Prestigious judge to join Mason's law school

A well-known judge that currently serves as an adjunct professor at the George Mason University School of Law will now become a full-time professor.

Judge Douglas Ginsburg, one of the country’s most respected jurists and 

Judge Douglas Ginsburg will join the George Mason University School of Law as a full-time professor in July (photo courtesy of George Mason University School of Law).

legal theorists, will join the school this summer. Judge Ginsburg previously served on the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals beginning in 1986, serving as chief judge from 2001–2008, and was a member of the faculty at New York University School of Law.

“He will teach classes on antitrust, international competition and law and policy, in addition to lecturing at our law and economics center,” said Daniel Poslby, dean of George Mason University’s law school.

Judge Ginsburg is particularly well known for his expertise in antitrust. Antitrust law has long been an area of strength for the law school: in January 2013, Joshua Wright, a Mason professor, was sworn in as a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, the federal agency responsible for enforcing antitrust law, after having been unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate.

Before his appointment to the appeals court, Judge Ginsburg served in various positions under President Ronald Reagan’s administration. In 1987, President Reagan nominated Ginsburg to the United States Supreme Court. Ultimately, the nomination was withdrawn after Ginsburg faced allegations of past marijuana use. Anthony Kennedy was later confirmed to the seat and continues to serve on the court to this day.

Polsby said that despite Judge Ginsburg having served in the Reagan administration he “commands respect across the ideological spectrum and is a man of towering reputation.”

With regard to the failed Supreme Court nomination, Polsby remarked that the confirmation has become highly politicized over the years. He said it was the politics of the process that derailed the nomination, rather than any question of Judge Ginsburg’s abilities. Polsby called him “a deep student of the law” and “a legend.”

Judge Ginsburg has served as an adjunct professor at Mason for many years and will join the law school full time starting in July.