Raoul Berger facts for kids

Raoul Berger (born January 4, 1901 – died September 23, 2000) was an American legal expert. He taught at the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard Law School. He is well-known for helping to develop a way of thinking about the law called originalism.

Early Life and School

Raoul Berger came to the United States from Ukraine with his family in 1904. First, he studied music to become a concert violinist. He even played in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 1928 to 1932. He was the second main violinist there.

He also played in the Cincinnati String Quartet. After getting his first degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1932, he stopped playing music professionally. He then decided to study law. He went to Northwestern University School of Law and finished when he was 35.

After practicing law in Chicago, he went to Harvard Law School. There, he earned a special law degree called a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 1938.

His Work Life

After finishing his studies, Berger worked for the government. He worked for the Securities and Exchange Commission first. Then, he was a special helper to the U.S. Attorney General. During World War II, he worked as a lawyer for the Alien Property Custodian.

After the war, he started his own law practice in Washington, D.C. He worked there until 1961.

Becoming a Professor

In 1962, Berger started teaching law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. Later, from 1971 to 1976, he became a special researcher at Harvard University School of Law.

His most important work was about the Constitution. Berger wrote a lot about impeachment. This is the process to remove a high-ranking official from office. He also wrote about executive privilege, which is the idea that a president can keep some information private. He also wrote about the Fourteenth Amendment. This part of the Constitution deals with citizenship and equal rights.

Berger was a strong critic of "executive privilege." His writings helped challenge President Richard Nixon's arguments during the impeachment process in 1973–74.

In 1977, Berger wrote a book called Government by Judiciary. This book caused a lot of discussion among legal experts. In it, Berger argued that the Warren Court had changed the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. He believed they ignored what the people who wrote it originally intended. For example, Berger argued that the writers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not mean for it to stop segregated schooling. Segregated schooling meant keeping students of different races in separate schools.

Many people see this book as the first important work written from an originalist point of view. Originalism means interpreting the Constitution based on what its original writers intended. Berger also believed that the Warren Court gave too much power to judges without the Constitution allowing it.

Berger kept writing articles, often replying to people who disagreed with him. He wrote until at least 1997. Raoul Berger passed away in 2000 when he was 99 years old.

See also

• Living Constitution