William Baude, the Harry Kalven Jr. Professor of Law, and Judith Miller, Clinical Professor of Law in the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic, recently received the University of Chicago’s Diversity Leadership Faculty Award for a seminar they co-taught called “Litigating Originalism.”

The Diversity Leadership Awards recognize UChicago faculty, students, staff, and alumni who show leadership in advancing the University’s commitment to diversity of thought, perspective, and experience. Baude and Miller were the only two UChicago faculty members to receive this recognition.

The originalism seminar, offered for the first time during the 2025 winter quarter, explored how lawyers can effectively litigate claims based on arguments rooted in originalist methods, a type of legal interpretation of the US Constitution that aims to follow how the text would have been understood at the time that it was written.

“We wanted to explicitly put aside questions about the role of originalism in constitutional interpretation and politics, and instead focus on the practical reality that these arguments are becoming common—and even sometimes required—at all levels of the federal courts,” explained Miller. “How can practicing lawyers conceive of and make legal arguments based on originalist arguments, given limited resources and our lack of training in history? Thinking about that question, together, was the goal of the class.”

To achieve that goal, Baude and Miller brought together a group of students carefully selected to have a diverse range of viewpoints. Some students described themselves as originalists, others did not; some had experiences working on litigation in Law School clinics, others did not. The student viewpoints reflected some of Baude and Miller’s own differences. Baude is a leading originalist scholar, and Miller a litigator who does not champion originalist advocacy. The two are married.

“The students really learned a lot from talking across their differences, and we felt like it was an extremely UChicago experience, so we are especially delighted,” said Baude.

In fact, it was students who took the seminar who nominated Baude and Miller for the award.

Whether the seminar will be offered again has yet to be determined, but Baude and Miller have plans to use some of the materials and insights from the course as part of a panel on originalism at the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference this fall.

“We regard [this seminar] as the beginning of an experiment,” added Baude. “And a successful one.”