Wilson R. Huhn is a C. Blake McDowell, Jr., Professor and a Constitutional Law Research Fellow at The University of Akron School of Law. He currently teaches courses in constitutional law, advanced constitutional law, jurisprudence, and commercial paper. He received his B.A. at Yale University and J.D., cum laude, at Cornell University, where he was a member of the Cornell Law Review. Prior to joining the Akron Law faculty in 1984, Professor Huhn served as law clerk for the late Judge Leo A. Jackson in the 8th District Court of Appeals and as an associate at Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. Professor Huhn’s book THE FIVE TYPES OF LEGAL ARGUMENT (Carolina Academic Press, 2002, 2008) is required reading at a number of law schools nationally. His recent publications include Waterboarding Is Illegal WASH. U. L. REV. (Slip Opinions, May 10, 2008); Congress Has the Power to Enforce the Bill of Rights Against the Federal Govenment: Therefore FISA is Constitutional and the President's Terrorist Surveillance Program Is Illegal, 16 WM. & MARY BILL RTS J. 537 (2007); In Defense of the Roosevelt Court, 2 FLORIDA A. & M. U. L. REV. 1 (2007); The State Action Doctrine and the Principle of Democratic Choice, 34 HOFSTRA L. REV. 1379 (2006); and The Constitutional Jurisprudence of Sandra Day O’Connor: A Refusal to “Foreclose the Unanticipated”, 39 AKRON L. REV. 373-415 (2006). The graduating class selected Huhn Outstanding Professor of the Year in 1987, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2008, the Akron law alumni awarded him the Outstanding Publication prize in 2004 and 2006, and the law faculty named him the “Most Valuable Player” for his contributions to legal scholarship, 2001- 03. Huhn volunteers his time on community boards and serves as a coach for special needs athletic teams.
Articles
Realism Over Formalism and the Presumption of Constitutionality: Chief Justice Roberts’ Opinion Upholding the Individual Mandate, University of Akron Journal of Constitutional Law and Policy (2012)
In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius Chief Justice John Roberts cast the deciding...
The Growing Acceptance and Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage in America Constitutes a Victory for Reality-Based Thinking, forthcoming (2012)
During the 20th century “pragmatism” emerged as the leading American philosophy and policy analysis –...
A Higher Law: Abraham Lincoln's Use of Biblical Imagery, forthcoming (2011)
Lincoln’s use of biblical imagery in seven of his works: the Peoria Address, the House...
Constantly Approximating Popular Sovereignty: Seven Fundamental Principles of Constitutional Law, William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal (2011)
The concept of “popular sovereignty” is not a simple, singular, unified concept; instead, as it...
Constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause, Journal of Legal Medicine (2011)
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a comprehensive federal statute that attempts to...
Books
Five Types of Legal Argument (2008)
The Five Types of Legal Argument succeeds both as a work of legal theory and...
Contributions to Books
Legacy of the Supreme Court's First Interpretations: Slaughterhouse, Bradwell, Cruikshank and Constitutional Analysis, Infinite Hope and Finite Disappointment: The First Interpreters of the Fourteenth Amendment (2011)
Board of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564 (1972), Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (2008)
R.A. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992), Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (2008)
Unpublished Papers
THE FUTURE INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION (2012)
On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was reelected President of the United States. What effect...
THE FUTURE INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION AS A RESULT OF THE REELECTION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (2012)
On November 6, 2012, Barack Obama was reelected President of the United States. What effect...
THE INFLUENCE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN ON THE SUPREME COURT’S INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY AND EQUALITY, ExpressO (2010)
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the Supreme Court has embraced Abraham...
Presentations
The 2011-2012 Supreme Court Term: Decisions in Constitutional Law (2012)
This presentation reviews the principal decisions of the Supreme Court in the field of Constitutional...
Same-Sex Marriage Litigation Update - September 17, 2012, University of Akron School of Law (2012)
Same-sex marriage cases are reaching the federal circuit courts and may be heard by the...
Excerpts from Chief Justice Roberts' Opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012)
In NFIB v. Sebelius the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of all but one of...
The Civil Rights Movement and the Constitution (2012)
This presentation of March 3, 2012, describes the influence that the Civil Rights Movement has...
The Constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2012)
This presentation of April 26, 2012 presents data explaining why universal health care coverage is...