Kermit Roosevelt III

Kermit Roosevelt works in a diverse range of fields, focusing on constitutional law and conflict of laws. His latest academic book, Conflict of Laws (Foundation Press 2010) offers an accessible analytical overview of conflicts. His prior book, The Myth of Judicial Activism: Making Sense of Supreme Court Decisions (Yale, 2006) sets out standards by which citizens can determine whether the Supreme Court is abusing its authority. He has also published in the Virginia Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, and the Columbia Law Review, among others. He has represented a detainee in the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He also is the author of two novels, Allegiance (Regan Arts, 2015) and In the Shadow of the Law (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005). Roosevelt is actually the fourth Kermit in his family. Kermit Sr. (1889-1943) went on to serve in both World Wars and became a businessman. But he battled depression and alcoholism and died from suicide. “It was tough being TR’s son,” Roosevelt said. “Kermit never really found his identity. And it was even tougher being his son and not having him around. His life really went off the rails after TR died. TR was an imposing figure and when that figure is removed, it changes things.” Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. (1916 – 2000), was a CIA officer who coordinated Operation Ajax, which aimed to orchestrate a coup against Iran’s prime minister and return the Shah of Iran to power in August 1953. His eldest son, Kermit Roosevelt III, was born in 1938 and practiced law with his father and is now retired and living in Washington. Roosevelt, who goes by Kim, said he added the "III" to his name when his grandfather died. Like TR and the three Kermits that preceded him, Roosevelt, 43, attended Harvard University, though he broke the tradition of attending Groton School. The Yale Law School graduate practiced at Mayer Brown in Chicago for two years before joining the faculty of Penn Law, where he teaches constitutional law. J.D. - Yale - '97 A.B - Harvard - '93