Ilya Confusion At The Scalia Memorial Dinner

For about two decades, there has been persistent Ilya confusion. Ilya Somin of George Mason University is often confused with Ilya Shapiro, formerly of the Cato Institute, and now at the Manhattan Institute. They both share the name Ilya, they both are legal scholars, and both share (or at least shared) similar philosophical views.

Longtime readers of JoshBlackman.com will recall that I wrote a series of posts about “Ilya Confusion” starting in 2010. Indeed, that year, I held the “Battle of the Ilyas,” a trivia contest to determine who would be the real Ilya. For those keeping score, Ilya Shapiro prevailed.

Even then-Justice Willett tweeted about the Battle of the Ilyas!

Why bother having #FedSoc2014 unless it showcases The Thrilla of the Ilyas!@ishapiro vs @IlyaSomin

The smart $ is on Ilya!#FedSoc2013

— Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) November 16, 2013

Tonight, during the Scalia Memorial Dinner, there was another case of Ilya Confusion. Earlier in the program, Judge Amul Thapar praised Ilya Shapiro’s presentation at NYU on October 7. There were efforts to cancel Ilya’s talk, but the Chapter and many others rallied together to keep the event alive. Then, during Justice Barrett’s discussion, she referenced Ilya Somin’s talk at NYU. Woops. I was sitting at Somin’s table, and we all started to chuckle.

Justice Barrett is just the latest person to fall for Ilya confusion. For whatever it is worth, I am often confused with Josh Hammer: a right-wing Jewish lawyer whose first name is Josh. But there was recently another first. I was at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, and a person on the public line asked me, “Are you Professor Will Baude?” I replied, “Close.”