Law Professors

Meet Kris Kobach, Law Prof Fighting for Local Role in Immigration Enforcement

University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor Kris Kobach is supporting tougher measures to fight illegal immigration in several court cases throughout the country. Kobach “is on a dogged campaign to fight illegal immigration at the local level, riding an insurgency by cities and states fed up with what they see…

Jul 21, 2009 3:16 PM CDT

Harvard Prof Gates Arrested Trying to Enter Own Home; Ogletree to Defend

Updated: Harvard University’s Henry Louis Gates Jr. is facing a disorderly conduct charge, after being arrested by Cambridge police on Thursday while trying to enter his own locked home near the campus, according to Bloomberg and the Associated Press. Gates, 58, is the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute…

Jul 20, 2009 6:06 PM CDT

New Series on Tracking Terrorists Features CIA Lawyer-Turned-Journalist

The star of a controversial new series on NBC featuring journalists tracking down accused war criminals and terrorists is a former CIA lawyer. Adam Ciralsky became an NBC producer after leaving the CIA in a dispute with his supervisors, the New York Observer reports. Now he is billed as the…

Jul 17, 2009 2:47 PM CDT

Two Law Profs Settle Whistle-Blower Suit Against Ave Maria

Two law professors have settled a lawsuit that claims they were denied tenure at Ave Maria School of Law in retaliation for their complaints. Lawyer Deborah Gordon told NaplesNews.com that law professors Ed Lyons and Phil Pucillo “have agreed to a settlement, which does involve their obtaining tenure in part,”…

Jul 17, 2009 12:27 PM CDT

If Your Law Prof Sports an Unusual Tattoo, He Could Be a UFO Witness

If your law professor suddenly sports an unusual tattoo, he could be the person who reported a UFO sighting while riding a motorcycle near Lake of the Ozarks. An anonymous person claiming to be a law professor said in a posting on the Mutual UFO Network that during a motorcycle…

Jul 16, 2009 1:21 PM CDT

Catholic Law School Claims Profs Are Ministerial Employees

The Ave Maria School of Law claims in court papers that three former professors suing the school were ministerial employees, making the Catholic institution exempt from their legal claims. The school contends it is protected from suit by the professors under the First Amendment’s establishment and free exercise clauses, the…

Jul 10, 2009 3:59 PM CDT

U of I Law School Got Scholarship Cash for Clout Admissions

The University of Illinois law school got $300,000 in university scholarship money in exchange for admitting politically connected applicants, according to newly released documents obtained by a Chicago newspaper. The law school got the discretionary funds over four years to lure better qualified applicants to attend the school, the Chicago…

Jul 9, 2009 4:34 PM CDT

Law Prof Backing Sotomayor Offers Explanation for Short Ricci Opinion

New York University law professor Arthur Miller has offered a possible explanation for a controversial short opinion joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor in which the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the city of New Haven, Conn., to throw out a fire department promotional exam because…

Jul 8, 2009 6:54 PM CDT

Harvard Prof Counsel in RIAA Case Ordered to Show Cause

A judge told Harvard University law professor Charles Nesson that he has until Thursday to explain why he should not be sanctioned for his “blatant disregard” of her court orders. Nesson is representing Joel Tenenbaum pro bono in the second file-sharing lawsuit brought by the Recording Industry Association of America.…

Jul 7, 2009 10:14 PM CDT

Law Prof Sees ‘Wake-Up Call’ in Report on How to Guess Social Security Nos.

An Ohio State law professor who served as the Clinton administration’s chief privacy counselor says a new report on identity theft weaknesses in the Social Security system should serve as a “wake-up call.” The report by Carnegie Mellon University researchers found it is possible to guess many, if not all,…

Jul 7, 2009 2:35 PM CDT

Are Law Schools Like GM? Why Profs Should Mull End of ‘Salad Days’

Indiana University law professor William Henderson remembers his youth in Cleveland during the 1970s and ’80s. Many of his friends’ parents worked for General Motors, which offered high pay, amazing benefits, predictable hours and long vacations. “I remember thinking at the time that GM was both complacent and invincible,” Henderson…

Jul 7, 2009 1:50 PM CDT

RIAA Wants Harvard Prof to Take Case Recordings Off the Web

The Recording Industry Association of America says that Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson is violating court orders and privacy laws by posting recordings of pretrial hearings and depositions to his blog and to the Berkman Center for Internet and Society website. Wired’s Threat Level blog provides links to examples of…

Jul 6, 2009 8:25 PM CDT

Villanova Law Dean Resigns; Name Surfaces in Prostitution Probe

Villanova law dean Mark Sargent, who abruptly resigned last week, had been identified in a police report as a prostitution customer, according to a story in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Sargent and another customer provided information to police after a raid of the prostitution business, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports in a…

Jul 6, 2009 2:41 PM CDT

Law Profs on Clout-Influenced Admissions: Everybody Does It

A group of law professors at the University of Illinois is taking exception to a Chicago Tribune series showing Illinois politicians and fundraisers used their clout to pressure the university and its law school to admit students. The letter to the Tribune, posted by law professor Larry Ribstein at Ideoblog,…

Jul 6, 2009 1:12 PM CDT

Lawyers Remember Michael Jackson for ‘Smooth’ Shoe Patent

As many remember Michael Jackson for his Thriller work or read his will in the Smoking Gun today, some lawyers recall him for an innovative dance shoe patent. The design, which was patented in 1993 by the pop singer and two partners, contains a special heel slot. Retractable pegs in…

Jul 1, 2009 11:27 PM CDT