James Bradley Thayer

Digging a Hole: The Legal Theory Podcast

Another episode, another student of David and Sam’s on the podcast. Except this time, we have a current student instead of a former one! In this episode, a joint Lillian Goldman Law Library book talk-Digging a Hole production that took place in front of a live audience on January 23, 2023, we interview Yale Law student Jake Mazeitis and Wick Cary Associate Professor at the University of Oklahoma Andrew Porwancher on their book The Prophet of Harvard Law: James Bradley Thayer and His Legal Legacy.

We begin by discussing just who exactly James Bradley Thayer was and his contributions to the structure of American constitutional law. We dive into his intellectual and personal legacies, his litany of students who shaped American jurisprudence, and ruminate on the student-teacher relationship. Our guests develop an idea of what it means to be Thayerian, and how we all live with Thayer’s legacy – and even praise/accuse Sam of being a bona fide Thayerian. Finally, we discuss Thayer’s democratic motivations and the limits of his legal realism before turning it over to the audience for a few questions.

This podcast is generously supported by Themis Bar Review.

Referenced Readings

• “Constitutionality Of Legislation: The Precise Question for a Court” by James Bradley Thayer
• “The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law” by James Bradley Thayer
• “Becoming Brahmin: A Country Boy's Journey to Harvard Yard” by Andrew Porwancher and Austin Coffey