Ilya Somin

Ilya Somin is Professor of Law at George Mason University, and the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute. His research focuses on constitutional law, property law, democratic theory, federalism, and migration rights. His books include Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom (Oxford University Press, revised and expanded edition, 2022), Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter (Stanford University Press, rev. ed., 2016), and The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London and the Limits of Eminent Domain (University of Chicago Press, rev. ed. 2016). Somin’s work has appeared in numerous scholarly journals, and he has also published articles in, and been quoted or interviewed by, a variety of popular media outlets.

Somin’s writings have been cited in decisions by the United States Supreme Court, among others, and he was co-counsel for the plaintiffs in VOS Selections, Inc. v. Trump, the case that led to the invalidation of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs by the Supreme Court. Somin writes regularly for the popular Volokh Conspiracy law and politics blog.

Before joining the faculty at George Mason, Somin was the John M. Olin Fellow in Law at Northwestern University Law School in 2002-2003. In 2001-2002, he clerked for the Hon. Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Professor Somin earned his B.A., Summa Cum Laude, at Amherst College, M.A. in Political Science from Harvard University, and J.D. from Yale Law School.