Law Professors

Law student who quoted from opinion, including its racial slur, finds herself at center of controversy

A first-year law student who used the N-word when quoting a legal opinion that used the racial epithet is said to be distraught over the controversy that followed. She has also hired a lawyer. The incident happened in October at the Rutgers Law School.

May 4, 2021 3:26 PM CDT

Human Rights Watch fires general counsel after she used N-word in classroom lecture

Human Rights Watch fired its general counsel earlier this month after she used the N-word in an April 1 Zoom lecture on hate speech as an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

Apr 27, 2021 9:47 AM CDT

Colorful judicial writing style undermines legitimacy of opinions, law prof argues

Judges who write colorful opinions that are lively and engaging are undermining the integrity of the judicial role and the legitimacy of opinions, a law professor has argued in an upcoming law review article.

Apr 20, 2021 3:43 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Slower-paying law students wait-listed; ‘tiger mom’ law prof back in the news

Law school wait-lists students who finished late in deposit race The University of Notre Dame’s law school is facing criticism for putting pressure on would-be law students to make their decisions quickly. The school requires admitted students to pay their $600 deposit by April 15—but if the school meets its…

Apr 9, 2021 4:26 PM CDT

Law profs abound on Biden’s new commission to study changing the Supreme Court

Law professors make up the bulk of the members on President Joe Biden’s newly created Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, tasked with studying proposals to reform the high court.

Apr 9, 2021 3:15 PM CDT

Law prof proposes a middle-ground theory of judging to guide centrist judges

Conservative judges are guided by the original meaning of the Constitution, while liberal judges view the Constitution as a living document. But what about centrist judges?

Apr 5, 2021 10:05 AM CDT

Yale prof claims she was wrongly fired after tweeting about Trump, Dershowitz, shared psychosis

A law and psychiatry professor is alleging that she was fired by the Yale School of Medicine because of her critical comments about former President Donald Trump’s mental health and the likelihood that Alan Dershowitz had taken on “Trump’s symptoms by contagion.”

Mar 24, 2021 11:45 AM CDT

Law dean reveals retirement was due to ‘slaveholder’ comment; remark followed tenure controversy

A law dean has revealed that her Jan. 19 retirement announcement was precipitated by her reference to herself as a “slaveholder” during a faculty meeting.

Mar 23, 2021 3:30 PM CDT

Required USC course on race is expected to help law students with various viewpoints

Stephen M. Rich was asked in January to teach the first required course on race, racism and the law at University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, and he happily accepted the task. He recognizes, though, that the student makeup of the course may be different than it would be for an elective course on the same topic.

Mar 18, 2021 9:11 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: ACLU wants lawyer’s libel lawsuit tossed; Dershowitz gives limited advice in MyPillow CEO suit

ACLU seeks dismissal of lawyer’s libel suit The Georgia Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a lawyer’s libel lawsuit against the American Civil Liberties Union may go to trial. Lawyer B. Reid Zeh said the ACLU defamed him by claiming that he charged clients for representation that he should…

Mar 17, 2021 4:03 PM CDT

Justice Breyer should retire immediately, law prof writes; Senate could flip with 1 senator’s death or departure

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer should retire, and he should do it now, according to Paul F. Campos, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School.

Mar 16, 2021 2:57 PM CDT

Professor’s post-class comments criticizing Black law students captured on Zoom

Updated: Georgetown Law Center has terminated the position of an adjunct professor who was video recorded saying, “a lot of my lower ones are Blacks” with regard to students who took a negotiations seminar she taught.

Mar 12, 2021 12:30 PM CST

Tech competency needs to be taught in law school, associate dean says

“One can’t really understand if they remain in the law school ivory tower what is going on in the legal profession and in the legal technology space,” said April Dawson, an associate dean at North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Mar 11, 2021 4:56 PM CST

Afternoon Briefs: Judges tosses transgender woman’s pageant bias suit; SCOTUS allows indoor church services

Judge tosses suit against pageant company by transgender woman U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman of Oregon has tossed a lawsuit by a transgender woman who accused a beauty pageant of discriminating against her by banning her from the competition. Anita Noelle Green had sought to compete in the Miss United…

Mar 1, 2021 4:50 PM CST

Judges tell of case delays, high caseloads as House committee considers expanding judgeships

Three federal judges told a House subcommittee Wednesday about case delays and high workloads as lawmakers considered whether to expand the number of federal judgeships.

Feb 25, 2021 12:08 PM CST