Stephan Kinsella

Running For: Judicial Committee

About Stephan Kinsella

(Norman) Stephan Kinsella is a retired attorney and libertarian writer in Houston. He was previously General Counsel for Applied Optoelectronics, Inc., a partner with Duane Morris, and adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law Houston. A registered patent attorney, he received an LL.M. (international business law) from King’s College London, a JD from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University (LSU), and BSEE and MSEE degrees from LSU.

He has spoken, lectured and published widely on both legal topics, including intellectual property law and international law, and also on various areas of libertarian legal theory. Libertarian-related publications include Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Papinian Press, 2023), The Universal Principles of Liberty (2025), Rothbard at 100: A Tribute and Assessment (co-editor, with Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Papinian Press and The Saif House, 2026), A Life in Liberty: Liber Amicorum in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe (co-editor, with Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Papinian Press, 2024), Property, Freedom, and Society: Essays in Honor of Hans-Hermann Hoppe (co-editor, with Jörg Guido Hülsmann, Mises Institute, 2009), Against Intellectual Property (Mises Institute, 2008).

Kinsella’s legal publications include International Investment, Political Risk, and Dispute Resolution: A Practitioner’s Guide (Oxford University Press, 2020); Online Contract Formation (Oceana, 2004); Trademark Practice and Forms (Oxford & West/Thomson Reuters 2001–2013); World Online Business Law (Oxford, 2003–2011); Digest of Commercial Laws of the World (Oxford, 1998-2013); Protecting Foreign Investment Under International Law: Legal Aspects of Political Risk (Oceana Publications, 1997); and Louisiana Civil Law Dictionary (Quid Pro Books, 2011).

Kinsella is a member of the Judicial Committee of the Libertarian Party (2022–2026; Chair Jan. 1, 2023–July 31, 2023), a co-founder and member of the Advisory Council for the Open Crypto Alliance (2020–22), a member of the Editorial Board of Reason Papers (2009–), a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Molinari Review (2014–), an External Reviewer for The Journal of Policy Analysis (Institute for Youth in Policy) (2021; defunct), a member of the Advisory Board of the Lexington Books (Rowman & Littlefield) series Capitalist Thought: Studies in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (2013–), Founder and Director of the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom (2010–present), and legal advisor to LBRY (2015–). Previously, he was Founder and Executive Editor of Libertarian Papers (2009–2018), a Senior Fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute (2009–2013), a member of the Advisory Council of the Government Waste and Over-regulation Council of the Our America Initiative (2014–2017), Book Review Editor of the Journal of Libertarian Studies (Mises Institute, 2000–2004), a member of the Advisory Panel of the Center for a Stateless Society (C4SS) (2009–2012), and served as Chair of the Computer Law Subcommittee of the Federalist Society’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. He has also run for Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, as a Libertarian, in 2002, and 2024.

Are you a dues paying, or life, member of the Libertarian Party?

Lifetime Member

What has your activism in the Libertarian Party been like?

Assisted in drafting the revisions to Art. 2.1 of the LP Platform approved in Reno in 2022.

Served on Judicial Committee 2022-2026.

I have been responsible for organizing and editing JC LPedia pages over the last 4 years.

Choose any case that the Judicial Committee has heard in the history of the Libertarian Party, most of which can be found here: LPedia.

What is your opinion of the conclusions of the Judicial Committee in that case?

My opinions are all public in all cases decided since 2022. I sometimes joined the majority, sometimes dissented, sometimes wrote the main opinion, as in In Re: Adoption of Revisions to Policy Manual Provision 1.01.4 in Email Ballot Ending January 2, 2025, sometimes a concurring opinion, as in In re: Libertarian Party of Wisconsin Region 1 Agreement Dispute.

Is there anything else that would make you a good member of the Judicial Committee?

In my view, it is very important for at least some of the JC members for 2026-2030 to have previous JC experience.

I also have 30+ years of big law firm and private high tech legal experience; am a legal scholar on topics such as intellectual property, international law, Roman and civil as well as common law; and am a leading and widely recognized libertarian theorist, speaker, and lecturer, author of a number of influential libertarian works, such as Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Papinian Press, 2023), Against Intellectual Property (Mises Institute, 2008), The Universal Principles of Liberty (2025), and many others.

I do not especially enjoy being on the JC, but am running because the JC needs to have at least some members that have both deep legal expertise coupled with a clear understanding of libertarian principles and theory, as well independence and integrity. My experience on the JC the past 4 years has revealed to me that these characteristics are unfortunately somewhat rare.

Blay Tarnoff on the JC is the other JC member I align with most frequently, and he is running again. Another reason I am running is so that if he is elected to the JC for 2026-2030, we will have each other to discuss JC cases. I urge anyone inclined to vote for me to also vote for Blay Tarnoff as we complement each other.