Doctor of Juridical Science: Advice to Prospective and Current Candidates

Note: The author’s experience may not be the same as other students’ experiences, especially in terms of program requirements and expectations. Every SJD student should check with their program—Director of Graduate Legal Studies, dissertation advisor, or others—to understand what the requirements and expectations are.

Preface
Editors, thank you for allowing me the space to give my advice to those pursuing the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) degree and to reflect on my experiences in that program at Tulane Law School. In my view, the degree is highly valuable and should be pursued by anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the concept of law and its place in our world. This short letter was inspired by numerous questions I received from several prospective students. It will address several key aspects of my life as an S.J.D. candidate. And I will provide advice that I found very helpful before and during my time in the program. First, I will address the nature of the degree and why people seek it out. Second, I will consider how one prepares for beginning the program, how to enter an S.J.D program, and how to select a dissertation committee. Third, and crucially, I will discuss my ideas on the best path for writing the dissertation. The fourth section of this essay will address how one prepares for the dissertation defense and what to expect at the oral defense itself. Finally, I will briefly address life after a successful defense and the final steps for completing the program.

I. The nature of the S.J.D. degree and why people pursue it

This degree goes by many names. I have heard it called the “Doctor of the Science of Law,” “Scientiae Juridicae Doctor,” “Juridicae Scientiae Doctor,” and others simply call it the “Doctor of Juridical Science.” Colloquially, it is called a “Ph.D. in law.” I have also heard it referred to as the “terminal degree in the law” or “the most advanced law degree.” However, it is most commonly referred to by its Latin initials “S.J.D.,” and I will refer to it as such throughout this essay.

The topics covered in the program are as broad and diverse as one could imagine. For example, students can discuss very technical rules on regulatory provisions, the proper interpretations of constitutions, the diverse history of legal philosophy (natural law, legal positivism, legal realism, and the like), international and comparative law, or propose essentially new ideas about the law altogether. And some, myself included, touched on all of these and more.

The S.J.D. can only be obtained by those who have an initial law degree such as the Juris Doctor (J.D.) in the U.S. or the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in foreign countries. The student must also have a Master of Laws (LL.M.) and a history of academic excellence and scholarly aptitude.

The overall design of the program usually follows a similar path among the various programs across the country. First, you complete some relevant coursework. At Tulane where I did my S.J.D., if you completed your LL.M. at the school, you were not required to also take courses during your S.J.D. studies. Other schools may have different rules. During course work, you often also research for and finalize your dissertation topic to prepare for a proposal defense that will happen before a panel of judges, i.e., their dissertation committee. At some schools, the proposal is judged without an oral defense (which was the case for my program). After passing the proposal defense, you will begin writing your dissertation—a lengthy discussion of some legal topic that makes a significant contribution to the field of study called “the law.”[i] After several rounds of edits to the dissertation, you are then required to orally defend the dissertation before the dissertation committee. This can also include, depending on the school, other faculty members, or the public.

So, then, one may ask why people seek out this degree. Indeed, many of you who are reading this might not have heard of the S.J.D. degree before. From my experience, there are three main reasons why people may want to seek out the degree. The first is that they are aspiring law professors. Second, they are aiming to be high-level policymakers. Third, they are U.S. or foreign students who want to get a better understanding of the law—either in the U.S. or their home country.

Becoming a law professor has been an increasingly difficult task for several years. Some may seek out the S.J.D. or its counterpart, the Ph.D., in hopes of increasing their chances of becoming a professor. The S.J.D. degree also gives candidates something that is especially useful for law professors—deep experience with complex legal concepts and extensive academic legal research and writing. Another particularly useful aspect of my dissertation is that I now have a well of questions and scholarship to return to for future scholarship.

As to the policymakers, in our increasingly complex world, we will need high-level policymakers who can handle ideas and concepts that others simply cannot. They will need to understand both policy and law to a very powerful degree to cope with the challenges of our time. The S.J.D. degree gives you that mental experience. Due to the flexible nature of the program, and the lack of additional coursework or exams, many S.J.D. candidates will be able to work during their doctoral studies. Further, because candidates are able to work during their S.J.D. studies, they may also have the chance to have practical experiences while considering advanced theories about how the world should work. I continued to work in a law firm and then as a clerk. While it is impossible to determine how many S.J.D. students work while in their programs, many students I met worked in courts, other government agencies, research capacities in law firms, and other public policy positions. Indeed, I have met and messaged with several S.J.D. candidates who pursued the degree because of its ability to train policymakers. After all, law has such a powerful place in policy-making that being conversant in it is undeniably beneficial to legislators, executives, and others, even if the individual is not actually litigating cases.

As for seeking a deeper understanding of the law, there is no doubt that the S.J.D. degree fosters greater knowledge of the modern concept of law and where it came from. For my dissertation, I examined the ancient concepts of law, the history of socio-legal structures, and how they impacted people with disabilities, developed my own method of understanding the constitutional text, and summarized every state disability rights law.

II. Pointers on Preparing for the S.J.D. Program

My first major suggestion for preparing for S.J.D. programs is you should first identify what general subject you want to study. I knew I wanted to study disability rights. I had litigated disability rights cases, published on the subject extensively, and lectured on it extensively as well. Thus, my best advice to those of you trying to figure out which subject you want to write in is to ask yourselves if you could only study one area for the rest of your lives, which area of law would that be? That is because, when you are writing an S.J.D. dissertation, it will certainly feel like it is the rest of your life. Plus, the dissertation will be something you have for the rest of your life along with the degree. It will amount to, possibly, the single longest scholarly legal work you ever undertake.

Once you have identified your subject matter, it is a good idea to begin looking at which schools you want to attend. The factors for choosing an S.J.D. program are not as dramatic as the ones for choosing a J.D. program, but there are some. For example, you should look at schools that have professors who are experts in your field or in related fields. This is especially true if you are looking to attend a university different from where you obtained your LL.M. Further, price is also a main concern for many. Some schools charge considerably more than others. And grants and scholarships are almost nonexistent for these programs. Some may choose location as the most important factor. Still others may weigh the flexibility of a school’s program, or whether or not it requires substantial class time. For example, I chose Tulane because (1) I only had to pay for one semester of tuition; (2) I did my LL.M. there and so I did not need to take any classes during my S.J.D. years; (3) it was close to home in a very unique and interesting city; (4) I had met two of my dissertation committee members there; and (5) the program was extremely flexible and it allowed me to participate in faculty events and programs. The flexibility allowed me to get more out of the program than an unduly restrictive program would have.

Speaking of the LL.M., during that year, you should be selecting courses that impact your dissertation research. If you are a foreign student thinking about the S.J.D. while applying to or in an LL.M. program, you should be thinking about your subject during your first semester if not before. You will have less familiarity with law school life in the U.S. and may find yourself at a slight disadvantage due to, in many cases, having to take a course or more on American law. Due to the constitutionally theoretical nature of my subject matter, I chose numerous constitutional law and human rights courses, as well as legal theory and legal writing courses. If your LL.M. program requires you to write a thesis or other writing requirements (like Tulane does), it is a good idea to write on a topic similar to your general thoughts on your dissertation or even do a short dry run of your dissertation. For example, I knew my dissertation would be about protecting various disability rights theories under the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, I wrote my LL.M. thesis on protecting disability rights under the Louisiana Constitution—a much easier task since the framers of the Louisiana Constitution expressly said they were protecting various rights of disabled people. It was eventually published as a law review article.

It is also during the LL.M. year that you should be searching for potential committee members. In some schools, you select your panel during your first semester of the S.J.D. program. At Tulane, I had them officially selected before my program began. For both foreign and American candidates, you should be thinking about your panelists during your first semester of your LL.M., if not before. For example, once you have identified a school you will attend, search the faculty directory for professors who teach in or around your field and take a class with that professor. The first panelist you choose will be the chair of your dissertation committee. This will be the person you work with most closely and should be someone you trust to provide you sufficient guidance to direct your work but to leave you alone enough for the work to be yours. I chose Professor Stephen Griffin as my dissertation committee chair because I did trust him to take on that role, I had taken his constitutional law fourteenth amendment course (which played a major role in my dissertation), and I had taken his constitutional theory course (which also played a major role in my dissertation). The full panel will vary in size depending on the school you attend. At Tulane (at least when I was there) you will have three members on the panel. At least two of these people must be tenured members of the Tulane Law faculty. The other professor I chose from Tulane was Professor Adeno Addis. He also holds an S.J.D. degree and is an expert in constitutional law and legal theory, and I took his human rights classes. The final professor I chose was Professor Darlene Goring from Louisiana State University Law School. She was one of my first law school introductions to the Americans with Disabilities Act due to her elder law expertise, and she helped me make a major connection between race discrimination and disability discrimination.[ii] She is also an expert in immigration law, which like disability law, is almost impossible to outline and does not seem to fit the same mold as other areas of “law.” All in all, it is a good idea to find people very well versed in at least one major area of law you discuss in your dissertation (e.g., for me, constitutional law), that can give you good constructive feedback (as opposed to not caring, being unduly harsh, or simply too busy to work with you), that are in fields adjacent to or like your other main fields (e.g., human rights, elder law, or racial justice expertise for a dissertation on disability rights), and who you have worked with before (I had chosen only professors whose classes I had taken).

A little more than halfway through your LL.M., you should have taken several nights and weekends to get a more specific topic to write on. Take one area of your general interest, find something that bothers you more than anything else, that no one (or virtually no one) has thought about, and begin thinking of a way that you can structurally attack the issue. These thoughts will eventually form the basis of your research proposal. For me, I knew I wanted to write about using the U.S. Constitution to protect disability rights because disability rights advocates had abandoned using the Constitution. Further, I knew I wanted to use the Ninth Amendment somehow because I had written on that amendment before and understood that it was an untapped resource in constitutional rights protections. Make sure, as you are thinking of your specific questions, you are compiling a good set of articles, books, statutes, and legal provisions that will form your literature and bibliography review in your research proposal.

Along with the standard cover letters and letters of recommendation, most (if not all) schools will need you to make a research proposal to show your general thoughts on your work and how it will contribute to our understanding of the law. This is like a major (but still general) outline of your dissertation (I have attached mine to this essay). Make no mistake, your dissertation will change from this outline and the title you select for this proposal will also likely change. It does not mean that you failed to do a good outline or that you were misguided in some way. It simply means that you grew as a scholar and a writer during your dissertation work. The proposal will need a research topic and a statement of the problem. In other words, what question are you seeking to answer and why is it important? You will then need to do a summary of your proposed chapters (my own breakdown of chapters was utterly decimated during the writing of my dissertation). Following the discussion of your chapters, you will need to set forth any sub-questions that need to be answered. After which, a short hypothesis section should state the general theory of your dissertation—around 40 to 50 words seems appropriate for this. Then, you must state your research method. Again, around 40 to 50 words seem acceptable for this section.

Finally, and by far the longest portion of your research proposal, will likely be the key literature and bibliography section. You should list articles, books, and cases that you think are relevant to your research and be prepared to explain why those items are useful to your work.

Once you finish all of this, submit your letters of recommendation, transcripts, research proposal, and names of your dissertation committee to the admissions office for graduate programs.[iii]

One very important piece of advice I offer to every prospective student preparing for the S.J.D. program is to ask questions. There are people in these schools dedicated to helping you find your way through this maze. When dealing with this high level of education, there are no stupid questions. And if someone makes you feel like you have asked a stupid question, they probably do not have your best interests at heart. Luckily, I never encountered this problem and everyone I worked with was very collegial—the staff in admissions, my panel, the Tulane faculty members, and the Law School’s registrar’s office.

There is one final note, I want to point out. You should still contact your school to determine exact specific requirements. While they follow the general framework discussed in this article, schools will certainly vary. 

III. Writing the dissertation

For this section, I think it is best to start with the finished product of my dissertation and then discuss the whole process of writing it. My dissertation begins with the cover page stating the official final title of the dissertation: Constitutionalizing Three Theories of Disability Discrimination—Disparate Treatment, Reasonable Accommodation, and Integration—Through a Jurisprudential Pluralist and Constitutional Pluralistic Reading of the Ninth Amendment. The page states the degree itself and contains my signature and the signatures of my panelists.

Following the cover page is the abstract section. This will change throughout the writing of the dissertation, so do not be surprised if your panel tells you to change it dramatically. Anywhere between one and five pages for this section seems appropriate. Mine was around three.

After a page break and the copyright page, comes your acknowledgments and dedications. Mention your panelists first, then anyone who advised you that you feel deserves recognition. Last, give a thank you to any research assistant you hired. I was fortunate enough to have hired three. After this, you should have a detailed table of contents. Listing every heading and subheading in your dissertation.

Then the substance of your dissertation should begin. I divided my “chapters” into “books.” Book I discussed the history and concept of “disability” within global and national spheres. I did this, at the suggestion of my committee chair, to situate disability and to explain why constitutionalizing disability rights theories was extremely important.

Book II followed and was my most theoretically ambitious. I offered my theory of the philosophy of law, which helped set the stage for how I interpret and understand legal systems and legal interpretation, and how I understand the U.S. Constitution. When discussing my understanding of the Constitution, I had to discuss the complex history of American constitutional law and how it has been interpreted. After which, I then proposed and defended my “pluralistic” reading of the Ninth Amendment.

In Book III, I applied my new method of reading the Ninth Amendment and argued that that amendment prohibits disparate treatment against disabled people, requires reasonable accommodations, and required integration of people with disabilities into society (i.e., a prohibition on unjustified institutionalization).

Part of my thesis was that because the American people have accepted these disability rights theories as a matter of widespread legislation that it had now become a sort of “constitutional custom.”  Therefore, I needed an appendix of state laws to fully support this theory. For this, I went through and summarized every state law on disability rights. This section alone was several hundred entries.

The last two portions of the dissertation were my bibliography (which had grown considerably from the research proposal) and a biography section at the very end. This biography section should only be about a paragraph or two long.

Because I was a full-time lawyer while writing this (and completing the program in two years), one may well ask what my writing strategy was. My strategy eventually formed into what I describe below. I think it is a good strategy. After all, I successfully finished my degree in two years.

By the time you begin writing your dissertation, you should have several resource materials, such as articles and books, to begin with, and should have discussed your theory with your committee chair. Due to the nature of my topic, I had books and articles about constitutional interpretation, the history of the U.S. Constitution, the history of disability rights, the key cases on the Americans with Disabilities Act, and several highly cited articles on disability law issues. Always have your research proposal and any notes from your chair and committee at hand while writing or researching. Start researching more! Get as many articles or books as possible that may be relevant to your research. You may not even read all of them, cite all of them, or print all of them out. But it is good to have them listed somewhere (I used a notepad).

Once I had gotten all I could get my hands on that was relevant to the various parts of my dissertation, I set aside time every night to think. I had my general outline in mind and knew that I needed to think more about specific sections and arguments before I started writing my dissertation. I had to have the “meat” of my thoughts and citations selected. For each book, I started thinking of more specific arguments and citations to add. For example, I began thinking that one of the early books needed to give a discussion of law and legal interpretation because I would be creating a new method of interpreting part of the U.S. Constitution. I also knew that I needed a book on the history of disability rights to show why we needed additional protections for disability rights. These slowly morphed into well-mentally outlined sections (and sometimes I would scribble notes on my notepad about how I wanted the books to look).

Once I had all these thoughts in mind, I would write almost every night. Sometimes, I would write dozens of pages, other nights I simply wrote a paragraph. Walking and “thinking breaks” were very important.  Another good piece of advice is that something may sound very good in your head, but once you write it in your dissertation, it may not read very well considering everything else on the page. Do not be stubborn with your initial idea. Clearing off statements that add nothing to your dissertation or muddle the arguments is a good thing. Being stubborn here only wastes time and stress.

If you have family, you need to tell them that you must have time to write. This may include locking yourself in a room by yourself, going to a coffee shop, sitting on a park bench, or anything of the sort. Having someone talk to you while you are trying to write an explanation for a novel and complex legal theory is pointless, as what you would write in that situation is not likely to be your best. While the exact structure of your thoughts and the setting you choose to write in are entirely up to you, I found the following very helpful. I would sit in a room by myself, with soft jazz music or a movie I had seen dozens of times playing in the background. I would have tea, coffee, or (at night) a scotch. Sometimes, I was fortunate enough to write at a cigar bar and could enjoy a cigar and scotch while I wrote (I did this for what is now Book II extensively).

Breaks in writing are also very important. While I wrote almost every night, I did take a few days off every month or so. This was good to let me reflect, relax, and refresh.

You will likely have several drafts of your dissertation. My panel was very thorough and detailed in their edits and comments, and I ended up doing major redrafts at least three times. The original title of my dissertation was “The Americans with Disabilities Act and the United States Constitution.” Of course, this title ended up not accurately reflecting my thesis. This was the first major change in my dissertation. Following this change, my panelists realized that the entire structure of my dissertation needed reimagining. My abstract grew from one paragraph to multiple pages. What was originally Book III of my dissertation was deleted entirely. And what was originally Book I became Book II and Book II became Book I. The dissertation’s length changed dramatically as well. Originally, it was 120 pages long. Then it grew to 300. The final version was 218. When your panel gives you comments, take them to heart but do not take them as criticisms. I fully understand that it is difficult at times not to get somewhat “down” after being told you need major revisions. After all, you are putting your heart and soul into this massive tome of a paper. However, your panel is there to help guide you and to make your dissertation as strong as possible.

You will also likely have multiple long conversations with your panelists. For example, I spoke with Professor Goring for a few hours one night going over every page of my draft dissertation. You will get more out of these conversations if you have a few specific questions in mind to ask your panelists.

You may also work with various editors and research assistants. I hired two general student research assistants from two different law schools and one 40-year career paralegal from the Louisiana Supreme Court. The latter specialized in grammar and style. Your relationship with these people can be closer than even the one you have with your panelists. I spoke with one every day for about a month. I spoke with two of them once a month to discuss their progress. With thousands of citations to be checked, it was a grueling process, and I deeply appreciate their work. Without them, I could not have finished my dissertation. If you hire research assistants or editors like I did, they will have an intimate knowledge of your inner thoughts and will see your typos and other errors on something that you are dedicating a huge part of your mind and life to. Respect their time. Appreciate their edits. And make sure to thank them for their work in your dissertation. Take all of their suggestions to heart but do not be offended by any suggestions they have—after all, you hired them. I suggest posting to LinkedIn that you are looking or mentioning to your panel or friendly professors that you are hiring.

However, as with everything, at some point, even dissertations will end. You will come to a point when (1) you feel that there is nothing left to do to improve your dissertation and (2) your panel agrees that there is nothing left to add. Your panel will talk about your work separately and email each other about the dissertation. At this point, it is time to start thinking about your oral defense.

IV. The oral defense

After successfully writing your dissertation, your panel will schedule a date for your oral defense. They will try to work with you on dates, but remember, they are also very busy. And finding a right date is difficult. Do not get discouraged if, for some reason, the defense needs to be rescheduled.  Fortunately, changing the date does not happen often.

For the month leading up to my oral defense, I read my dissertation each night. I also made short outlines of each book of my dissertation and memorized those outlines, key doctrinal and argument points, and key terms. I went so far as to tape the outlines up in my house, so I would see them throughout the day. Then, for the week before the defense, I had sticky notes on my dissertation of key pages I wanted to reference. Further, in talking with my committee, I was able to tell what sort of questions they may ask. So, I also put notes on pages that I knew they would ask about with my potential answers to those questions written out. Yellow sticky notes are an amazing tool at this stage of preparing for the oral defense. I do not recommend making these notes on an electronic copy of your dissertation. It will be more difficult to reference during the oral defense and to be frank, I liked the thought of my panel actually being able to see my hard work when they saw my printed copy of my dissertation covered in notes and writing, and looking like I had actually been reading it constantly.

Another great tool to prepare for the oral defense is to conduct short “mock” defenses. These can take many forms. You can have family or friends sit in front of you as you make your presentation. You can also give them “canned questions” just to get used to hearing the type of questions you are expecting your panelists to ask. I only did this once, but it was still helpful. I would also mentally replay or privately reenact my presentation to myself.

At the oral defense, your panel will allow you to speak and defend your dissertation. I had about thirty minutes to present my dissertation, followed by about thirty minutes of questioning. Depending on the school, other faculty members (or the public) could ask you questions. I had a “hot” panel that asked numerous detailed (and often difficult) questions. It was in no way perfunctory.

The day of the oral defense will be a nervous one. It may sound odd, but I was more nervous about the defense than I was about the bar exam. I hope to assuage some of those nerves in you with the remaining lines of this part of my essay.

First, I highly recommend you create a PowerPoint for your dissertation defense. It should be kept short and have only your key themes and arguments mentioned. I have attached a copy of my dissertation PowerPoint for your reference. (see below)

Second, be honest with your answers. If something is a difficult question, admit that it is a difficult question and that you yourself struggled with it. Admitting something is a difficult question but then answering it as best you can is much better than simply ignoring the nature of the question and trying to sidestep it.

Third, take your time. There is no reason to rush an answer to a question. If it takes a few minutes to explain the point, take a few minutes. I know I had to do this several times throughout my dissertation defense and still passed.

Fourth, remember that you are the expert on your dissertation. You know it more than your panel does. Your dissertation has been a huge part of your life and your mind, and you got it—especially, if you follow my advice of reading through it essentially every night for a month.

Once your defense is done, it will feel almost like it did not even happen. Your panel will ask you to exit the room (or the Zoom, as it was for me) and they will proceed to discuss your oral defense. They will analyze any problems with your oral defense or your dissertation. It will take about an hour for this to conclude (at least from my experience). If they have nothing to add, then they will let you know you passed. If they have things to add, they may ask you to make edits to your dissertation. I did not have any edits to make after the oral defense, so I cannot provide advice on what to do or how it feels to have to do post-defense edits.

V. Life After the Defense

So, congratulations, you successfully defended your dissertation! Now what? First, I would recommend having a drink, a cake, or however you would like to celebrate. I threw a party at the Ritz in downtown New Orleans; and gave a speech in the library room of that hotel, in which I thanked everyone there for having supported me throughout the process of becoming “Dr. Derek Warden.”

Next, you should take a day or two to rest your brain because you still have steps to do in the process.

Each school will have different steps in the process to officially meet all your requirements. At Tulane, when I went through the process, I had to submit an “S.J.D. Dissertation Publication Form” to the academic services office. Then, I had to provide a single-sided, unbound copy of my dissertation on acid-free archival quality paper with the original signed cover sheet and abstract to the academic services office. This becomes the official version of the dissertation in the Tulane Law Library.

Apart from submitting these materials to the Law School, I was also required to submit an “agreement form” so that the dissertation could become part of the Hein Legal Theses and Dissertations Microfiche Project. Following all of that, I also had to submit an electronic copy of my dissertation, with my and my committee’s signatures to Tulane University’s Howard Tilton Library.  This is where it will be officially published online for people to read. You can also (as I did) upload it to SSRN. Lastly, I had to complete and submit the “survey of earned doctorates.” This is on a third-party website, but students still needed to forward a copy of this to the academic services office at Tulane Law School.

All that’s left after that is to graduate. While other people may call you “Doctor” before graduation, you are technically not “Doctor” until graduation. The month or so between successful defense and graduation will feel strange as your brain tries to recover, and you begin thinking about what you will be doing with your time now that your dissertation and defense are all over.

Graduation day will feel very different from any other graduation you have ever had.[iv] First, your gown will be much different than most other graduates (mine was massive and I ended up buying it to hang up on my wall). At Tulane, because the degree is the terminal degree, your tassel will not move. So, there’s no turning it on the stage or anything like that. Second, because these programs are so selective and small, there may be just a few of you in your graduating class. I was the only one who walked across the stage at Tulane in 2022. I was told it was a “show-stopping moment.” Admittedly, it felt like I was walking in slow motion to be “hooded” after my name was called. Almost ten years of legal education and writing were over, and I had no other degrees to obtain. After graduation, hearing myself introduced as “Dr. Derek Warden” was strange, but it felt amazing. And I am sure it will feel just as amazing for you as well.

Ultimately, I am very glad I did the S.J.D. I wish you all good luck in pursuing this degree! If you are lucky, it may just change the way you see “the law” and its place in our world. My experience certainly changed my view.[v]

The views expressed in this essay are my own. This paper is written in gratitude to Tulane Law School, its staff and faculty who assisted me throughout my studies there, my dissertation committee members, and my research assistants. This essay is also written in gratitude to my boss, Justice Griffin, who allowed me to complete my dissertation and accommodated my defense while I was working for her.

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[i] I heard that some schools do not require a dissertation but allow students to complete several law review articles in the place of a dissertation. I am not a fan of this approach. But the reasons for my lack of enthusiasm for the law review article approach are outside the scope of this essay. 

[ii] Prior to my discussion with her, I had not made the connection that eugenicists, who sought to exterminate all disabled people from society, viewed black people as almost necessarily disabled, along with other racial minority groups.

[iii] Some schools may require you to submit it through the law school admissions council. I simply emailed mine to the school admission’s office for graduate programs. I also went and talked to everyone quite frequently. So, they all knew I was officially applying anyway.

[iv] I submitted my application for graduation before my dissertation defense so that I could graduate in the spring (I defended in mid-February of 2022 and graduated in May of that year). The rules may have changed and may be different at different universities.

[v] My thoughts changed dramatically. For example, I became what I now call a “pluralistic juridical nihilist” and concluded that the entire history of the philosophy of law as well as the debate between “living constitutionalism” and “originalism” have all been a giant waste of time and wholly unreal. Nevertheless, I also realized that what we now reference as “the law” is a stabilizing force in our society and can very well be a force for good.

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