Jason Harrow

Partner

Jason is an acclaimed constitutional lawyer, appellate advocate, and legal writer.

He has briefed and argued more than a dozen appeals, including a high-profile recent argument in the U.S. Supreme Court about the electoral college in the case Colorado Department of State v. Baca. His legal commentary has appeared in the Washington Post, the USA Today, and the LA Times, and he makes regular appearances on Fox 11 in Los Angeles to discuss legal issues.

Before forming Gerstein Harrow LLP, Jason was Chief Counsel and Executive Director of Equal Citizens, a leading non-profit fighting to improve our democracy. He was also an associate at a major law firm in Los Angeles, where he litigated a variety of cases in federal and state court, and he was an Assistant Solicitor General in the Office of the New York Attorney General.

He clerked for two federal judges, the Honorable Carlos T. Bea of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the Honorable Kenneth M. Karas of the Southern District of New York.

Jason received his law degree from Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude, was a speaker at graduation and won the Dean’s Award for Leadership. He was also named Best Oralist of Ames Moot Court, was the winner of the 100th Anniversary of Harvard’s Moot Court Competition, and was profiled in the Harvard Gazette for his advocacy while still in law school on behalf of a grad student sued by the recording industry. He received his undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Princeton University.

In his spare time, Jason plays trivia and hosts trivia games. If you think you can stump Jason, send him an email with your question.

Representative Matters Include

  • Colorado Department of State v. Baca, 140 S. Ct. 2316 (2020): Argued in the U.S. Supreme Court in one of a pair of cases that finally settled the question of whether presidential electors have the discretion to vote for any eligible candidate. Before the Supreme Court, litigated the case to a historic victory in the Tenth Circuit that set up the case for the Supreme Court.

  • Barnett v. APOC, No. 3AN-18-05726 (Alaska Supreme Court): First Amendment case brought to improve campaign finance law by arguing that contributions to SuperPACs may be regulated. Achieved major victory in Alaska lower court. The case is now on appeal in the Alaska Supreme Court.

  • Disability Law Center v. Meyer, No. 20-cv-173 (D. Alaska): Equal Protection and Twenty-Sixth Amendment case representing disabled Alaskans injured when State did not send them absentee ballot applications but did send applications to older Alaskans. Litigation is ongoing.

  • Sony BMG v. Tenenbaum, 660 F.3d 487 (1st Cir. 2011): Due process challenge to award of massive statutory damages against a graduate student sued by the music industry for downloading songs without paying for them in the time period before iTunes. The district court reduced the number of damages in a landmark opinion. The appellate court reversed in part but left open the possibility of a reduced damages award. 

  • LULAC v. Abbott, 951 F.3d 311 (5th Cir. 2020), and related cases: Series of cases challenging the use of winner-take-all in the electoral college. Represented civic groups, including LULAC, to help achieve better representation and provoke conversation about the way we select the president.

  • Planet Aid, Inc. v. Reveal, Center for Investigative Journalism, 16-cv-2974 (D. Md.): Defamation case against non-profit journalists based on the investigative report. Successfully moved to transfer venue to the Northern District of California. 

  • Otoe-Missouria Tribe v. New York Dep’t of Financial Services, 769 F.3d 105 (2d Cir. 2014): Ensured that New York State Department of Financial Services had the power to enforce usury laws against online businesses operating from tribal land outside of New York State.  

Recent Publications And Media Appearances Include

  • Fox 11 News Special Report, 2020–present: Regular commentary on election and political law on Los Angeles network news.

  • Donald Trump Is Not A Political Genius, CNN Opinion, December 4, 2020

  • State Legislatures Can’t Ignore The Popular Vote In Appointing Electors, Lawfare, November 6, 2020 (with Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig)

  • Trump’s Lawyers Should Face Sanctions For “Litigation Abuse,” Newsweek, November 11, 2020

  • Trump Can’t Cancel The Election, USA Today, March 26, 2020

  • Why Voting By Mail Is Part Of The Right To Vote, The GlobePost, July 7, 2020

  • AG Sessions Just Might Give Up On Consent Decrees, Take Care Blog, April 16, 2017 (and many additional posts and podcasts from 2017-2020)