Heritage Expert

Robert Alt

  • Director, Rule of Law Programs and Senior Legal Fellow

Robert Alt is a Senior Legal Fellow and Deputy Director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. 

Alt has written and lectured extensively on issues of constitutional law, with particular emphasis on civil rights law, election law, separation of powers, antiterrorism law, and the law of war. He also has extensive first-hand experience in scrutinizing the legal implications of the War on Terror after spending five months in Iraq in 2004. During this time, he observed and wrote about the shift to the Transitional Administrative Law and the transfer of governmental control.

Prior to joining Heritage for a second time in 2008, Alt taught national security law, criminal law, and legislation at Case Western University School of Law in Cleveland. He first served at Heritage as Deputy Congressional Liaison from 1997 to 1999.

In addition to his Heritage duties, Alt is also a Fellow in Legal and International Affairs at the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University in Ohio, where he has taught constitutional law and political parties and interest groups. 

Alt has testified before Congress on the legality of the Terrorist Surveillance Program and proposed revisions to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and before the Federal Election Commission concerning issues of constitutional and administrative law.

He has published articles in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Daily Standard, The San Diego Union -Tribune and is a regular contributor to National Review Online, where he has published more than 60 articles. He also has provided commentary on CNN, Fox News, and on numerous syndicated radio programs.

Alt graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 2002, after which he clerked for Judge Alice Batchelder on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. In 1998, he also received a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy from Azusa Pacific University in California.

 

All Publications by Robert Alt
  • Backgrounder posted March 22, 2012 by Robert Alt, Edmund Haislmaier The Obamacare Challenge: The Questions Before the Supreme Court and Their Portents for Congress

    Abstract: Next week, the Supreme Court will hear challenges to Obamacare (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) centered on the constitutionality of the legislation’s individual mandate and Medicaid expansion. From a legal perspective, the Court’s decision will…

  • WebMemo posted June 25, 2010 by Robert Alt Key Questions for Elena Kagan

    Before being confirmed to the United States Supreme Court, Elena Kagan must first be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. But before Kagan can be confirmed to this lifetime appointment, she has to answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kagan comes to the committee with one…

  • Legal Memorandum posted June 15, 2010 by Robert Alt, Hans von Spakovsky The Liberal Mythology of an “Activist” Court: Citizens United and Ledbetter

    Abstract: Liberals are currently engaged in a concerted effort to redefine judicial activism. Rather than accepting the true definition of judicial activism—when a judge applies his or her own policy preferences to uphold a…

  • WebMemo posted August 14, 2009 by Robert Alt, Todd Gaziano A CIA Special Prosecutor: A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing

    Given President Obama's stated desire to look forward, not backward, with respect to interrogation policy and practice, news reports that Attorney General Holder is seriously considering appointing a special prosecutor to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against some CIA interrogators raise a host of questions and concerns. But the answer to the most important…

  • WebMemo posted July 10, 2009 by Deborah O'Malley, Robert Alt Key Questions for Sonia Sotomayor

    Since Judge Sonia Sotomayor was nominated for the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama, she has received fierce criticism for a number of her public statements and court opinions that reveal a troubling judicial philosophy. She has questioned whether judges can and should set aside personal bias, mocked the idea that…

  • WebMemo posted January 14, 2009 by Robert Alt Key Questions for Eric Holder, Nominee for United States Attorney General

    The United States Senate will soon render its advice and consent on the nomination of Eric Holder as the new United States attorney general. Holder served as deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice (DOJ) during the Clinton Administration. Many questions have arisen about various nominees' "independence" from the…

  • WebMemo posted September 26, 2008 by Robert Alt, Todd Gaziano, Andrew Grossman The Housing Bailout: Constitutional Infirmities Remain, but a Ray of Hope

    At 9:30 this morning, the President spoke on the continuing negotiations with Congress to pass a plan to address the credit crisis. The gist of his remarks was: If it be done, let it be done quickly. Conservatives must append a further mandate: If it be done, let it be done constitutionally. Constitutionality is…

  • WebMemo posted January 31, 2008 by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., Robert Alt, Andrew Grossman Congress Must Stop Playing Politics with FISA and National Security

    This week, Congress passed a 15-day extension of the Protect America Act, just two days before the law was set to expire, so that House Democrats could leave Washington for a party retreat. The Protect America Act updated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to exempt surveillance of communications between persons located outside of the…

  • WebMemo posted January 25, 2008 by Robert Alt, Todd Gaziano, Brian Walsh The Intelligence Community Needs Clear -- and Permanent -- FISA Reform

    The Senate is on the verge of passing legislation to extend the important intelligence surveillance authorities of the Protect America Act, passed six months ago. Those authorities, set to expire on February 1, allow the intelligence services to conduct surveillance of communications between persons located outside of the United States when the communications happen to…

  • Backgrounder posted July 14, 1998 by Robert Alt Truth in Testimony: Has Congress Made the Grade?

    On January 7, 1997, the first day of the 105th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Truth in Testimony rule, which requires witnesses appearing before House committees to disclose federal grants and contracts received during the present and previous two fiscal years. Early results from implementation of Truth in Testimony demonstrate relatively…