Professor

John Fabian Witt

Yale Law School
Legal scholar; Historian (law); Educator
Area
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Specialty
Law
Elected
2014
Historian of American law, and scholar of modern tort law and international law. Most recent book Lincoln's Code: The Laws of War in American History (2012) was awarded the 2013 Bancroft Prize for history, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Additional books include The Accidental Republic: Crippled Workingmen, Destitute Widows, and the Remaking of American Law (2004), which was awarded the Cromwell Prize. Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law (2007) is a volume of biographical essays containing an account of how Roscoe Pound fell into the clutches of Melvin Belli, the fabled tort lawyer, and became a foil in the trial lawyer's lobby. Writes for The New York Times, Slate, and The Washington Post.
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