About Samuel L. Bray

Samuel L. Bray is a Professor of Law and Walter Mander Research Scholar at the University of Chicago Law School. He writes about and teaches remedies, equity, civil procedure, and constitutional law. In addition, Bray is a McDonald Senior Distinguished Fellow at Emory University's Center for the Study of Law and Religion. Before joining the University of Chicago faculty, Bray was a member of the Notre Dame Law School faculty (2018-2025) and the UCLA Law School faculty (2011-2018).

Bray specializes in the law of remedies and the law of equity, and he also writes in constitutional law and law & religion. His recently published and forthcoming work includes:

  • Prosecuting Contempt, 94 U. Chi. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2027) (with Aditya Bamzai);

  • Why General Law?, 74 UCLA L. Rev. Discourse (forthcoming 2026) (with Christian R. Burset);

  • The Prehistory of the Interim Docket, 94 U. Chi. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2027) (symposium piece) (with Aditya Bamzai);

  • American Fragmentation and American Law, 102 Notre Dame L. Rev. Reflections (forthcoming 2026);

  • Beginning a Law Review Article, 31 Leg. Writing (forthcoming 2026);

  • Scandal as a Concept in Anglican Canon Law, Canopy Forum (Sept. 13, 2026)

  • How Equity Changes, 2025 Sup. Ct. Rev. 83-124 (2026);

  • Preliminary Injunctions on a Blank Slate, 101 Notre Dame L. Rev. 621-655 (2026);

  • Remedies for a Constitutional Crisis, 139 Harv. L. Rev. 1747-1768 (2026) (symposium piece) (with William Baude & Marin K. Levy); and

  • When the Executive Has Unclean Hands, 135 Yale L. J. Forum 567-596 (2026) (with William Baude).

He is one of the authors of two casebooks: on constitutional law (with Michael Stokes Paulsen, Michael W. McConnell, and Will Baude) and remedies (with Emily Sherwin). Both casebooks are published by Foundation Press.

Bray has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, and the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute and a member of the District of Columbia Bar. He earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated with honors and was book review editor for the University of Chicago Law Review.

Bray’s scholarly papers are available at Google Scholar, and works in progress are available at SSRN.