Anuj Desai
Voss Bascom Professor of Law
Education
J.D., Univ. of California-Berkeley (Berkeley Law)
Master's in International Affairs, Columbia U.
A.B. (Mathematics), Harvard University
Biography
Anuj C. Desai is the William Voss-Bascom Professor of
Law at the University of Wisconsin, where he teaches in both the Law School and
the iSchool (The Information School),
offering classes in Cyberlaw, First Amendment, Intellectual Freedom, Statutory Interpretation, Legislation and Regulation, and Copyright.
Professor Desai writes in a variety of different areas, with
a focus on understanding how social, historical, and institutional contexts
shape law. His publications have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, Northwestern
University Law Review, Law and Social Inquiry, Federal
Communications Law Journal, Journal of Institutional Studies, and University
of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law. His papers are available for
download on the Social Science
Research Network. Professor Desai has served as a visiting professor at
the Johns
Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies in
Nanjing, China; National
Tsing Hua University Institute of Law for Science and Technology in
Hsinchu, Taiwan; and National
Taiwan University College of Law in Taipei, Taiwan. He is also
co-director of the Law School's summer
program in International and Comparative Law in Giessen, Germany.
Prior to entering academia, Professor Desai practiced law
with the Seattle, Washington firm of Davis Wright
Tremaine, where his practice focused primarily on First Amendment,
defamation, newsgathering, copyright and trademark litigation. Before his time
in private practice, he served as a legal assistant to the American judges at
the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in
The Hague and clerked for the late Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
and Judge David S. Tatel at the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the D.C. Circuit. He also worked briefly in the Legal Adviser's Office at the U.S. State Department and also at the Legal Resources Centre in Grahamstown,
South Africa. In addition, he has served as an administrative
appellate judge, as a member of the Administrative Review Board of the United
States Department of Labor; as a Senate-confirmed member of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, an independent, quasi-judicial agency of the United States Department of Justice that adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments; and as a member of a National Academies of Science,
Engineering and Medicine's panel studying options for the future management
of dual-use research of concern.
Professor Desai is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the
American Bar Foundation. He received his A.B. in Mathematics
from Harvard University (where
he was awarded a Henry Russell Shaw Fellowship), a Master's in International
Affairs from Columbia University and
a J.D. from the University of
California-Berkeley (Berkeley
Law), where he was Editor-in-Chief of the California Law Review.
Scholarship & Publications
SSRN
Law Repository
Activities
Anuj Desai presented "Regulating Social Media in the Free-Speech Ecosystem" during a conference on The Internet and the Law: Legal Challenges in the New Digital Age, on Nov. 7, 2021. The conference was held at UC Hastings College of Law and was sponsored by the Pound Civil Justice Institute.
The 2019 Wisconsin Law Review Symposium, which was chaired by former UW Law Professor Andrew Coan, featured a number of UW Law faculty, including Anuj Desai, Howie Erlanger, Neil Komesar, John Ohnesorge, Asifa Quraishi-Landes, David Schwartz, Miriam Seifter and Rob Yablon. The symposium, titled "Rationing the Constitution: How Judicial Capacity Shapes Supreme Decision-Making,” was held Oct. 24 and 25.
Anuj Desai's article, "What a History of Tax Withholding Tells Us About the Relationship Between Statutes and Constitutional Law," was cited in a federal judge's dismissal (PDF) of a lawsuit filed by four states in 2018. Those states — New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland — sued the Treasury Department, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the IRS, among others. The dismissal ended the states' challenge against a new $10,000 cap on the deduction for state and local taxes, also known as SALT.
In July, Anuj Desai presented "The Significance of Statutory Audience in Judicial Interpretation of Statutes in the U.S." at the University of Konstanz Seminar on Innovation in Legal Scholarship in Konstanz, Germany.
Anuj Desai gave an invited lecture entitled "The U.S. Constitution and Communications Technology" at Renmin University of China Law School in Beijing in early May 2010.
Anuj Desai gave an invited lecture entitled "The U.S. Constitution and Communications Technology" at Koguan Law School of Shanghai Jiao Tong University on April 7, 2010.
Anuj Desai received the U.S. Postal Service award for scholarship on the history of the American postal system for his two articles "The Transformation of Statutes into Constitutional Law: How Early Post Office Policy Shaped Modern First Amendment Doctrine" and "Wiretapping Before the Wires: The Post Office and the Birth of Communications Privacy."
Anuj Desai will spend the 2009-10 academic year in Nanjing, China, teaching at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. His courses will include American Constitutional Law, History and Philosophy of Law in the West, Cyberlaw, and a seminar on academic legal writing.
News & Media
Friday, May 20, 2022Republicans Want Supreme Court Demonstrators Arrested: Anuj Desai Discusses
SalonThursday, Mar 3, 2022Anuj Desai discusses textualism on Wisconsin Law in Action podcast
Wisconsin Law in Action PodcastWednesday, Jan 19, 2022Steph Tai, Anuj Desai discuss prohibiting race discussions in schools
PBS WisconsinMonday, Nov 8, 2021Anuj Desai comments on coupon book-spread conspiracies
The Daily BeastMonday, Jun 14, 2021Anuj Desai discusses key questions for libel in Wisconsin newspaper lawsuit
Wisconsin State JournalTuesday, Nov 10, 2020In Appleton protest case, where's the line between threatening and protected speech? Anuj Desai comments
Appleton Post-CrescentMonday, Nov 2, 2020Seventh Circuit hears media access case against Wisconsin governor; Anuj Desai weighs in
Courthouse News ServiceMonday, Jun 1, 2020President signs executive order to limit legal protections for social media companies; Anuj Desai comments
WORT-FMMonday, May 18, 2020Anuj Desai discusses state Supreme Court ruling on Safer at Home order
Wisconsin Public RadioTuesday, Apr 14, 2020Trump campaign sues Northwoods TV station for airing COVID-19 attack ad; Anuj Desai comments
Wisconsin Public RadioFriday, Feb 28, 2020Labor chief Scalia reigns in review board; Anuj Desai, a former board member, comments
Bloomberg LawWednesday, Apr 10, 2019How will executive order on free speech affect campuses? Anuj Desai comments
The Badger HeraldThursday, Nov 15, 2018Anuj Desai discusses First Amendment implications for students in Baraboo prom photo
WSUMTuesday, Jan 30, 2018Foreign Claims Settlement Commissioner Anuj Desai reaches ruling in Pan Am pilots' suit against Libya
The Washington PostTuesday, Sep 22, 2015Anuj Desai: Legal norms on communication privacy traced to early Postal Service
Boston Review
Teaching Areas
- Constitutional Law: First Amendment
- Copyright
- Cyberlaw
- Legislation
Recently Taught Courses
