Jan Ginter Deutsch (1935–2016)

From Yale Law School: Jan Ginter Deutsch is Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law Emeritus and Professorial Lecturer, 1966-2004; 2004-

Jan Ginter Deutsch (1935-) graduated from Yale College in 1955, and received a Ph.D. in Political Science from Yale, as well as a J.D. from the Law School, in 1962. After a short stint in practice, he returned to the Law School as a member of the faculty. Perhaps his best-known work in the business law area is his book, Selling the People’s Cadillac: The Edsel and Corporate Responsibility (1976), in which he viewed the ill-fated Edsel as symptomatic of America’s social problems. In addition to his corporate law scholarship, Deutsch is noted for his work in jurisprudence. His 1969 article, “Neutrality, Legitimacy, and the Supreme Court: Some Intersections Between Law and Political Science,” 20 Stan. L. Rev. 169, is considered a classic. Written in the Realist vein in response to Herbert Wechsler’s famous essay on “Neutral Principles,” the article contended, in discussing constitutional law, that historical context determines whether a particular principle is properly classified as a “fundamental right” or an “opinion.”

President Clinton, when reminiscing about his Law School years, referred to Jan Deutsch as “the only man I'd ever met who ate all of an apple, including the core. He said all the good minerals were there. He was smarter than I was, so I tried it. Once in a while, I still do, with fond memories of Professor Deutsch.”

REFERENCES:

Bill Clinton, My Life (2004).