Erwin Chemerinsky

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In 2010, students who were protesting against UCI's invitation of Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren interrupted his speech several times. Chemerinsky, referring to the heckler's veto, asserted that their protest was a form of punishable civil disobedience and not protected by the First Amendment. [19] However, he also strongly criticized the prosecutors' decision to file criminal charges against the students. [20]

In October 2023, more than 200 Berkeley Law alumni signed an open letter asking Chemerinsky, as dean, to address the harm done by a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Berkeley Law colleague Steven Davidoff Solomon titled "Don’t Hire My Anti-Semitic Law Students." The letter said that Solomon conflated "support for the Palestinian people or criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism." The alumni urged Chemerinsky to uphold freedom of speech for all students at Berkeley Law, including those that advocated for Palestinian rights, in the wake of threats to pro-Palestine student protestors' freedom of speech at the school. Chemerinsky responded to the Berkeley Law community that Solomon's op-ed was free speech, even if it included language that others found "deeply offensive", while also noting that Solomon expressed a personal opinion and did not speak for the law school. [21] Chemerinsky also wrote a Los Angeles Times op-ed denouncing antisemitism on college campuses (including student protestors calling for the "total elimination of Israel"), describing antisemitic remarks directed at him personally, strongly opposing the policies of the Netanyahu government, supporting "full rights for Palestinians", and affirming free speech for students and school administrators alike. He called on fellow university administrators to denounce celebrations of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. [22] Some alumni criticized Chemerinsky's op-ed, saying it ignored anti-Palestinian racism faced by Berkeley Law students. [21]

Controversies

Chemerinsky's hiring as dean of the UCI School of Law was controversial. After signing a contract on September 4, 2007, the hire was rescinded by UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake, who felt the law professor's commentaries were "polarizing." Drake claimed the decision was his own and not the subject of any outside influence. [23]

The action was criticized by both liberal and conservative scholars, who felt it hindered the academic mission of the law school and violated principles of academic freedom, and few believed Drake's claims that it was not the result of outside influence. [23] [24] The issue was the subject of an editorial in The New York Times on Friday, September 14. [25] Details emerged revealing that the university had received criticism on the hire from the California Supreme Court's Chief Justice Ronald M. George, who criticized Chemerinsky's grasp of death penalty appeals and a group of prominent local Republicans, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who wanted to stop the appointment. Drake traveled over a weekend to meet with Chemerinsky in Durham, North Carolina, where he was a professor at the Duke University School of Law at the time, and the two reached an agreement late Sunday evening. [26]

On September 17, Chemerinsky issued a joint press release with Drake indicating that Chemerinsky would head the law school. The release stated that the chancellor was "commit[ted] to academic freedom." [27] On September 20, 2007, Chemerinsky's hire was formally approved by the Regents of the University of California. [28]

On April 9, 2024, Chemerinsky's wife, law professor Catherine Fisk, was involved in a physical altercation with a Muslim law student during an invitation-only dinner for graduating law students held at the professors' home. When the student attempted to give a speech in protest of Israel's actions in Gaza, Fisk attempted to take the student's microphone. [29] The student claimed that they had a First Amendment right to protest inside the professors' home, which was described as a wrongful interpretation of the First Amendment by the professors and multiple legal experts. [30] [31] According to Chemerinsky, the First Amendment did not include the right to protest inside of others' private homes. [32] [33] After the student accused Fisk of discrimination and harassment, UC Berkeley opened a civil rights investigation into the incident. [34]

Personal life

Chemerinsky was first married to Marcy Strauss, a professor at Loyola Law School. They had two sons, Jeffrey and Adam, before divorcing in 1992. [35]

Chemerinsky later married Catherine Fisk, [36] the Barbara Nachtrieb Armstrong Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law. [37] They have a son, Alex, and a daughter, Mara. [35]

Selected works

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References

Citations

  1. ↑ Sernoffsky, Evan (May 17, 2017). "Erwin Chemerinsky named dean of Berkeley Law". SFGate . Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  2. ↑ Haire, Chris (May 17, 2017). "UC Irvine law dean Erwin Chemerinsky named dean of Berkeley's law school, will begin July 1". Orange County Register . Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  3. ↑ ACS-American Constitution Society.
  4. ↑ Bivins, Larry (January 7, 2010), "Franken hits 6-month mark", St Cloud Times[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ Dybis, Karen (May 27, 2009). "A Path to Greatness". National Jurist. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ Zint, Bradley (May 17, 2017). "UCI law school's Chemerinsky takes new position at UC Berkeley". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved May 19, 2017.
  7. ↑ Blaustein, Rich (November 9, 2022). "Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky Makes the Case Against Originalism". DC Bar. The District of Columbia Bar. Retrieved July 16, 2024. A D.C. Bar member since 1979, Chemerinsky has authored 16 books, including a constitutional law textbook, and more than 200 law review articles.
  8. ↑ Bloom, Anne; Manjeshwar, Sanjana; Morikawa, Jamie; Pace, Nicholas M.; Saunders-Medina, Bethany (June 4, 2021). COVID-19 and the Courts: Lessons from the Pandemic. Santa Monica, California: RAND Corporation. p. 6. doi: 10.7249/CFA1299-1 . Retrieved July 18, 2024. He writes a regular column for the Sacramento Bee, monthly columns for the ABA Journal and the Daily Journal, and frequent op-eds in newspapers across the country.
  9. ↑ Weyenberg, Michelle (March 2011), "23 Law Profs to Take Before You Die", The National Jurist, 20 (6): 22–29, archived from the original on March 18, 2011
  10. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (2017). "Leadership in Law Schools" (PDF). Stanford Law Review. 69 (June 2017): 1765. Retrieved July 18, 2024. Most importantly, I was elected by Los Angeles voters in 1997 to a commission to rewrite the Los Angeles City Charter and then chosen by my fellow commissioners to chair the Elected Los Angeles City Charter Reform Commission.
  11. ↑ Patel, Vimal (December 21, 2022). "At Berkeley Law, a Debate Over Zionism, Free Speech and Campus Ideals". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved July 18, 2024. In 1999, he helped found the Progressive Jewish Alliance, a social justice group based in Los Angeles.
  12. ↑ Charnosky, Christine (January 4, 2023). "Chemerinsky Reviews Past Year as AALS President". Law.com. ALM Global, LLC. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  13. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (March 14, 2007). "A Well-Regulated Right to Bear Arms". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  14. ↑ "My opinion George F. Will : Gun control issue back on the table". The Arizona Star. March 18, 2007. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Judicial Activism: Playing with the Constitution. An Interview with Constitutional Law Scholar Erwin Chemerinsky on Abortion, the 2nd Amendment, the War on Terror and Guantanamo Bay". FindLaw.com. September 18, 2008. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  16. ↑ "What to Know About the Ethics Lawsuit Facing President Trump". Time. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  17. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (November 11, 2020). "Presidential elections and Senate seats underscore fact that this is not a democracy". Sacramento Bee.
  18. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (August 11, 2021). "There Is a Problem With California's Recall. It's Unconstitutional". New York Times.
  19. ↑ Lumb 2010: Chemerinsky answered student questions that concerned the Oren lecture, which included the remark that while civil disobedience has a place in public discourse, its practitioners are still subject to punishment for breaking the law.
  20. ↑ Santa Cruz, Nicole (September 23, 2011). "'Irvine 11': UC Irvine law school dean calls convictions 'harsh'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  21. 1 2 Truong, Debbie (November 3, 2023). "A divide over the Israel-Hamas war flares at UC Berkeley Law". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  22. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (October 29, 2023). "Nothing has prepared me for the antisemitism I see on college campuses now". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Therolf, Garrett; Weinstein, Henry (September 13, 2007). "UC Irvine post is taken from liberal legal scholar - Criticism follows the dismissal of Erwin Chemerinsky as dean. The chancellor says the decision wasn't forced". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  24. ↑ Parsons, Dana, "Excuse for UCI's fumble on law school dean not good enough", Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2007.
  25. ↑ "A Bad Beginning in Irvine". The New York Times. September 14, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  26. ↑ Therolf, Garrett, "News from California, the nation and world". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on November 6, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2016. "Chemerinsky returns to UC Irvine post", Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2007.
  27. ↑ "Statement From Chemerinsky & Drake". ocblog.net. OC Blog. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007.
  28. ↑ "Erwin Chemerinsky named founding dean of UC Irvine's Donald Bren School of Law" (Press release). University of California, Irvine. September 20, 2007. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012.
  29. ↑ REGIMBAL, ALEC (April 15, 2024). "UC Berkeley law professor physically confronts law student at backyard dinner". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Berkeley Law Student Protests at Dean's House: How Experts and Advocates Are Reacting". Time. April 12, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Students Don't Have a Right to Use Public University Social Events for Their Own Political Orations,". Reason. April 11, 2024.
  32. ↑ "No One Has a Right to Protest in My Home". The Atlantic. April 26, 2024.
  33. ↑ Pengelly, Martin (September 1, 2024). "Erwin Chemerinsky on the need for a new US constitution: 'Our democracy is at grave risk'". The Guardian . Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  34. ↑ "UC Berkeley opens civil rights investigation into backyard confrontation between a law professor and a student". NBC News. May 3, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  35. 1 2 Edward J. Boyer, "Professor Erwin Chemerinsky Is an Authority in Demand", Witness, March 6, 2001; accessed 2022.10.22.
  36. ↑ "Erwin Chemerinsky and Catherine Fisk join the Faculty of Duke Law School", Duke Law, March 5, 2004.
  37. ↑ BerkeleyLaw Profile, Catherine Fisk.

Sources

Erwin Chemerinsky
Berkeley Law Dean Chemerinsky on Supreme Court DACA.jpg
Chemerinsky in 2020
Born (1953-05-14) May 14, 1953 (age 71)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Academic background
Education Northwestern University (BS)
Harvard University (JD)
13th Dean of University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 1, 2017
International
National
Other
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