Elie Ying Mystal (born May 10, 1978) is an American political commentator, writer and former litigator.[1][2] He is the justice correspondent at The Nation, where he writes about the courts and the criminal justice system.[3][4] Mystal has described himself as a liberal.[1]
Elie Mystal | |
|---|---|
 Mystal in 2023 | |
| Born | Elie Mystal Jr. May 10, 1978 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA, JD) |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and political commentator |
| Employer | The Nation |
| Known for | Commentary and criticism about the United States Constitution |
| Spouse | Christine Nyereyegona |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editMystal is the son of Elie Mystal Sr. His father was the first African American elected to the Suffolk County Legislature and an influential political operative whose career ended with a fine for violating election district residency laws.[5]
Mystal received a Bachelor of Arts degree in government at Harvard College and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.[2]
Career
editMystal is a former associate and litigator at the Debevoise & Plimpton law firm.[3][2] He is a former executive editor of the Above the Law legal news website.[3] A description at the Above the Law website says that he "quit the legal profession to pursue a career as an online provocateur".[2] He has made guest appearances on MSNBC and Sirius XM.[3]
He is the author of Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution, which is intended to be an "easily digestible argument about what rights we have, what rights Republicans are trying to take away, and how to stop them."[6] Mystal's book, which was published by The New Press in March 2022, made The New York Times Best Seller list that same month.[7]
As of 2022 he was a board member of Demand Justice, a liberal judicial advocacy group.[8]
Views
editMystal has described himself as a liberal.[1] He has been a supporter of civil rights and abortion rights.[9][10]
Mystal believes the Massachusetts Good Samaritan law could form the basis for civil liability.[11][third-party source needed]
In March 2022, he said the United States Constitution is "actually trash", pointing to the Fugitive Slave Clause and the Three-fifths Compromise.[1][12] In that interview, he said about the Constitutional Convention, "We act like this thing was kind of etched in stone by the finger of God, when actually it was hotly contested and debated, scrawled out over a couple of weeks in the summer in Philadelphia in 1787, with a bunch of rich, white politicians making deals with each other."[1]
Publications
edit- Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution. New York: The New Press. 2022. ISBN 9781620976814. OCLC 1252960938.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Obeidallah, Dean (March 23, 2022). "Elie Mystal: Our Constitution is "actually trash" — but the Supreme Court can be fixed". Salon. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
Elie Mystal, attorney
- ^ a b c d "Elie Mystal, Author at Above the Law". Above the Law. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
He was formerly a litigator at Debevoise & Plimpton
- ^ a b c d "Elie Mystal: Justice Correspondent". The Nation. December 10, 2018.
- ^ Markay, Lachlan (March 6, 2022). "Progressives prep big spending for Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation". Axios. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ Brand, Rick (November 29, 2017). "Elie Mystal dead at 71; Suffolk legislator brought down by residency law". Newsday.
- ^ "Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution". The New Press.
- ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers, March 27, 2022". The New York Times.
- ^ Oprysko, Caitlin (December 9, 2022). "A peek under the hood at Demand Justice". POLITICO. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ Mystal, Elie (July 13, 2021). "My Black Generation is Fighting Like Hell to Stop the Whitelash". The Nation.
- ^ Pengelly, Martin (June 30, 2022). "Biden backs exception to Senate filibuster to protect abortion access". The Guardian. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ^ "Gatesgate: A Legal Hypothetical - Above the Law". July 24, 2009.
- ^ Gillespie, Brandon (March 25, 2022). "Legal correspondent doubles down on claim US Constitution is 'actually trash'". Fox News. Retrieved March 25, 2022.