Laurence Tribe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Laurence Tribe
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Tribe in 2019
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Laurence Henry Tribe
October 10, 1941 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA, JD) |
| Awards | American Philosophical Society’s Henry M. Phillips Prize in Jurisprudence (2013) |
| Scientific career | |
| Notable students | Barack Obama Ted Cruz John Roberts Elena Kagan Merrick Garland Kathleen Sullivan Jamie Raskin Adam Schiff Kenneth Chesebro |
| Influences |
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Laurence Henry Tribe (born October 10, 1941) is an American legal expert. He is famous for his work on United States constitutional law, which is about the rules and principles that govern the U.S. government and protect people's rights. Tribe taught at Harvard Law School from 1968 until he retired in 2020. He is now a special professor emeritus there.
Tribe helped start the American Constitution Society, a group that supports progressive legal ideas. He also wrote American Constitutional Law (1978), a very important book in his field. He has argued cases before the United States Supreme Court 36 times. In 2010, he was chosen to be a member of the American Philosophical Society, a group that promotes useful knowledge.
Contents
Early Life and School Years
Laurence Tribe was born in 1941 in Shanghai, China. At that time, Shanghai was under Japanese control. His family was Jewish, and his parents came from Eastern Europe. Tribe spent his first six years in Shanghai before his family moved to the United States. They settled in San Francisco, where he went to Abraham Lincoln High School.
After finishing high school in 1958 at age 16, Tribe went to Harvard University. He studied mathematics and was part of the Harvard Debate Team that won a national competition in 1961. He earned his first degree from Harvard in 1962 with very high honors.
Tribe then started a PhD in mathematics but decided to switch to law. He attended Harvard Law School and was part of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, which helps people with legal problems. He graduated from law school in 1966 with high honors.
In 2013, Columbia University gave him an honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
His Career as a Lawyer and Teacher
After law school, Tribe worked for two important judges. First, he was a law clerk (a legal assistant) for Justice Mathew Tobriner in California from 1966 to 1967. Then, he worked for Justice Potter Stewart at the U.S. Supreme Court from 1967 to 1968. After that, he joined the Harvard Law School as a professor in 1968.
Many of Tribe's students and research assistants at Harvard became very famous. These include former President Barack Obama, Chief Justice John Roberts, Senator Ted Cruz, and Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan. Other notable students include U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff and Jamie Raskin, who were both lead managers for the impeachment of Donald Trump.
In 1978, Tribe published his major book, American Constitutional Law. This book is still a key text for people studying constitutional law.
Tribe has argued many important cases. In 1982, he represented a restaurant called Grendel's Den. The case was about a Massachusetts law that let religious groups stop alcohol sales nearby. The Supreme Court agreed with Tribe, saying the law violated the separation of church and state.
In 1985, Tribe represented the National Gay Task Force. They challenged an Oklahoma law that would have allowed schools to fire teachers who were gay or supported gay rights. The Supreme Court's decision meant the law was struck down, protecting teachers' First Amendment rights.
Tribe also wrote a legal brief for the Lawrence v. Texas case in 2003. This case led the Supreme Court to overturn an older ruling that allowed states to ban certain private acts between consenting adults.
In 1987, Tribe spoke during the Senate hearings for Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination. Tribe argued that Bork's views on rights were too limiting. His involvement made him well-known outside of legal circles.
In 2000, Tribe was part of Al Gore's legal team during the very close 2000 United States presidential election. He argued a case in federal court about the vote recounts in Florida. Later, the Supreme Court decided to stop the recounts, and George W. Bush became president.
Since the mid-1990s, Tribe has also represented large companies. For example, he represented General Electric in a case about environmental cleanup costs. He also represented Peabody Energy in a case against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Tribe argued that the EPA's plan to reduce pollution was unconstitutional. Other legal experts have disagreed with his arguments in these cases.
In 2020, Tribe was named a member of the "Real Facebook Oversight Board," a group that watches over Facebook.
Involvement in Politics
Tribe is a co-founder of the American Constitution Society. This group was created to offer a different view from the more conservative Federalist Society. Tribe also supports animal rights.
He advised Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. In 2010, he worked for the United States Department of Justice as a "Senior Counselor for Access to Justice" but left after eight months due to health reasons.
In 2016, Tribe helped create The Electors Trust. This group offered free legal advice to members of the United States Electoral College who were thinking about voting against Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.
After James Comey was fired in 2017, Tribe suggested that Congress should investigate President Trump for obstruction of justice. Tribe believed Trump's actions could be considered "high crimes and misdemeanors," which are reasons for impeachment.
Tribe is also on the board of the Renew Democracy Initiative. This group works to support and protect liberal democracy in the U.S. and other countries.
In 2004, Tribe admitted that he had used some phrases and a sentence from another author's book without proper credit in his 1985 book, God Save this Honorable Court. Harvard investigated and said it was "a significant lapse in proper academic practice," but they concluded he did not mean to plagiarize.
Tribe has faced some criticism for promoting certain ideas about Donald Trump. Some people, like political scientist Brendan Nyhan, have said Tribe shared "misinformation and conspiracy theories" on Twitter. Tribe has removed some of these posts and disagrees with how the situation has been described.
In 2023, The New York Times reported that Kenneth Chesebro, who was involved in a plan to use false electors in the 2020 United States presidential election, referred to comments by Tribe. Tribe stated that Chesebro's use of his comments was a "gross misrepresentation" and "taken out of context."
Also in 2023, Tribe and other legal experts argued that former President Donald Trump might be barred from running for president again. They based this on a part of the 14th Amendment related to his alleged support for the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Cases Argued in Court
Here are some of the cases Tribe has argued in the Supreme Court:
| Case | Citation | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia | 448 U.S. 555 | 1980 |
| Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness | 452 U.S. 640 | 1981 |
| Crawford v. Board of Education | 458 U.S. 527 | 1982 |
| Larkin v. Grendel’s Den, Inc. | 459 U.S. 116 | 1982 |
| White v. Massachusetts Council | 460 U.S. 204 | 1983 |
| Pacific Gas & Electric v. California | 461 U.S. 190 | 1983 |
| Hawaii Housing Auth. v. Midkiff | 467 U.S. 229 | 1984 |
| Northeast Bancorp v. Fed. Reserve | 472 U.S. 159 | 1985 |
| National Gay Task Force v. Board of Education | 470 U.S. 159 | 1985 |
| Fisher v. City of Berkeley | 475 U.S. 260 | 1986 |
| Bowers v. Hardwick | 478 U.S. 186 | 1986 |
| Pennzoil v. Texaco | 481 U.S. 1 | 1986 |
| Schweiker v. Chilicky | 487 U.S. 412 | 1988 |
| Granfinanciera v. Nordberg | 492 U.S. 33 | 1989 |
| Sable Communications v. FCC | 492 U.S. 115 | 1989 |
| Adams Fruit v. Barrett | 494 U.S. 638 | 1990 |
| Rust v. Sullivan | 500 U.S. 173 | 1991 |
| Cipollone v. Liggett | 505 U.S. 504 | 1992 |
| TXO v. Alliance Resources | 509 U.S. 443 | 1993 |
| Honda Motor Co. v. Oberg | 512 U.S. 415 | 1994 |
| U.S. v. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone | 516 U.S. 415 | 1996 |
| Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party | 520 U.S. 351 | 1997 |
| Vacco v. Quill | 521 U.S. 793 | 1997 |
| Amchem Products v. Windsor | 521 U.S. 591 | 1997 |
| Baker v. General Motors | 522 U.S. 222 | 1998 |
| AT&T v. Iowa Utilities Board | 525 U.S. 366 | 1999 |
| Ortiz v. Fibreboard | 527 U.S. 815 | 1999 |
| Bush v. Palm Beach County Canvassing Board | 531 U.S. 70 | 2000 |
| New York Times Co. v. Tasini | 533 U.S. 438 | 2001 |
| U.S. v. United Foods | 533 U.S. 405 | 2001 |
| FCC v. NextWave | 537 U.S. 293 | 2002 |
| State Farm v. Campbell | 538 U.S. 408 | 2003 |
| Nike v. Kasky | 539 U.S. 654 | 2003 |
| Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association | 544 U.S. 550 | 2005 |
Tribe has also argued 26 cases in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, which are federal courts below the Supreme Court:
| Case | Citation | Circuit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide Church of God v. California | 623 F.2d 613 | 9th | 1980 |
| Grendel's Den v. Goodwin | 662 F.2d 102 | 1st | 1981 |
| Pacific Legal Foundation v. State Energy Resources | 659 F.2d 903 | 9th | 1981 |
| United States v. Sun Myung Moon | 718 F.2d 1210 | 2nd | 1983 |
| Romany v. Colegio de Abogados | 742 F.2d 32 | 1st | 1984 |
| Westmoreland v. CBS | 752 F.2d 16 | 2nd | 1984 |
| Colombrito v. Kelly | 764 F.2d 122 | 2nd | 1985 |
| Texaco v. Pennzoil | 784 F.2d 1133 | 2nd | 1986 |
| U.S. v. Bank of New England | 821 F.2d 844 | 1st | 1987 |
| U.S. v. Gallo | 859 F.2d 1078 | 2nd | 1988 |
| U.S. v. GAF Corporation | 884 F.2d 670 | 2nd | 1989 |
| U.S. v. Western Electric Company | 900 F.2d 283 | D.C. | 1999 |
| Fineman v. Armstrong World Industries | 980 F.2d 171 | D.C. | 1992 |
| U.S. v. Western Electric Company | 993 F.2d 1572 | D.C. | 1993 |
| Lightning Lube v. Witco Corporation | 4 F.3d 1153 | 3rd | 1993 |
| Hopkins v. Dow Corning Corporation | 33 F.3d 1116 | 9th | 1994 |
| Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone v. U.S. | 42 F.3d 181 | 4th | 1994 |
| Georgine v. Amchem Products, Inc. | 83 F.3d 610 | 3rd | 1996 |
| BellSouth Corp. v. F.C.C. | 144 F.3d 58 | D.C. | 1998 |
| SBC Communications v. F.C.C. | 154 F.3d 226 | 5th | 1998 |
| City of Dallas v. F.C.C. | F.3d 341 | 5th | 1999 |
| U.S. West v. Tristani | (90.5 KB) | 10th | 1999 |
| U.S. West v. F.C.C. | (220 KB) | 10th | 1999 |
| Southwest Voter Registration v. Shelley | (23.0 KB) | 9th | 2003 |
| Pacific Gas and Elec. v. California | (144 KB) | 9th | 2003 |
| General Electric v. E.P.A. | (49.8 KB) | D.C. | 2004 |
Books by Laurence Tribe
- Technology: Processes of Assessment and Choice (1969)
- Environmental Protection (1971; with Louis Jaffe)
- Channeling Technology Through Law (1973)
- The American Presidency: Its Constitutional Structure (1974)
- American Constitutional Law (a major book; 1978, 1979, 1988, and 2000)
- The Supreme Court: Trends and Developments (1979, 1980, 1982, 1983)
- God Save This Honorable Court: How the Choice of Supreme Court Justices Shapes Our History (1985)
- Constitutional Choices (1985)
- On Reading the Constitution (1991; with Michael Dorf)
- The Invisible Constitution (2008)
- Uncertain Justice: The Roberts Court and the Constitution (2014; with Joshua Matz)
- To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment (2018; with Joshua Matz)
Images for kids
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Tribe testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2006
See also
- Bill Clinton Supreme Court candidates
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 8)
