Neal E. Devins publications | Faculty Author Profiles | William & Mary Law School

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Devins, Neal E.

Sandra Day O'Connor Professor of Law and Professor of Government

Areas of Specialization

Civil Rights Law; Law and Politics; Constitutional Law

Representative Professional Activities and Achievements

Joined the faculty in 1987. Served as Assistant General Counsel for the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights and Project Director for the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies.

Author of Shaping Constitutional Values: The Supreme Court, Elected Government and the Abortion Dispute and articles in the Chicago, Columbia, Stanford, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, William & Mary, and Yale law reviews. Co-author of Political Dynamics of Constitutional Law, The Democratic Constitution, and The Company They Keep: How Partisan Divisions Came to the Supreme Court. Editor of the book series, Constitutional Conflicts, published by Duke U. Press.

Articles Articles

The Executive's Takeover of Independent Agencies: How Institutional Design Gave Way to Political Will, Neal Devins

(53 Pepperdine Law Review 441-484 (2026))

The Independent Agency Myth, Neal Devins and David E. Lewis

(108 Cornell Law Review 1305-1374 (2023))

Weaponizing En Banc, Neal Devins and Allison Orr Larsen

(96 New York University Law Review 1373-1437 (2021))

State Constitutionalism in the Age of Party Polarization, Neal Devins

(71 Rutgers University Law Review 1129-1176 (2019))

Congress, the Courts, and Party Polarization: Why Congress Rarely Checks the President and Why the Courts Should Not Take Congress’s Place, Neal Devins

(21 Chapman Law Review 55-81 (2018))

Split Definitive: How Party Polarization Turned the Supreme Court Into a Partisan Court, Neal Devins and Lawrence Baum

(2016 Supreme Court Review 301-366 (2017))

The Vanishing Common Law Judge, Neal Devins and David Klein

(165 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 595-631 (2017))

Rethinking Judicial Minimalism: Abortion Politics, Party Polarization, and the Consequences of Returning the Constitution to Elected Government, Neal Devins

(69 Vanderbilt Law Review 935-990 (2016))

Fifty States, Fifty Attorneys General, and Fifty Approaches to the Duty To Defend, Neal Devins and Saikrishna B. Prakash

(124 Yale Law Journal 2100-2187 (2015))

Measuring Party Polarization in Congress: Lessons from Congressional Participation in Amicus Curiae, Neal Devins

(65 Case Western Law Review 933-1026 (2015))

Reverse Advisory Opinions, Neal Devins and Saikrishna B. Prakash

(80 University of Chicago Law Review 859-894 (2013))

Party Polarization and Judicial Review: Lessons from the Affordable Care Act, Neal Devins

(106 Northwestern University Law Review 1821-1848 (2012))

The Indefensible Duty to Defend, Neal Devins and Saikrishna B. Prakash

(112 Columbia Law Review 507-577 (2012))

Why Congress Did Not Think About the Constitution When Enacting the Affordable Care Act, Neal Devins

(106 Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy 261-282 (2012))

Party Polarization and Congressional Committee Consideration of Constitutional Questions, Neal Devins

(105 Northwestern University Law Review 737-788 (2011))

How State Supreme Courts Take Consequences Into Account: Toward a State-Centered Understanding of State Constitutionalism, Neal Devins

(62 Stanford Law Review 1629-1693 (2010))

Public Opinion and State Supreme Courts, Neal Devins and Nicole Mansker

(13 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Consitutional Law 455-509 (2010))

Talk Loudly and Carry a Small Stick: The Supreme Court and Enemy Combatants, Neal Devins

(12 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 491-576 (2010))

How Planned Parenthood v. Casey (Pretty Much) Settled the Abortion Wars, Neal Devins

(118 Yale Law Journal 1318-1354 (2009))

Presidential Unilateralism and Political Polarization: Why Today's Congress Lacks the Will and the Way to Stop Presidential Initiatives, Neal Devins

(45 Williamette Law Review 395-415 (2009))

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same, Neal Devins

(12 Green Bag 2nd 137-151 (2009))

Ideological Cohesion and Precedent (Or Why the Court Only Cares About Precedent When Most Justices Agree With Each Other), Neal Devins

(86 North Carolina Law Review 1399-1442 (2008))

Not-So-Independent Agencies: Party Polarization and the Limits of Institutional Design, Neal Devins and David E. Lewis

(88 Boston University Law Review 459-498 (2008))

Congress, the Supreme Court, and Enemy Combatants: How Lawmakers Buoyed Judicial Supremacy by Placing Limits on Federal Court Jurisdiction, Neal Devins

(91 Minnesota Law Review 1562-1595 (2007))

Constitutional Avoidance and the Roberts Court, Neal Devins

(32 Univeristy of Dayton Law Review 339-347 (2007))

How Congress Paved the Way for the Rehnquist Court's Federalism Revival: Lessons from the Federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban, Neal Devins

(21 St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary 461-471 (2007))

Politique partisane et indépendence judiciare, Neal Devins

(7 Politique Américaine 103-121 (2007))

Should the Supreme Court Fear Congress?, Neal Devins

(90 Minnesota Law Review 1337-1362 (2006))

Smoke, Not Fire, Neal Devins

(65 Maryland Law Review 197-205 (2006))

Tom Delay: Popular Constitutionalist?, Neal Devins

(81 Chicago-Kent Law Review 1055-1068 (2006))

Judicial Review and Nongeneralizable Cases, Neal Devins and Alan J. Meese

(32 Florida State University Law Review 323-355 (2005))

The Academic Expert Before Congress: Observations and Lessons from Bill Van Alstyne's Testimony, Neal Devins

(54 Duke Law Journal 1525-1554 (2005))

Better Lucky Than Good, Neal Devins

(8 Green Bag 2nd 33-41 (2004))

The Judicial Safeguards of Federalism, Neal Devins

(99 Northwestern University Law Review 131-144 (2004))

The Majoritarian Rehnquist Court?, Neal Devins

(67 Law and Contemporary Problems 63-81 (Summer, 2004))

What Brown Teaches Us About the Rehnquist Court's Federalism Revival, Neal Devins

(37 PS: Political Science & Politics 211-214 (April 2004))

Bring Back the Draft?, Neal Devins

(19 Georgia State University Law Review 1107-1122 (2003))

Congress and the Making of the Second Rehnquist Court, Neal Devins

(47 Saint Louis University Law Journal 773-782 (2003))

Explaining Grutter v. Bollinger, Neal Devins

(152 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 347-383 (2003))

Politics and Principle: An Alternative Take on Seth P. Waxman's Defending Congress, Neal Devins

(81 North Carolina Law Review 2061-2074 (2003))

The Uneasy Case for Department of Justice Control of Federal Litigation, Neal Devins and Michael Herz

(5 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 558-606 (2003))

Misunderstood, Neal Devins

(82 Boston University Law Review 293-300 (2002))

The Federalism-Rights Nexus: Explaining Why Senate Democrats Tolerate Rehnquist Court Decision Making But Not the Rehnquist Court, Neal Devins

(73 University of Colorado Law Review 1307-1336 (2002))

The Law: Defending Congress’s Interests in Court: How Lawmakers and the President Bargain over Department of Justice Representation, Neal Devins

(32 Presidential Studies Quarterly 157-68 (2002))

The Steel Seizure Case: One of a Kind?, Neal Devins and Louis Fisher

(19 Constitutional Commentary 63-86 (2002))

Congress as Culprit: How Lawmakers Spurred on the Court's Anti-Congress Crusade, Neal Devins

(51 Duke Law Journal 435-464 (2001))

Congressional Factfinding and the Scope of Judicial Review: A Preliminary Analysis, Neal Devins

(50 Duke Law Journal 1169-1214 (2001))

Abdication by Another Name: An Ode to Lou Fisher, Neal Devins

(19 Saint Louis University Public Law Review 65-74 (2000))

Asking the Right Questions: How the Courts Honored the Separation of Powers by Reconsidering Miranda, Neal Devins

(149 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 251-285 (2000))

How Constitutional Law Casebooks Perpetuate the Myth of Judicial Supremacy, Neal Devins

(3 Green Bag 2nd 259-265 (2000))

On Casebooks and Canons or Why Bob Jones University Will Never Be Part of the Constitutional Law Canon, Neal Devins

(17 Constitutional Commentary 285-293 (2000))

Reanimator: Mark Tushnet and the Second Coming of the Imperial Presidency, Neal Devins

(34 University of Richmond Law Review 359-371 (2000))

Bearing False Witness: The Clinton Impeachment and the Future of Academic Freedom, Neal Devins

(148 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 165-190 (1999))

Foreword: Government Lawyering, Neal Devins

(61 Law and Contemporary Problems 1-5 (Winter & Spring, 1998))

Judicial Exclusivity and Political Instability, Neal Devins and Louis Fisher

(84 Virginia Law Review 83-106 (1998))

The Battle That Never Was: Congress, the White House, and Agency Litigation Authority, Neal Devins and Michael Herz

(61 Law and Contemporary Problems 205-222 (Winter, 1998))

In Search of the Lost Chord: Reflections on the 1996 Item Veto Act, Neal Devins

(47 Case Western Reserve Law Review 1605-1642 (1997))

The Triumph of Timing: Raines v. Byrd and the Modern Supreme Court's Attempt to Control Constitutional Confrontations, Neal Devins and Michael A. Fitts

(86 Georgetown Law Journal 351-375 (1997))

Congressional-Executive Information Access Disputes: A Modest Proposal - Do Nothing, Neal Devins

(48 Administrative Law Review 109-137 (1996))

Interest Balancing and Other Limits to Judicially Managed Equal Educational Opportunity, Neal Devins

(45 Mercer Law Review 1017-1033 (1994))

Tempest in an Envelope: Reflections on the Bush White House's Failed Takeover of the U.S. Postal Service, Neal Devins

(41 UCLA Law Review 1035-1062 (1994))

Unitariness and Independence: Solicitor General Control over Independent Agency Litigation, Neal Devins

(82 California Law Review 255-327 (1994))

Congress, the FCC, and the Search for the Public Trustee, Neal Devins

(56 Law and Contemporary Problems 145-188 (Autumn, 1993))

Foreword: Elected Branch Influences in Constitutional Decisionmaking, Neal Devins

(56 Law and Contemporary Problems 1-10 (1993))

Political Will and the Unitary Executive: What Makes an Independent Agency Independent?, Neal Devins

(15 Cardozo Law Review 273-312 (1993))

Reagan Redux: Civil Rights Under Bush, Neal Devins

(68 Notre Dame Law Review 955-1001 (1993))

A Symbolic Balanced Budget Amendment, Neal Devins

(9 Journal of Law & Politics 61-88 (1992))

Correspondence: The Stuff of Constitutional Law, Neal Devins

(77 Iowa Law Review 1795-1801 (1992))

Fundamentalist Christian Educators v. State: An Inevitable Compromise, Neal Devins

(60 George Washington Law Review 818-840 (1992))

The Rhetoric of Equality, Neal Devins

(44 Vanderbilt Law Review 15-44 (1991))

Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC: Requiem for a Heavyweight, Neal Devins

(69 Texas Law Review 125-156 (1990))

Affirmative Action After Reagan, Neal Devins

(68 Texas Law Review 353-379 (1989))

Appropriations Redux: A Critical Look at the Fiscal Year 1988 Continuing Resolution, Neal Devins

(1988 Duke Law Journal 389-421)

Federal Funds To Religious Groups: Where Are The First Amendment Boundaries?, Neal Devins

(1987-1988 Preview United States Supreme Court Case 403-404 (1988))

Judicial Vigilantism: Inherent Judicial Authority to Appoint Contempt Prosecutors in Young v. United States ex reI Vuitton Et Fils S.A., Neal Devins and Steven J. Mulroy

(76 Kentucky Law Journal 861-890 (1988))

Associations' Freedom v. Freedom of Association: Another Look at All-Male Clubs, Neal Devins

(1986-1987 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 392-393 (1987))

Is Discrimination Against Jews "Race Discrimination?", Neal Devins

(1986-1987 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 306-307 (1987))

Regulation of Government Agencies Through Limitation Riders, Neal Devins

(1987 Duke Law Journal 456-500)

Righting Past Wrongs: When Affirmative Action May Be Reverse Discrimination, Neal Devins

(1985-1986 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 105-106 (1986))

The Possible Final Word on Employment Discrimination Relief, Neal Devins

(1985-1986 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 303-305 (1986))

Accommodating Employees' Sabbaths: Is it the Government's Job?, Neal Devins

(1984-1985 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 94-96 (1985))

A Constitutional Right to Home Instruction?, Neal Devins

(62 Washington University Law Quarterly 435-476 (1985))

Christmas Without Creches?: Can Private Nativity Scenes Be Banned from Public Land?, Neal Devins

(1984-1985 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 265-267 (1985))

In re Parochiaid: Church-State Wall of Separation Scrutinized-Again, Neal Devins

(1984-1985 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 195-197 (1985))

Religious Symbols and the Establishment Clause, Neal Devins

(27 Journal of Church & State 19-46 (1985))

Residency Requirements for Attorneys: Home Is Where the License Is?, Neal Devins

(1984-1985 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 64-66 (1985))

The Trouble with Jaycees, Neal Devins

(34 Catholic University Law Review 901-918 (1985))

A New Look at an Old Association: Will Today's Women Be Tomorrow's Jaycees?, Neal Devins

(1983-1984 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 535-537 (1984))

Are Residential Quotas Constitutional?, Neal Devins

(1983-1984 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 309-311 (1984))

Bob Jones University v. U.S.: A Political Analysis, Neal Devins

(1 Journal of Law and Politics 403-421 (1984))

Diminished Luster in Escambia County?, Neal Devins

(1983-1984 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 251-254 (1984))

New Federalism in Education: The Meaning of the Chicago School Desegregation, Neal Devins and James B. Stedman

(59 Notre Dame Law Review 1243-1292 (1984))

The 1965 Voting Rights Act: Some Wrongs Still Not Righted, Neal Devins

(1983-1984 Preview United States Supreme Court Cases 81-82 (1984))

What Standards Apply When Freedoms Collide?, Neal Devins

(1983-1984 Preview United States Supreme Court Case 317-319 (1984))

Who Is Injured when Racially Discriminatory Private Schools are Tax-Exempt?, Neal Devins

(1983-1984 Preview United States Supreme Court Case 357-359 (1984))

Your Money or Your Wife's?: Social Security Changes Considered, Neal Devins

(1983-1984 Preview United States Supreme Court Case 195-197 (1984))

State Regulation of Christian Schools, Neal Devins

(10 Journal of Legislation 351-381 (1983))

Tax Exemptions for Racially Discriminatory Private Schools: A Legislative Proposal, Neal Devins

(20 Harvard Journal on Legislation 153-178 (1983))

Book Chapters Book Chapters

Same-Sex Marriage and the New Judicial Federalism: Why State Courts Should Not Consider Out-of-State Backlash, Neal Devins

(New Frontiers of State Constitutional Law 81-102 (James A. Gardner & Jim Rossi eds., 2011))

The Supreme Court, Social Psychology, and Group Formation, Neal Devins and William Federspiel

(The Psychology of Judicial Decision Making 85-100 (David Klein & Greg Mitchell eds., 2010))