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Events • November 21, 2024 

# *A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist*

Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett has played an integral role in the rise of originalism—the movement to identify, restore, and defend the original meaning of the Constitution. But Barnett’s path to becoming an influential professor of constitutional law was not an easy one. Starting from a working-class childhood in Calumet City, Illinois, Barnett’s unusual resume has included stints as an ice cream truck driver, newspaper ad salesman, prosecutor, libertarian theorist, contract law professor, and Supreme Court advocate. In his new autobiography, *A Life for Liberty*, Barnett tells the complete story of his personal and professional journey.

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). 

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[![Media Name: barnett.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/authors/crops/barnett_1.jpg?itok=2caPnmbX)](/people/randy-barnett) 

##### [Randy E. Barnett](/people/randy-barnett)

Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center, and Faculty Director, Georgetown Center for the Constitution

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](https://x.com/randyebarnett) 

![Jonathan Turley](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-06/Jonathan%20Turley%20cropped.jpg?itok=aM1DjbZo) 

##### Jonathan Turley 

J. B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School

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](https://twitter.com/JonathanTurley) 

[![Thomas Berry](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-02/2025-10-16-Thomas%20Berry-sq_0.jpg?itok=SW7WagUw)](/people/thomas-berry) 

##### [Thomas A. Berry](/people/thomas-berry)

Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/Thomas_A_Berry) [ 

](mailto:tberry@cato.org)