Law

A. Christopher Bryant

Headshot of A. Christopher Bryant

A. Christopher Bryant

Rufus King Professor of Constitutional Law, College of Law

511 College of Law Building

513-556-0099

Areas of Interest: Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, Federal Courts, Legal History

About

Since joining the College of Law faculty in 2003, Professor A. Christopher Bryant has been a prolific scholar and an exceptionally skilled and award-winning teacher of constitutional law.

Professor Bryant’s numerous published articles and essays reach a wide range of issues of contemporary constitutional importance, including the separation of powers, judicial review, and the roles of the various branches of the national government in constitutional interpretation.  He is a recognized expert on the scope and exercise of national legislative power and the respect that Congressional action is owed from the federal judiciary, with leading articles on the subject published in the Cornell Law ReviewGeorge Washington Law ReviewBYU Law Review, Notre Dame Journal of Legislation, and William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal.  Professor Bryant’s research in federalism and unenumerated rights include a co-authored book, “Powers Reserved for the People and the States”: A History of the  Ninth and Tenth Amendments (Greenwood Press 2006), as well as articles in the Georgia Law Review and the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy, to name only a few.  He authored thirteen essays on landmark constitutional cases for the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States(Macmillan 2008), and is a frequent speaker on the Constitution, the Congress, and the federal courts at symposiums, conferences, and public programs.

Professor Bryant is a member of the America Society for Legal History and the Federalist Society and also serves as faculty advisor to the College’s Federalist Society chapter.

Professor Bryant previously was a law professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he taught in the areas of federal courts, legislative process and statutory interpretation, criminal law, and conflicts.

Before beginning his academic career, Professor Bryant served as Assistant Senate Legal Counsel in the U.S. Senate Office of Legal Counsel and as an associate at Shea & Gardner in Washington, D.C. After earning his JD, Professor Bryant clerked for the Hon. James L. Buckley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

About

BA, Hanover College
JD, University of Chicago

Courses

  • Conflicts of Law
  • Constitutional Law I
  • Constitutional Law II
  • Legislation & Statutory Interpretation

Publications

  • CLE Presentation, “The Power of the Presidential Pen and the Take Care Clause,” UC Law Downtown Teach-In for Student Scholarships, Cincinnati, OH, April 29, 2016.
  • CLE Presentation, “Birthright Citizenship: A Constitutional Imperative?” Inn of Court Meeting, Cincinnati Bar Association, March 15, 2016.
  • Colloquium, “Is the Rational Basis Test Unconstitutional?” Georgetown Center for the Constitution, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C., Feb. 12, 2016. CLE
  • Panel Presentation, “The Empirics of Legal Interpretation,” AALS Law & Interpretation Section, AALS Annual Meeting, New York, NY, Jan. 9, 2016.
  • Panel Presentation, “Constitutional Law from the Ground Up: How the Prohibition on ‘Under-ruling’ Distorts the Judicial Function,” Federalist Society Works-in-Progress Session, 18th Annual Faculty Conference, New York, NY, Jan. 8, 2016.
  • Presentation, “Birthright Citizenship: A Constitutional Imperative?” UC Law Alumni Board CLE program, Cincinnati, OH, Nov. 6, 2015.
  • Symposium, “Taft’s Constitutional Jurisprudence: The Evolution of a President’s Views on Presidential Power,” Taft National Historic Site, Oct. 31, 2015.
  • Presentation, “Founding Documents in the Classroom,” Ohio Center for Law Related Education’s annual Law & Citizenship Conference (for secondary school civics/social studies teachers), Dublin, OH, Sept. 21, 2015.
  • Scholarship Workshop, “How the Prohibition on Under-ruling Distorts the Judicial Function,” University of Cincinnati College of Law, August 12, 2015 (with Kimberly Breedon).
  • “William Howard Taft and the UC College of Law: A Life-long Partnership and an Enduring Legacy,” Taft Historic Site, NPS, Cincinnati, OH, July 29, 2015.
  • “Supreme Court Fault Lines in Health and Romance” UC Law Downtown Teach-In for Student Scholarships, Cincinnati, OH, March 6, 2015.
  • “An Unhappy 48th Birthday?: The Voting Rights Act After Shelby County v. Holder,” UC Law Downtown Teach-In for Student Scholarships, Cincinnati, OH, March 7, 2014.
  • “S.B. 165: Five Historic Documents: Their Historical Context, Original Meaning & Enduring Significance,” Taft Historic Site, NPS, Cincinnati, OH, September 28, 2013 (an Ohio Historical Society Program for Cincinnati Public School Teachers).
  • “Chief Justice Taft’s Constitutional Jurisprudence: The Evolution of a President’s Views on Presidential Power,” Taft Historic Site, NPS, Cincinnati, OH, April 6, 2013.
  • “Federalism After ‘Obamacare,’” UC Law Downtown Teach-In for Student Scholarships, Cincinnati, OH, March 1, 2013.
  • Seminar Participant, Economics for Law Professors, Estes Park, CO, July 15-27, 2012.
  • “Constitutional Forbearance,” presented as part of a symposium at the University of Richmond School of Law, November 11, 2011.
  • Scholarship Workshop, “Constitutional Forbearance,” Washington & Lee School of Law, March 21, 2011.

Awards

  • 2024 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2015 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2013 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2008 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2007 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2005 Goldman Prize for Excellence in Teaching
  • 2001 Law Professor of the Year