Law Professor Appointed as Consulting Editor for Journal of Supreme Court History

Submitted

Mark Killenbeck

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Mark R. Killenbeck, the Wylie H. Davis Distinguished Professor of Law, has been appointed as the consulting editor for the Journal of Supreme Court History by the Supreme Court Historical Society.

"The Journal of Supreme Court History is the premier multi-disciplinary publication on the history of the Supreme Court and the Constitution, drawing together scholars and writers in the fields of history, the law and political science," notes editor Timothy S. Huebner, the Irma O. Sternberg Professor of History at Rhodes College. "Professor Killenbeck's work combining the law and history has long been impressive and important in the field. He is a terrific addition to the Journal." 

Killenbeck has a long association with the Society. He has given two lectures in the Supreme Court chamber in the Society's Leon Silverman Lecture Series and was the expert commentator for a Frank C. Jones Reenactment of the oral argument of the landmark decision M'Culloch v. Maryland (1819). He was the inaugural speaker in the Historical Society's First Monday Lecture series on Oct. 7, 2019, with Justice Stephen G. Breyer as the host. More recently, he joined Farah Peterson, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, on Oct. 4  for the second First Monday Lecture, a look back at the Supreme Court's 1821 term. 

Killenbeck has also published a number of articles in the Journal, the most recent of which, Fletcher, Whitney, and the Art of Disagreement, was an expanded version of his 2019 First Monday lecture.  "The Society is delighted that we can formalize our long-standing relationship with Professor Killenbeck," says Jim Duff, the Society's executive director. "He has always said 'yes' when we've asked him to speak or to write for us and is always available to serve as a resource for the Society's staff."

Killenbeck is the author of numerous books, chapters, articles, and papers, with a special focus on federalism, American constitutional history, and affirmative action and diversity. His articles have appeared in a number of major national law journals, including the Supreme Court Review, California Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, and Hastings Law Journal. His book, M'Culloch v. Maryland: Securing a Nation, published in 2006 by the University Press of Kansas, was the first book-length treatment of that important case. He teaches a number of advanced courses on the Court and the Constitution at the University of Arkansas School of Law and is a Dean's Faculty Fellow in the Honors College, offering courses as part of its Retro Readings, Taste of Honors, and Signature Seminar series.

"The Journal is an extraordinary publication," Killenbeck observes. "It is a leading peer-reviewed venue that plays a key role in preserving the history of the Supreme Court, educating the bench, bar, and general public about the Court and the Constitution and their role in our nation. I look forward to working with the Society's excellent staff and the Journal's editors in the years ahead."  

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