Frederick Schauer

Frederick Schauer
Born(1946-01-15)January 15, 1946
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedSeptember 1, 2024(2024-09-01) (aged 78)
Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
EducationDartmouth College (BA, MBA)
Harvard University (JD)
Occupation(s)Law professor, jurist
Employer(s)University of Virginia School of Law
Kennedy School of Government
Known forAmerican constitutional law
Free speech

Frederick Franklin Schauer (January 15, 1946 – September 1, 2024) was an American legal scholar who served as David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. He was also the Frank Stanton Professor of the First Amendment at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.[1][2] He was well known for his work on American constitutional law, free speech, and on legal reasoning, especially the nature and value of legal formalism.

Schauer was born in Newark, New Jersey, on January 15, 1946,[3] and graduated from Teaneck High School.[4] In his 1982 book Free Speech: A Philosophical Enquiry, Schauer says that government attempts to restrict freedom of expression have resulted in a disproportionate number of government mistakes. He argued that when governments restrict expression, they are incentivized to censor criticism of themselves, which makes it harder for them to assess the cost and benefits of their subsequent actions.[5] He died from renal disease in Charlottesville, Virginia, on September 1, 2024, at the age of 78.[3][6]

  1. ^ "Faculty - University of Virginia School of Law". University of Virginia School of Law. July 22, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Everything we do is tentative. An interview with Prof. Frederick Schauer". Netherlands Journal of Legal Philosophy. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Rosenwald, Michael S. (September 18, 2024). "Frederick Schauer, Scholar Who Scrutinized Free Speech, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Margery Stone is Engaged to Frederick F. Schauer", The Record, January 9, 1968. Accessed September 22, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Mr. Schauer was graduated from Teaneck High School and Dartmouth College. He will receive a Master of Business Administration degree from the Amos Tuck school at Dartmouth in June and will then attend law school."
  5. ^ Macklem, Peter; Rogerson, Carol, eds. (2017). Canadian Constitutional Law (5th ed.). Toronto: Emond Montgomery Publications Limited. p. 991. ISBN 978-1-77255-070-2.
  6. ^ https://www.law.virginia.edu/news/202409/memoriam-professor-frederick-schauer-giant-legal-academy