Ellen D. Katz, the Ralph W. Aigler Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, writes and teaches about election law, civil rights and remedies, and equal protection.

Katz’s scholarship addresses questions of minority representation, political equality, and the role of institutions in crafting and implementing anti-discrimination laws. She has published numerous articles, including an influential empirical study of litigation under the Voting Rights Act.

Before joining the Michigan Law faculty, Katz practiced as an attorney with the appellate sections of the US Department of Justice’s Civil Division and its Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Related Information

Areas of Interest

Education
  • Yale University, BA, summa cum laude, history
  • Yale University, JD; Yale Law Journal, articles editor

    • Recent Courses

    Clerkships

    • US Supreme Court, Justice David H. Souter
    • US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the Hon. Judith W. Rogers

    Personal Links

    Featured Scholarship

    "Minor v. Happersett and the Repudiation of Universal Suffrage"

    Washington University Law Review

    MLaw Repository WWW HEIN

    "Voter Harassment and the Limits of State and Federal Power"

    Wisconsin Law Review

    MLaw Repository WWW

    "Curbing Private Enforcement of The Voting Rights Act: Thoughts On Recent Developments"

    Michigan Law Review Online

    MLaw Repository

    "Erasing Section 2"

    Oxford Handbook of American Election Law

    MLaw Repository WWW
    See All Scholarship

    News

    Group of Michigan Law Students walking from the Law school to vote.
    News

    Michigan Voting Project Leads Election Engagement Efforts on Campus and Beyond

    Group photo of students
    News

    Michigan Student Chapter Wins National Award from the American Constitution Society

    Ellen Katz speaking with students
    News

    5Qs: Katz on the Allen v. Milligan Decision and the Future of the Voting Rights Act

    Light filled scene of Law Quad
    News

    Michigan Law Students Volunteer During Historic Michigan Election

    Looking at the Law School Reading Room thru a Window
    News

    Report Shows Diminished Reach of Voting Rights Act’s Section 2

    Ellen Katz speaks with students in classroom
    News

    Professor Ellen Katz Named 2020 L. Hart Wright Award Recipient

    In the Media

    CBS News

    Supreme Court tells lower courts to take new look at 2 major voting rights cases

    The Texas Tribune

    How two Texas redistricting cases, 37 years apart, set the stage for the latest congressional redraw

    The Washington Post

    Supreme Court reopens debate on key part of Voting Rights Act

    Associated Press

    Protections of the Voting Rights Act are under threat as the law marks its 60th anniversary

    NPR

    60 years later, Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters face new threats

    The Texas Tribune

    Texas’ proposed congressional map dismantles districts flagged by DOJ

    See All