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Vice Presidential VIP

Law professor Joel K. Goldstein is the No. 1 expert on the second-in-command.

Professor Joel K. Goldstein is the nation鈥檚 foremost expert on the vice presidency. Yes, you read that right. With two books and countless articles on the office of the vice president of the United States, Goldstein has certainly earned the title.

Since the 1990s, every four years, and lately almost daily, Goldstein is a popular man. He has been profiled in The New York Times, had dinner with Vice President Joe Biden, appeared on national news and been quoted in at least four different languages.

鈥淗e鈥檚 definitely holding the record for the most quotes in the media probably by any professor,鈥� said Roger L. Goldman, the Callis Family Professor of Law Emeritus and longtime colleague of Goldstein.

As a long tenured professor and constitutional law scholar at Saint 浪花直播 University School of Law, Goldstein has earned the reputation as a revered professor and colleague.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a triple threat,鈥� Goldman said. 鈥淪cholar, great human being, legacy of his writings and books and articles. They鈥檙e going to make a lasting contribution to literature, not just here but nationally. He鈥檚 been building his national reputation. And for all the students that he鈥檚 taught, he鈥檚 a great role model. And part of his personality is his modesty.鈥�

He changed the nature of the conversation about the vice president.鈥�

William P. Johnson, dean of the School of Law

The Rhodes Scholar

The story of how Goldstein found his niche is as unique as the expertise for which he is recognized. After growing up in University City, Missouri, he left home for Princeton University where he studied at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. During his junior year, he happened upon the fateful constitutional amendment that would become the focus of his professional life.

鈥淚t really was an accident or series of accidents,鈥� Goldstein said. 鈥淲hen I was in college, I needed to write a paper for a course in party politics. It was in October 1973. When I called home, my father said he鈥檇 been watching the Today Show and they鈥檇 had a discussion of the 25th Amendment because, with the resignation of Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, it was going to be the first time Congress had ever chosen a vice president.鈥�

Less than a year before Richard M. Nixon鈥檚 resignation as president of the United States, Agnew pleaded no contest to a charge of federal income tax evasion in exchange for the dropping of political corruption charges. Agnew was fined $10,000, sentenced to three years鈥� probation and became the first U.S. vice president to resign in disgrace.

Under the process decreed by the 25th Amendment, Nixon filled the vacant office by nominating a candidate who had to be approved by both houses of Congress. He appointed U.S. Rep. Gerald Ford of Michigan, who would become the 38th U.S. president following Nixon鈥檚 resignation.

Amid the drama, a young Goldstein honed his research skills. That first paper on the vice presidency later became his dissertation when he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in 1978. And that dissertation eventually became his first book on the office.

After receiving his doctorate in political science, Goldstein followed in his father鈥檚 footsteps to become a lawyer. He attended Harvard Law School, where he served as a note editor of the Harvard Law Review. 

鈥淢y father loved the law and the practice of law,鈥� Goldstein said. 鈥淗e and Elmer Price formed Goldstein and Price in 1957, and it became a leading maritime firm in St. 浪花直播. I grew up thinking I wanted to be a lawyer and wanted to practice with my father, which I did for 12 years before joining SLU鈥檚 faculty in 1994.鈥�

After law school, and prior to joining the firm, Goldstein served as a law clerk for Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr. of the Federal District Court in Massachusetts, who was notable for issuing the 1974 order in Morgan v. Hennigan that mandated that Boston schools be desegregated by means of busing.

In 1982 Goldstein completed his first book, The Modern American Vice Presidency: The Transformation of a Political Institution 鈥� one of the first books to focus on the office of the vice president and how it changed over time.

The Professor

In 1994, just as Vice President Al Gore was gearing up for a historic midterm election, Goldstein was facing a challenge of his own 鈥� the classroom. He joined the faculty at Saint 浪花直播 University School of Law, where he put his expertise on the constitution and the vice presidency to practice.

鈥淭he idea of teaching was something I thought of before I went into law practice, but practicing law with my father was also something I wanted to do,鈥� Goldstein said. 鈥淚 was fortunate that I got to do both. I enjoyed the teaching I did at Oxford and at Harvard during law school in a course on the presidency taught by the great Richard Neustadt. When I moved back to St. 浪花直播, I was contacted by Princeton about a position in its politics department, but the timing was wrong for me.鈥�

鈥淎dding Joel to the faculty was a coup,鈥� Goldman said. 鈥淲hen you look at his background 鈥� Harvard Law Review editor, best book on the vice presidency, summa cum laude from Princeton, a Rhodes Scholar 鈥� you can鈥檛 help but be impressed.鈥�

For the past 25 years, Goldstein has tackled the challenging subject of the U.S. Constitution with an ease that left a strong impression on countless students.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know anything about Professor Goldstein before I took his class,鈥� Paul L. Brusati (Law 鈥�15) said. 鈥淚 looked him up, and you see his credentials ... and they are incredibly intimidating. To top it all off, he is teaching you 鈥楥onstitutional Law,鈥� one of the toughest classes you can take. Then you walk in and immediately, every one of my fears about how it would go was put to rest.

鈥淗e was probably the most influential professor or teacher I鈥檝e had,鈥� Brusati continued. 鈥淗e is just the kindest and clearly a genius. I don鈥檛 think he would like my saying that, but I think that鈥檚 just his humble nature.鈥�

And it wasn鈥檛 only Goldstein鈥檚 humble nature that left a lasting impression, but the way he taught students how to read and interpret the law.

鈥淗e not only taught us constitutional law, but how to read judicial opinions and how to extrapolate from those opinions how judges think about legal issues,鈥� Rachel Berland (Law 鈥�13) said. 鈥淣ow when I write briefs or when I go and argue, I think about not just the legal issues but how to contextualize those issues for the judge. And I think that鈥檚 because of the way Professor Goldstein approached constitutional law.鈥�

In addition to being a professor, Goldstein was associate dean of faculty from 2001-04 and was awarded the Vincent C. Immel Professorship in 2005. This was especially meaningful to those who knew Immel, the late, revered School of Law professor.

鈥淰ince Immel was the paragon of principle of this institution,鈥� said Michael Wolff, dean emeritus and professor emeritus of the School of Law. 鈥淛oel fit right into that mold of being an excellent teacher and really principled colleague and a terrific colleague from that standpoint. It was also nice that he was a nationally known scholar.鈥�

The Expert

As a professor, Goldstein was able to dedicate time to his scholarship on the office of the vice president. During his tenure he has written countless law journal articles and op-eds, and in 2016 completed his second book on the office: The White House Vice Presidency: The Path to Significance, Mondale to Biden.

鈥淗e changed the nature of the conversation about the vice president,鈥� said William P. Johnson, dean of the School of Law. 鈥淗e brings a historical, keen legal mind and deep understanding of the role.鈥�

鈥淰ice-presidential scholars form a tiny club,鈥� wrote Mark Leibovich in a 2012 New York Times profile of Goldstein. 鈥淎nd Joel K. Goldstein is their George Washington 鈥� or, better yet, their (Vice President) John Adams.鈥�

Goldstein is widely respected not only in academia but also among vice presidents themselves. He maintains a relationship with Walter Mondale, appeared on a panel with Gerald Ford, spoke with Dan Quayle and dined with Joe Biden.

鈥淚n 2009, right after he became vice president, I got a call from [Biden鈥檚] office to set up a meeting of some VP scholars to meet with him and just talk about the vice presidency,鈥� Goldstein said. 鈥淲e met at the Naval Observatory, the vice president鈥檚 official residence, and had dinner.鈥�

And although Goldstein has rubbed elbows with men who were one heartbeat away from the presidency, what has left the biggest impression on others is not his expertise necessarily but his compassion and intellect.

鈥淎 key lesson I learned from Professor Goldstein is to take criticism in stride, calmly and professionally, trusting one鈥檚 own abilities while making adjustments based upon others鈥� input judiciously,鈥� Bridget Hoy (Law 鈥�01) said. 鈥淲hen he served as the adviser to the law journal, he encouraged the board鈥檚 decisions, even during contentious times, and was never flustered. His calm, professional and decent demeanor was an excellent example I have thought about 鈥� and tried to follow 鈥� my entire career.鈥�

Essentially, Hoy said, 鈥淧rofessor Goldstein is a sincere person first and a really smart lawyer second.鈥�

Goldstein retired from the full-time faculty in July 2019. He plans to return to the School of Law to teach 鈥淐onstitutional Law鈥� on occasion and will continue to share his expertise about U.S. vice presidents. 

鈥� By Jessica Ciccone

Vice Presidential Highs and Lows

The vice presidency, the office John Adams called 鈥渢he most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived,鈥� has become very, very significant. But it鈥檚 had highs and lows. Here are a few in chronological order.

Highs

1. During Richard M. Nixon鈥檚 vice presidency (1953-61) the office moved to the executive branch, no longer functioning primarily as the Senate鈥檚 presiding officer.
2. The ratification of the 25th Amendment on Feb. 10, 1967, recognized the vice presidency鈥檚 enhanced importance by creating procedures to fill a vicepresidential vacancy and to transfer presidential powers temporarily to the vice president from a disabled president.
3. Walter F. Mondale (1977-81) and President Jimmy Carter created the 鈥淲hite House Vice Presidency,鈥� which means that the office functions as a close adviser to the president and the White House. Successors have largely followed their example 鈥� a historic accomplishment.
4. After some narrow misses, in 1988, George H.W. Bush was the first sitting vice president
   elected president since Martin van Buren in 1836.
5. Joe Biden (2009-17) became the most influential vice president for two full terms, a service that culminated with the award of the President鈥檚 Medal of Freedom with Distinction.

Lows

1. Vice President Aaron Burr (1801-05) killed the great Alexander Hamilton in a July 1804 duel.
2. John Breckinridge (1857-61), who lost the 1860 presidential election, became a Confederate general and later Secretary of War.
3. After a stroke incapacitated Woodrow Wilson for much of his last 17 months in office, presidential powers weren鈥檛 transferred to Vice President Thomas Marshall due largely to constitutional gaps.
4. From 1812 to 1965, the vice presidency was vacant 16 times for more than 24% of the time, but for most of that time, it didn鈥檛 matter much.
5. Spiro T. Agnew resigned on Oct. 10, 1973, in a plea agreement to avoid federal prosecution relating to his alleged receipt of payments relating to Maryland contracts.

鈥� By Joel K. Goldstein

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