Law Professors

Judge Allows Lawsuit Claiming John Yoo’s Legal Memos Led to Torture

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit claiming legal memos written by former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo led to the torture of a convicted terrorist. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco allowed most of the claims against Yoo, saying even enemy combatants retain constitutional protections,…

Jun 15, 2009 12:03 PM CDT

Jury that Convicted ‘Crockefeller’ Was Led by Harvard Law Lecturer

A Harvard law lecturer who taught a course on children at risk led the jury that convicted a would-be Rockefeller of parental kidnapping. Jurors rejected an insanity defense in the case of Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, who was found guilty on Friday of kidnapping his 7-year-old daughter, Reigh, the New York…

Jun 15, 2009 11:40 AM CDT

Scholar Martha Minow Named Harvard Law Dean

Longtime law professor and noted scholar Martha Minow was named dean of the top-tier Harvard Law School today. Starting July 1, Minow succeeds Elena Kagan, who left Harvard to become President Obama’s solicitor general. In making the announcement, Harvard President Drew Faust described Minow as “an intellectual leader, a devoted…

Jun 12, 2009 9:50 PM CDT

Ex-Law School Dean Spins Kosovo Experience Into Rock Opera

When Hank Perritt first went in 1998 to war-torn Kosovo armed with nothing more than a master’s from MIT and Georgetown University law degree to create databases to track supplies for refugee camps, his friends thought he was brave and dedicated. He even convinced former Serbian military officers to reveal…

Jun 10, 2009 6:31 PM CDT

Joe Biden’s Sotomayor Comments Criticized as Foolish

Vice President Joe Biden’s comments yesterday supporting Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s law enforcement credentials has some critics suggesting he went too far. Speaking yesterday at a White House event to showcase prosecutor and police endorsements for Sotomayor, Biden noted that the U.S. Supreme Court nominee has experience as a prosecutor, Politico…

Jun 10, 2009 5:30 PM CDT

Netiquette Debate Erupts over Law Prof’s Outing as ‘Publius’ Blogger

Conservative blogger Ed Whelan decided he had had enough after a pseudonymous critic known as Publius called him a “legal hitman” who was distorting the record of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Writing this weekend on the Bench Memos blog published by the National Review Online, Whelan revealed he had…

Jun 9, 2009 1:06 PM CDT

Stanford Law Prof Is One of Esquire’s Best-Dressed Real Men [See Photo Gallery]

Professors aren’t known for their stylish dress. Stanford University law professor Richard Thompson Ford acknowledges the stereotype, and says he probably strikes his colleagues as something of an oddity. Ford, an expert on civil rights and anti-discrimination law, is one of 25 semifinalists in Esquire magazine’s “Best Dressed Real Man”…

Jun 4, 2009 5:55 PM CDT

Lessig’s Lesson

Some tasks get easier when everybody pitches in. Apparently, revising a book just isn’t one of them.

Jun 2, 2009 3:20 AM CDT

Code v1 vs. Code v2

See “Lessig’s Lesson.”

Jun 2, 2009 3:10 AM CDT

Law Dean’s E-Mail Shows Distaste for Clout-Heavy Admissions Decisions

An e-mail dispatched by the former law dean at the University of Illinois is less than enthusiastic about a state senator’s recommendation for the admission of one applicant. “She won’t hurt us terribly, but she certainly won’t help us,” Dean Heidi Hurd wrote in reference to the applicant, in an…

Jun 1, 2009 1:48 PM CDT

Top South Florida Prosecutor to Take Helm of Florida Int’l College of Law

A top federal prosecutor whose high-profile South Florida office won convictions of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla, among other well-known cases, will soon be overseeing more academic activities. U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, 40, has been named the new dean of Florida International University’s law school,…

May 28, 2009 12:06 AM CDT

Law Prof Seeks Retort for ‘Legal Ethics—an Oxymoron’ Jokes

A legal ethics professor cornered all too often by jokesters who see his field as an oxymoron is asking for advice on how to handle their barbs. Suffolk law professor Andrew Perlman comes up with one tongue-in-cheek response: “It takes an oxymoron to know one, Mr. ‘Smart … ass.’ ”…

May 22, 2009 3:22 PM CDT

Forced to Choose, Rutgers Adjunct Opts for Client Over Teaching Gig

Conflict-of-interest rules apply not only to lawyers in practice, but to law professors—including in-practice attorneys teaching only a single course, an adjunct professor at a state law school in New Jersey has learned to her dismay. So, forced to choose between a client and her $1,325-per-credit gig teaching an international…

May 20, 2009 9:09 PM CDT

Who Will Replace Souter? Today’s News

ABAJournal.com: “Dueling YouTube Clips: Potential High Court Nominees vs. PI Lawyers “ ABAJournal.com: “Colo. Judge Says She Was Approached About Supreme Court Seat “ Caucus (New York Times): “Granholm’s in the House, Leading to Supreme Court Chatter” Detroit News: “Granholm didn’t meet privately with Obama at White House” Front Row…

May 19, 2009 9:58 PM CDT

Scholars’ Supreme Court Short List Includes New Names

A dozen constitutional and U.S. Supreme Court scholars are backing some potential Supreme Court nominees that haven’t gotten much press attention. When the National Law Journal asked for recommendations, some new names surfaced. They include: New York Law School professor and historian Annette Gordon-Reed, who won a Pulitzer Prize for…

May 19, 2009 3:53 PM CDT