Law Professors

Death Penalty Expert Michael Mello Dies

Vermont Law School Professor Michael Mello, a well-known national expert on the death penalty, died at his home over the weekend after a short illness. He was 51. “He was my colleague for 20 years,” Professor Joan Vogel told the Rutland Herald. “It hasn’t really sunk in to me that…

Nov 25, 2008 5:07 PM CST

What University of Chicago Law Profs are Reading and Recommending

Just in time for the holidays, Dean Saul Levmore of the University of Chicago Law School has sent alumni a list of the books that law profs there are reading and recommending. In an e-mail to alumni asking that they consider contributing to the law school, Levmore offers the list…

Nov 21, 2008 7:28 PM CST

Law Grad Accused of Faking E-Mail to Implicate Prof in Harassment

A graduate of Florida Coastal law school is facing a criminal charge and a slander suit based on accusations that she created a fake e-mail implicating a professor in sexual harassment. Laurie Green was arrested on Wednesday, reports News4Jax.com. Police claim she gave law school administrators a phony e-mail in…

Nov 21, 2008 2:47 PM CST

Ex-Weatherman Decries ‘Demonization’ in Georgetown Law Talk

The founder of the Weather Underground decried his “demonization” in speeches yesterday at Georgetown University Law Center and a Washington D.C. church. Bill Ayers complained that he had become a “cartoon and a caricature” after accusations surfaced during the presidential campaign that he was a terrorist who palled around with…

Nov 19, 2008 6:12 PM CST

Law Profs Among Abortion Opponents Changing Focus

Many abortion opponents are changing their tactics, switching their focus from overturning Roe v. Wade to developing social programs that will support pregnant women. Some anti-abortion activists are joining with those who favor abortion rights to back legislation that would provide pregnant women with health care and money for education,…

Nov 18, 2008 7:26 PM CST

Law Prof Drops Defamation Suit against Students over Racism Claims

A law professor who sued two former students for defamation has dropped his suit after the school’s interim dean said there is no evidence he is a racist. Law professor Richard Peltz of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock told Inside Higher Ed that he sued to get his…

Nov 17, 2008 12:32 PM CST

How the UT’s Dean Sager Hopes to Raise $200 Million—and the Law School’s Profile

Armed with a sharp intellect, great listening skills and wicked sense of humor, the 67-year-old dean of the University of Texas School of Law is trying to do something no dean there has ever done before. The constitutional law scholar has promised to nearly double the law school endowment, by…

Nov 10, 2008 11:54 PM CST

Mass. AG to Make First Supreme Court Appearance in Sixth Amendment Case

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley makes her first U.S. Supreme Court appearance today to argue that the state is not obligated to produce forensic scientists for courtroom testimony about their lab reports. The argument raises Coakley’s profile at a time she has indicated an interest in replacing Sen. John Kerry…

Nov 10, 2008 3:12 PM CST

‘I Am to Lawyers What Dian Fossey is to Gorillas,’ Says Researcher at New Center

A law school known for its focus on real-world legal education has launched a new research center that will explore what lawyers do and why clients hire them. Says political scientist Herbert Kritzer: “I am to lawyers what Dian Fossey is to gorillas.” A professor at William Mitchell College of…

Nov 4, 2008 10:16 PM CST

Law Prof Says ‘Perfect Storm’ of Wins by Democrats Could Expand Tort Liability

A law professor is warning that a big win for Democrats in Tuesday’s elections could lead to an expansion of tort liability that will harm businesses. Lester Brickman of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University talked about the possibility in an interview with the Wall Street…

Nov 3, 2008 3:08 PM CST

InstaPundit Ranked Most Popular Law Prof Blog for Site Traffic

InstaPundit is the most popular blog edited by a law professor, according to the most recent traffic rankings. InstaPundit, written by University of Tennessee professor Glenn Reynolds, was a readers’ choice winner in the category of “politics for sport” in the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100. The Volokh Conspiracy, another readers’…

Oct 30, 2008 1:33 PM CDT

Some Lawyers Ante Up $25K in Gay Marriage Fray, as Law Prof Stars in Ads

A Pepperdine University law professor is taking to the airwaves to back a California constitutional amendment to bar gay marriage in the state, while other lawyers on both sides of the debate are contributing as much as $25,000 to committees battling over the issue. Professor Richard Peterson appears in TV…

Oct 28, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Larry Tribe to Feuding Lawyer: ‘Flip a Coin and Grow Up’

Famous Harvard University constitutional law professor Laurence Tribe has some advice for a lawyer and Rhode Island officials feuding over who gets to argue an Indian land case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Asked for his opinion, Tribe told the Providence Journal that former solicitor general Theodore Olson is the…

Oct 24, 2008 4:24 PM CDT

Arthur Miller to Head Milberg’s Appellate Practice

Famous law professor Arthur Miller will head the appellate practice at the securities class action firm that survived allegations it participated in a scheme to pay kickbacks to lead plaintiffs. Miller will be of counsel at the Milberg firm while keeping his position as a law professor at New York…

Oct 23, 2008 12:15 PM CDT

Dean: 2nd Circuit Judge Should Apologize for ‘Anti-Social’ Remark

Updated: As a longtime law professor and now dean, Erwin Chemerinsky is a regular on the pro bono scene. So when he read news reports that 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs was critical of the pro bono work orchestrated by law firms, he was taken…

Oct 22, 2008 5:47 PM CDT