Fordham Law Professor Olivier Sylvain recently spoke at the National Press Club, convened by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, about threats to speech and privacy. On May 16, 2025, the Knight Institute will hold a convening to discuss free speech and consumer protection in an era of commercial surveillance—an issue exacerbated by rapidly accruing threats to democracy. The event, “Surveillance Ascendant, Democracy in Free Fall,” is a collaboration between the Knight Institute and the Institute’s Senior Policy Fellow Olivier Sylvain. Watch the panel discussion, “Surveillance Ascendant, Democracy in Free Fall”, in full.
Author: Newsroom
In this National Law Journal op-ed, Fordham Law Dean Emeritus Matthew Diller focuses on President Donald Trump’s interference with the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) concerning Harvard’s tax exempt status. It points out that in pressuring the I.R.S. Trump has committed a crime. Read “The President Just Committed a Crime” in National Law Journal.
In this amNY op-ed, Fordham Law Adjunct Professor Jerry Goldfeder, director of Fordham Law School’s Voting Rights and Democracy Project, compares the voting procedures for various elections including the papacy, Oscars, and open primaries. In elections, sometimes it’s all about the rules. Take, for instance, the recent papal election. During the last dozen years, Pope Francis appointed 163 cardinals, 108 of whom voted in the 133-vote conclave that chose Pope Leo XIV last week. Some might say that the pontiff was putting his thumb on the scale, but, after all, what incumbent does not wish to shape an electorate empowered to succeed…
Fordham Law Dean Joseph Landau spoke to Law.com about the increase in student applications for law school this year. Law.com says the current political climate may have inspired applicants’ decisions. Read “Political Climate, Trump’s Election Behind Surge in Law School Applications” on Law.com.
On the latest episode of the Practising Law Institute’s “How to Navigate Law School” podcast, Marta Ricardo, director of lawyering skills and assistant dean of professionalism at Fordham Law School, discusses navigating law school and choosing the right legal practice area. She also provides insights into various legal career paths, leveraging alumni networks, and the evolving landscape of legal education and practice. Listen to the complete May 14 episode, “Welcome to How to Navigate Law School.”
In this op-ed for New York Law Journal, Fordham Law Professor Ethan Leib argues that that New York courts mistakenly apply the tort concept of “proximate cause” to contract law and calls upon the New York Court of Appeals to clarify the issue. Read “Proximate Cause in Contract? A Mistake New York Courts Can Avoid” in New York Law Journal.
Karen J. Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School, wrote a piece for TomDispatch about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. In these first 100-plus days of the nation’s 47th presidency, President Donald Trump and his sidekick Elon Musk have cast a frightful spell over the country. As if brandishing wands from inside their capes — poof! — offices and their employees, responsibilities and aims, norms and policies have simply disappeared. The two have decreed a flurry of acts of dismantlement that span the government, threatening to disappear a broad swath of what once existed, much of…
In response to news that President Donald Trump may accept a Qatari luxury jet, Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout’s 2014 book about corruption and foreign influence on officials reminds of other instances where elected officials made questionable ethics choices. One of the most lavish and controversial gifts was a gold and diamond snuff box given to Benjamin Franklin after his nine-year diplomatic tour of duty in France. In 1785, King Louis XVI gave the Founding Father the elaborate parting gift which featured a miniature image of the monarch encrusted with 408 diamonds “of a beautiful water.” It raised questions about…
In this Slate article, Fordham Law Professor Deborah Denno, death penalty expert and founding director of Fordham Law’s Neuroscience and Law Center, comments on Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor’s 2015 endorsement for execution by firing squad. In between Sotomayor’s two frequently cited endorsements of the firing squad, Professor Deborah Denno, this nation’s leading scholar about methods of execution, raised eyebrows when she called the justice’s 2015 assessment of the firing squad “compelling because they consider the calculation of the method’s cruelty versus visible violence through the eyes of a condemned inmate.” Denno argued that “More solid evidence suggests that a…
On the latest episode of Unscripted Direct Trial Advocacy Podcast, Adam Shlahet ’02, director of the Brendan Moore Trial Advocacy Center at Fordham Law School, announced the Trial Competition Performance Rankings 2024-2025 winners. Trial Competition Performance Rankings (0:44:01). Adam Shlahet talks about his excellent beard, names Crayola colors, explains why Jared Rosenblatt is like his “little brother,” and announces the TCPR 2024-25 winners. Listen to the full episode of Unscripted Direct’s 120th episode, “Way to go, Winners!” (air date May 8, 2025).