Quinn Yeargain
1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy and Associate Professor of Law
Professor Yeargain’s scholarship is organized around the relationship between democracy and legal developments.
Get in touchBiography
Quinn Yeargain (they/he) is an Associate Professor of Law and the 1855 Professor of the Law of Democracy at the Michigan State University College of Law, and teaches courses in constitutional and criminal law. Prior to joining the faculty at Michigan State, Professor Yeargain taught at the Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They graduated from the Emory University School of Law and subsequently clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
...
for Judge Lanier Anderson.
Professor Yeargain’s scholarship is organized around the relationship between democracy and legal developments. Their research focuses specifically on institutional changes in state constitutions through amendments, the use of democracy to expand and contract state constitutional rights and liberties, and the effect of democracy on the operation of the carceral state. Professor Yeargain is a co-author of State Constitutions: Institutions, Powers, and Rights, a state constitutional law casebook soon to be published by West Academic Publishing.
Outside of the classroom, Professor Yeargain is a regular guest on state and national television and radio programs and frequently comments on current events in news outlets, including the Brennan Center’s State Courts Report and Bolts. Professor Yeargain regularly files amicus briefs on matters relating to state constitutional law and has served as a consultant in redistricting litigation.
Education
Emory University School of Law: J.D.,
University of Central Florida: B.A.,
Selected Press
Supreme Court petition targets ‘relic of Jim Crow’ in Georgia
E&E News | 2024-05-17
Having representation is especially important for communities of color in the South that have been uniquely affected by decades or even centuries of environmental racism, said Quinn Yeargain, an assistant law professor at Widener University.
If Florida’s abortion rights amendment passes, courts will weigh parental consent question
PolitiFact | 2024-05-01
"Minors do not have the same constitutional rights as adults do, and the Florida Constitution recognizes this in the abortion context in its provision that expressly allows the Legislature to require parental notification," said Quinn Yeargain, a Widener University assistant law professor and expert on state constitutional law.
Red state AGs keep trying to kill ballot measures by a thousand cuts
Ohio Capital Journal | 2024-03-06
“It really should be more mechanical power to certify this and neutrally evaluate it,” explained Quinn Yeargain, a professor of state constitutional law at Widener University and frequent Bolts contributor. “They’re putting a thumb on the scale and pushing, I think, to expand the understanding of their power.”
Wisconsin Adopts New Legislative Maps, Giving Democrats Chance to Win State
The Guardian | 2024-02-19
“I am extremely skeptical of this idea that there is a good basis for challenging the law, really on any grounds,” said Quinn Yeargain, a legal scholar who focuses on state constitutional law. “I’m as much of a partisan Democrat and progressive as anybody else is, but being intellectually honest about what’s going on here is also important.”
