U.S. Circuit Court Judge Denny Chin ’78, Lawrence W. Pierce Distinguished Jurist in Residence, and Thomas Lee, Leitner Family Professor of International Law, led a lively teaching workshop on July 20, focusing on the relationship between Asian Americans and the law. Topics of conversation and opportunities for information sharing included teaching objectives and desired learning outcomes, how to use history to teach and inform analysis of current events, and methods and materials for the classroom.
“We know that we have a lot to learn from all of you, and we want to have conversation all day long as we go through our different panels,” Judge Chin said to those in attendance for the program. Nearly 60 people attended, both in-person and remotely, including members of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, judiciary members, and representatives from law schools such as Brooklyn Law School, Fordham, Columbia, Harvard, Quinnipiac, Rutgers, Santa Clara, Southern Methodist University, St. John’s University, and the University of Virginia.
“This ‘instructor-of-instructors’ model is an important way to achieve our mission of . . . creating force multipliers,” to teach as many law students and future lawyers as possible about this important history, Lee added.
A Growing Interest, Both Inside and Outside Fordham Law
Judge Chin and Lee have co-taught the “Asian Americans and the Law” seminar at Fordham Law three times in the last seven years. The objective of the course is to examine the legal history of people of Asian descent in the United States through primary legal sources (e.g., the Constitution, statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions), tracing history to reveal common themes. Using case studies as their primary method of teaching, Judge Chin and Lee expose students to historic and contemporary cases through original case materials and multimedia. The cases raise issues in the areas of immigration and citizenship, constitutional law and civil rights, national security and internment, and access to education and affirmative action.
They recalled how much the seminar has evolved and how scholarship in this area has expanded. “We started pretty much from scratch,” said Judge Chin. “There was nothing comprehensive that covered the gamut of all these different topics that we encounter in this subject.”
“There’s a canon out there of materials and certain cases that you’ll find everywhere, but one of the great parts has been discovering new cases [and]things that we didn’t know anything about, such as the pigtail ordinance case and the MAVNI [Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest] cases,” said Lee. “It’s been a journey of discovery encompassing emotional and intellectual learning experiences.”
Although only six students enrolled in the inaugural seminar offering in 2015, interest has since grown within the Fordham Law community. A waiting list was created after the Spring 2022 offering of the seminar reached seat capacity—nearly 30 students. “This is an incredibly rich subject on many levels and I think you’ll see many examples of this as we go throughout the day,” said Judge Chin, who has also taught the seminar at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.
Scholars from across the country also shared insights, suggestions, and “lessons learned” from teaching their respective courses on Asian American studies throughout the day.
The teaching workshop served as the first project of the new Center on Asian Americans and the Law at Fordham Law, co-directed by Judge Chin and Lee. Formally launching this fall, the Center will function as a hub and platform for interdisciplinary scholarship on issues of interest not only to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community but to all Americans. Judge Chin and Lee also hope to make their e-casebook available in the near future for individuals to draw on for their own teaching and scholarship.