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. [14] However, he also strongly criticized the prosecutors' decision to file criminal charges against the students. [15]

In 2023, Chemerinsky defended a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Berkeley Law colleague Steven Davidoff Solomon titled "Don’t Hire My Anti-Semitic Law Students" as free speech. More than 200 alumni signed an open letter asking Chemerinsky, as dean, to address the harm and threats to pro-Palestine students' freedom of speech at the school, such as the death threats and doxxing of student groups named in the op-ed. Chemerinsky wrote a Los Angeles Times op-ed denouncing anti-semitism on college campuses, which critics said ignored the anti-Palestinian racism and genocide in Gaza. [16]

Appointment controversy

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 After signing a contract on September 4, 2007, the hire was rescinded by UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake, who felt the law professor's commentaries were "polarizing."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. [17]

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. [17] [18] The issue was the subject of an editorial in The New York Times on Friday, September 14. [19] 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. [20]

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." [21] On September 20, 2007, Chemerinsky's hire was formally approved by the Regents of the University of California. [22]

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. [23]

Chemerinsky is currently married to Catherine Fisk, [24] the Barbara Nachtrieb Armstrong Professor of Law at UC Berkeley School of Law. [25] They have a son, Alex, and a daughter, Mara. [23]

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. ↑ Weyenberg, Michelle (March 2011), "23 Law Profs to Take Before You Die", The National Jurist, 20 (6): 22–29
  8. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (March 14, 2007). "A Well-Regulated Right to Bear Arms". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. 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.
  11. ↑ "What to Know About the Ethics Lawsuit Facing President Trump". Time. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
  12. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (November 11, 2020). "Presidential elections and Senate seats underscore fact that this is not a democracy". Sacramento Bee.
  13. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (August 11, 2021). "There Is a Problem With California's Recall. It's Unconstitutional". New York Times.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ Santa Cruz, Nicole (September 23, 2011). "'Irvine 11': UC Irvine law school dean calls convictions 'harsh'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 5, 2014.
  16. ↑ Truong, Debbie (November 3, 2023). "A divide over the Israel-Hamas war flares at UC Berkeley Law". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  17. 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.
  18. ↑ Parsons, Dana, "Excuse for UCI's fumble on law school dean not good enough", Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2007.
  19. ↑ "A Bad Beginning in Irvine". The New York Times. September 14, 2007. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  20. ↑ 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.
  21. ↑ "Statement From Chemerinsky & Drake". ocblog.net. OC Blog. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. 1 2 Edward J. Boyer, "Professor Erwin Chemerinsky Is an Authority in Demand", Witness, March 6, 2001; accessed 2022.10.22.
  24. ↑ "Erwin Chemerinsky and Catherine Fisk join the Faculty of Duke Law School", Duke Law, March 5, 2004.
  25. ↑ 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 70)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Academic background
Education Northwestern University (BS)
Harvard University (JD)
13th Dean of University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
Assumed office
July 1, 2017
International
National
Other
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