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| Erwin Chemerinsky | |
 Erwin Chemerinsky speaking at the William & Mary School of Law in September 2007.
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| Born | May 14, 1953 Chicago, Illinois |
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| Nationality |  United States |
| Fields | Constitutional law, civil procedure |
| Institutions | DePaul College of Law (1980–83) University of Southern California Law School (1983–2004) Duke School of Law (2004–2008) University of California, Irvine School of Law (2008–present) |
| Alma mater | Northwestern University (1975) Harvard Law School (1978) |
Erwin Chemerinsky (born May 14, 1953) is an American lawyer and law professor. He is a renowned scholar in United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure. He is the current and founding dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law, which is scheduled to begin classes in the fall semester of 2009.
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Career
Chemerinsky was educated at Northwestern University and Harvard Law School.
Chemerinsky taught for over twenty years at the University of Southern California Law School and at DePaul University College of Law before moving to Duke University on July 1, 2004, and then UC Irvine in July 2008.
In 1995, Chemerinsky was a commentator on the O.J. Simpson trial on KCBS-TV, KNX, and CBS News.
Chemerinsky has published four books (three of which having been printed in multiple editions), numerous articles, and a regular column on the United States Supreme Court carried by California Lawyer, the Los Angeles Daily Journal, and Trial Magazine. Chemerinsky has also argued several cases before the United States Supreme Court, including Scheidler v. NOW, Tory v. Cochran, Van Orden v. Perry and Lockyer v. Andrade.
The Clause C Affair
In 1995 and 1996, Chemerinsky, together with Laurie Levenson of Loyola Law School, received much press attention in California for their controversial contention that California Proposition 209, a ballot measure then before the voters (now Article 1, Section 31, of the California constitution) prohibiting public institutions from discriminating on the basis of race, sex, or ethnicity, would repeal protections against sex discrimination already existing in California's laws and state constitution.
Chemerinsky stated that clause (c) of Proposition 209 would have "a devastating impact on programs to remedy discrimination against women and minorities. Gains of the past few years will be erased and additional progress will be unlikely..." [1] He also said "Clause C [of Proposition 209] creates the outrageous possibility that the protection of women's constitutional rights will be greatly weakened under the California Constitution" [2] These claims were the basis for a significant portion of the TV and print advertising against the ballot measure.
Law review articles pointed out that given its wording, clause (c) could not conceivably affect any other legal or constitutional measures which might already prohibit sex discrimination. [3] Critics viewed Chemerinsky’s interpretation as a gross misreading of clause (c), and doubted that--as law professors--he and Levenson could actually have believed it themselves. The argument was viewed as an unscrupulous effort to get around the fact that the ballot measure's actual substance was quite popular. Although Chemerinsky made numerous media appearances in which he advanced his novel interpretation of clause (c), he did not write any law review articles in which he explained his analysis.
Clause (c) reads, “Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as prohibiting bona fide qualifications based on sex which are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” Proponents of the ballot measure stated that the purpose of this clause was simply to make sure that Proposition 209 itself was not read, for example, to mandate "supervision by men of girls' locker rooms" [4]. They pointed out that given its restrictive phrasing "nothing...in this section", as a matter of logic it could not limit the effect of any other pre-existing laws or articles of the state constitution.
In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 209, and it was upheld against various federal court challenges. Since its adoption, there do not appear to have been any court decisions in which clause (c) was the basis for any changes in protections against sex discrimination in California, as Chemerinsky and Levenson had predicted.
Recent publicity
In addition to teaching at the School of Law, Chemerinsky also teaches undergraduate classes in Political Science. Student assessment of Chemerinsky is mixed. Many appreciate him passion and laud him for being so accessible to students. Many others, however, feel that his notoriety is a major distraction. Many conservative students are not comfortable because they perceive the professor as hostile to their political beliefs. President Clinton briefly considered Chemerinsky for an opening on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. However, his brief candidacy ended when Senate Republicans sent the word that his nomination would be dead on arrival.citation needed
Chemerinsky is married to Catherine Fisk, also a law professor at Duke, and has recently moved to the University Hills UCI faculty community in the city of Irvine, California ahead of Mr. Cherminsky's appointment as dean of the School of Law. 1
In 2006 declined an offer to become the next dean at the University of North Carolina School of Law. He was then a finalist to become dean at Duke University School of Law. It was reported that he was the choice of a law school faculty search committee but he was not offered the job because senior Duke administrators concluded he was too politically controversial.
Appointment controversy to head the UCI School of Law
On September 20, 2007, Chemerinsky was approved by the Regents of the University of California as the founding dean of the planned University of California, Irvine School of Law, resolving a hiring controversy.[5] After signing a contract on September 4, 2007, the hire had been rescinded by UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake, because he felt the law professor's commentaries were "polarizing" and would not serve the interests of California's first new public law school in 40 years; Drake claimed the decision was his own and not the subject of any outside influence.2 The action was criticized by both liberal and conservative scholars who felt it hindered the academic mission of the law school, and disbelief over Chancellor Drake's claims that it was the subject of no outside influence.23 The issue was the subject of an editorial in The New York Times on Friday, September 14. 4 Details emerged revealing that UCI had received criticism on the hire from California Chief Justice Ronald M. George, who criticized Chemerinsky's grasp of death penalty appeals as well as a group of prominent Orange County Republicans and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who wanted to derail the appointment.5 Drake traveled over a weekend to Durham, North Carolina, and the two reached an agreement late Sunday evening.5 On September 17, Chemerinsky issued a joint press release with UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake indicating that Chemerinsky would head the UCI law school, stating "Our new law school will be founded on the bedrock principle of academic freedom. The chancellor reiterated his lifelong, unqualified commitment to academic freedom, which extends to every faculty member, including deans and other senior administrators."6
Notable Commissions
- LAPD panel reviewing the Rampart Scandal
- LA commission reviewing irregularities in LA city contracting.
- Helped write the LA city charter.
- Helped draft the Belarus constitution.
Publications
Chemerinsky has published four books:
- Federal Jurisdiction (Aspen Law & Business 5th ed. 2007)
- Constitutional Law: Principles and Policies (Aspen Law & Business 3d ed. 2006)
- Constitutional Law (Aspen Law & Business 2d ed. 2005)
- Interpreting the Constitution (Praeger 1987)
In addition, Chemerinsky has published over one hundred law review articles, including publications in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Northwestern University Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Southern California Law Review.
Chemerinsky is also a lecturer for the Bar-Bri bar exam prep course, where he lectures about constitutional law in outline format for exactly 6 hours, without the use of any notes.
References
- ^ Fisher, Marla Jo (2008-06-27). "Irvine's new law school dean shares his plans", Orange County Register. Retrieved on 30 June 2008.
- ^ a b Garrett Therolf and Henry Weinstein, UC Irvine aborts hiring Chemerinsky as law school dean , Los Angeles Times, September 13.
- ^ Dana Parsons, Excuse for UCI's fumble on law school dean not good enough, Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2007.
- ^ A Bad Beginning in Irvine - New York Times
- ^ a b Garrett Therolf, Chemerinsky returns to UC Irvine post, Los Angeles Times, September 17, 2007.
- ^ OC Blog: Statement From Chemerinsky & Drake
External links
- Duke University School of Law biography
- University of Southern California Law School biography
- PLI Faculty
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 25 December 2008, at 00:15.
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