  • Teacher's Manual for Breyer, Stewart, Sunstein, and Vermeule, Administrative Law and Regulatory Policy: Problems, Texts and Cases (6th ed. 2006).

Law Review Articles

  • "One Person, One Vote and the National Party Conventions" (work in progress)
  • "Reforming the Electoral College: Federalism, Majoritarianism, and the Perils of Sub-Constitutional Change," 100 Georgetown L.J._(forthcoming 2011)
  • "Legislative Redistricting in Oregon: A Primer," 71 Or. St. Bar Bulletin 27 (Feb/Mar. 2011).
  • Book Review, "Gibbons v. Ogden, Law, Society in the Early Republic," 50 American Journal of Legal History_(forthcoming 2011)
  • "The New Protectionism and the American Common Market," 85 Notre Dame L. Rev. 247 (2009) (co-authored with Brannon Denning).
  • "Direct Democracy, The Guaranty Clause and the Politics of the Political Question Doctrine: Revisiting Pacific Telephone," 87 Oregon L. Rev. 979 (2009).
  • "The Foundations of the American Common Market," 84 Notre Dame L. Rev. 409 (2008).
  • "Taking Care of Ourselves: State Citizenship, the Market, and the State," 69 Ohio St. L.J. 469 (2008).
  • "The Commerce Clause and the Myth of Dual Federalism," 54 UCLA L. Rev. 1847 (2007).
  • "Executive Review in the Fragmented Executive: State Constitutionalism and Same-Sex Marriage," 154 U. Penn. L. Rev. 565 (2006).
  • "Why Congress May Not 'Overrule' the Dormant Commerce Clause," 53 UCLA L. Rev. 153 (2005).
  • "The Dormant Commerce Clause: Why Gibbons v. Ogden Should Be Restored to the Canon," 49 St. Louis Univ. L. J. 817 (2005).
  • "The People's Constitution," 57 Stanford L. Rev. 257 (2004).
  • "Gibbons," 79 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 1398 (2004).
  • "The Failings of Originalism: The Federal Courts and the Power of Precedent," 37 U.C. Davis. L. Rev. 761 (2004).
  • "Suburbanization and Market Failure: An Analysis of Government Policies Promoting Suburban Growth and Ethnic Assimilation," 27 Fordham Urb. L. J. 197 (Oct. 1999) (coauthored with William E. Nelson).
  • "Rising Above Factionalism: A Madisonian Theory of Judicial Review," 69 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 963 (Oct.-Nov. 1994).

Other Writings

  • "Legislative Redistricting in Oregon: A Primer," 71 Or. St. Bar Bulletin 26 (Feb./Mar. 2011)
  • "Healthcare Reform and the Constitution," Op-ed, Oregonian , February 15, 2011.
  • "Taking the Foxes out of the Legislative Henhouse," Op-ed, Oregonian, January 28, 2011.
  • "The Immigration Debate: One (Mexican) American's View," Op-ed, Oregonian , May 15, 2006.
  • "Special Trial Judges after Ballard: A Call for Reform," Tax Notes, May 23, 2005, p.1033.
  • "The U.S. Tax Court: A Return to Fair and Transparent Proceedings," in For the District of Oregon, a quarterly newsletter of the Oregon chapter of the Federal Bar Association, Summer 2005.
  • "People's Law," Op-ed, Oregonian , March 17, 2004.