• B.S., Florida State University
• J.D., University of Florida College of Law
  

With over 22 years of law teaching experience, Professor Baker is a nationally prominent Constitutional Law scholar who has received numerous awards for his classroom teaching. Before joining the FIU College of Law faculty, he held the James Madison Chair in constitutional law that Congress endowed at Drake University Law School to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. From 1985 to 1987, he worked at the Supreme Court, first as a Judicial Fellow and then as Acting Administrative Assistant to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. From 1979-98, Professor Baker was a member of the faculty at Texas Tech University School of Law, where he held the Alvin R. Allison Distinguished Professorship and received every teaching award the law school and the University awarded. He was the Distinguished Fulbright Professor of American Constitutional Law at the University of Athens in 1992. He was a member of the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States, by appointment of the Chief Justice, from 1990-1995. In 1995, he received a formal Commendation for Distinguished Service from the Judicial Conference of the United States. He is also the recipient of the Bicentennial of the Constitution Award in Legal Education. Professor Baker is frequently quoted as an expert in constitutional law and the courts, and has appeared on NPR; LAW.COM; CNN's Burden of Proof; C-SPAN; and numerous legal education programs for lawyers and judges. He is the author of six books, including the "Nutshell" on Constitutional Law (forthcoming 2002), and more than 90 articles, including articles published in the Harvard, Michigan, UCLA, Iowa, Washington & Lee, and William & Mary law reviews. After graduation from law school, he clerked on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. His law school recognitions include High Honors and Order of the Coif.