Date Chartered: 5/31/1985
Purpose
The Section on Legislation and Law of the Political Process provides for the development and sharing of research, teaching methods, and materials in legislation, legislative process, legislative drafting, the courts-Congress relationship, and interpretation.
Awards
Legislation and Law of the Political Process Section’s Scholarly Achievement Award
The Scholarly Achievement Award is awarded each year by the AALS Section on Legislation and Law of the Political Process to recognize outstanding individuals who have made groundbreaking scholarly contributions to the fields of Legislation and/or Law of the Political Process.
To nominate someone for the Scholarly Achievement Award, please send a nomination statement of no more than one page to the chair by September 19, 2025, with subject line “AALS Scholarly Achievement Award Nomination.” Self-nominations are welcome. Awards will be made by a sub-committee of the AALS Legislation and Law of the Political Process Section Committee.
Legislation and Law of the Political Process Section’s Emerging Scholar Award
The Emerging Scholar Award is awarded each year by the AALS Section on Legislation and Law of the Political Process to a junior scholar for an outstanding paper that is unpublished or was published from September of last year to August of this year. Eligible candidates must have completed no more than 7 years in any full-time academic teaching or research position, including VAPs, Fellowships, or postdoctoral positions, as of July 1 in the year in which the nomination is considered. Scholars currently in a VAP or Fellowship are eligible. Co-authored papers are eligible, but all co-authors must meet the same (7 year) criteria.
To nominate someone for the Emerging Scholar Award, please send an email to the chair by September 19, 2025, with subject line “AALS Emerging Scholar Award Nomination.” That email should include the name and affiliation of the nominee and an anonymized copy of the nominated paper. Self-nominations are welcome. Awards will be made by a sub-committee of the AALS Legislation and Law of the Political Process Section Committee.
| Year | Award | Recipient | Law School |
| 2026 | Scholarly Achievement Award | William Eskridge | Yale Law School |
| 2026 | Scholarly Achievement Award | Philip P. Frickey | University of California, Berkeley School of Law |
| 2026 | Emerging Scholar Award | Joel S. Johnson | Pepperdine University Rick J. Caruso School of Law |