Faculty Feature: Professor Carlton F.W. Larson

Professor Carlton F.W. Larson studies American constitutional law and Anglo-American legal history. He is one of the nation’s foremost experts on the law of treason. Often cited by federal and state courts, his research has also been quoted in such publications as The New York Times and The Economist. He frequently comments for the national media on constitutional law issues, and he has published several op-eds in The Atlantic and the Washington Post. In addition to publishing articles in highly ranked legal journals, Professor Larson has authored two books, On Treason: A Citizen's Guide to the Law (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2020) and The Trials of Allegiance: Treason, Juries, and the American Revolution (Oxford University Press, 2019).

Professor Larson previously served as a law clerk to Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and spent three years as a commercial litigator at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University and earned his law degree from Yale Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of The Yale Law Journal and Executive Editor of The Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities.

What do you wish more people understood about the U.S. Constitution?

I wish more people understood that the most important provisions, practically, are its structural provisions — the ones that are rarely litigated, but which fundamentally “constitute” our government. For example, having two senators per state, regardless of population, and electing a president through an electoral college have profound consequences for how our government functions. So does the practical inability to amend the Constitution, given the exceptionally high threshold for passage. It’s hard to assess political actors without understanding the constitutional framework within which they work. I recently saw a poll in a which a number of people blamed President Biden for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. I would like to see less public ignorance about the mechanics of government and a serious national debate about which of those mechanics are still appropriate in the twenty-first century.

Why do you enjoy legal history?

From a very young age, I’ve been interested in history, and I became especially interested in legal history when I took a college class on English medieval legal history. It’s fascinating to see how earlier generations grappled with legal problems, how they analyzed legal texts, and how they created institutions that still shape our law today. Legal sources also provide an unparalleled insight into individuals who may have left no other mark on the historical record. Most written sources are created by literate people, but in court records you can read the transcribed testimony of people who were often illiterate, and this is often the only place where their voices are preserved. Historians of all kinds can find much to mine in legal records.

Did you always intend to end up in legal academia?

When I was in college, I was considering pursuing a Ph.D. in history, but the job market in history was so terrible, it didn’t seem like a sensible path. During law school, legal academia started to seem like a good fit, but I also wanted to give legal practice a try, to make sure that I had thoroughly vetted all my options. I enjoyed practicing law, but I soon realized that I was much better suited for academia. It is a quieter life, but I have much more control over my time and I don’t have to deal with opposing counsel, clients, or judges.

How was your internship in the Clinton White House?

It was a very enjoyable experience, and a huge thrill for a twenty-year old from western North Dakota to be able to see the White House up close. I worked in the Presidential Letters office, in a special response unit that drafted correspondence for the president in situations where a form letter would not be appropriate. I mostly worked as an editor, but sometimes I took the lead in drafting, and it was quite surreal to write letters in the voice of the President. It was also surreal to know that some of the letters sitting on my desk in the morning would be signed by the President in the Oval Office later that afternoon.

Unfortunately, the substantive experience of that internship has been largely overshadowed by one of my fellow interns, Monica Lewinsky, who worked a few desks away doing similar work for Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. We were also both living in the Watergate that summer, and occasionally I would run into her in the elevator in the morning and she would give me a ride to the White House. When I was a 1L, the story of her relationship with the president became public. That relationship began after my internship ended, so I was stunned when I learned what might have happened. I ended up being interviewed live on the Today Show and became known in law school as that guy who knew Monica Lewinsky.

What might your students be surprised to learn about you?

I’m a big fan of the computer game Civilization 6, which I started playing during the pandemic. The game lets you simulate a civilization from ancient times through the modern era. For the last three years, I have been unbeaten playing the game on the highest difficulty level.

You’re also an accomplished musician. What role does music play in your life?

I took piano lessons through my sophomore year in college, at which point I realized I was unlikely to pursue music as a career. I still continue to play piano for fun, attend concerts, and collect compact discs (I have no interest in streaming). My wife is a talented pianist, and we performed a four-hand piece at our wedding. My daughter is now studying piano and violin, and my son is studying piano, cello, and voice, so much of our time is devoted to driving them to lessons and watching them perform. It has been wonderful to see them develop as musicians; they are both so much more advanced than I was at their ages.

What do you most enjoy about teaching? What do you hope students gain from your courses?

I probably most enjoy seeing my students grow and learn as they grapple with what can be quite dense and difficult material. I often have students tell me, “I used to think X, but now that I’ve read a lot more and thought more about it, I’m starting to think Y, or I’m less sure than I used to be.” This is good! You don’t pay a lot of money to come to law school in order to come out thinking exactly the same way you did when you came in. I understand that our students have a variety of perspectives and I don’t want to indoctrinate them into thinking in a particular way, but I do want them to think, and to think critically, about what they are learning. The best lawyers are those who can consider all sides of an issue, as objectively as possible, and provide the clearest and most accurate advice to their clients. I hope that my students come out of my classes better able to do that.

Of what are you proudest?

I am proudest of my two children, who I hope will make the world a better place. They have certainly improved my corner of it.

Do you have one piece of advice for King Hall law students?

It’s important to take a wide range of core black-letter courses to develop a broad background as a lawyer. Although I teach Constitutional Law II, I often tell my students that courses like administrative law or federal income tax are far more important to their professional development. When I was in practice, I most regretted not having taken bankruptcy and conflict of laws, as those turned out be quite relevant to the insurance cases I was working on. You never know what will be relevant, so having a wide range of legal knowledge will always be useful.

Read our last month's Faculty Feature here.