Professor John Pfaff wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post about common misconceptions about U.S. prisons. Criminal justice policy has secured a prominent place in the Democratic presidential primary race, with several candidates offering plans to reform the way Americans punish. Reinventing how we handle crime is one of the most important civil rights challenges of our time, yet much of the debate is built on misconceptions that push reform in inadequate and even counterproductive directions. MYTH NO. 1 U.S. prisons are full of nonviolent drug offenders. Asked recently about voting rights for felons, Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), one of…
Author: Newsroom
Professor Susan Scafidi, founder and academic director of Fordham University School of Law’s Fashion Law Institute, was consulted for a Bloomberg Law article about a copyright infringement lawsuit being launched against the NBA. Coogi Partners LLC’s complaint “is replete with dubious theories that in some way seek to articulate a cognizable claim against the Brooklyn Nets’-branded products that contain the ‘Brooklyn Camo’ pattern,” NBA Properties, Brooklyn Nets LLC, and other defendants said in a May 15 memorandum supporting a motion to dismiss. The plaintiff claims the NBA and others infringed its copyrighted designs by using a multicolored pattern on Brooklyn…
Professor John Pfaff was quoted in a Vox article about a bill introduced by U.S. Senator Kamala Harris that would limit public defenders’ workload and increase their pay to be comparable with that of prosecutors. Earlier this month, Harris introduced a bill aimed at limiting public defenders’ workload and increasing their pay to be comparable with that of prosecutors. This week, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) is offering a companion bill in the House. Harris’s proposal, dubbed the Equal Defense Act, is significant: The conversation about criminal justice reform has long omitted public defenders from the discussion, and this bill seeks to change…
Thomas H. Lee, the Leitner Family Professor of International Law at Fordham Law School, has been appointed Special Counsel to the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense. Lee will take a one-year leave from Fordham, starting May 20, 2019, to undertake his work at the Pentagon. While assigned to the Office of the General Counsel, Lee will advise on matters involving legal policy directly in support of the international law and operations missions of the Department of Defense. “This opportunity was not an easy decision to make, but there are a number of very significant issues that the…
Professor John Feerick wrote an article published in the New York Law Journal on working with now passed Senator Birch Bayh on drafting the 25th Amendment. As part of efforts to solve the Constitution’s succession gaps, the American Bar Association and Senator Bayh collaborated to convene a small conference of twelve lawyers. When the group met that January morning I was fortunate enough to sit next to Senator Bayh. It was the first time I met the 34-year-old senator from Indiana and the beginning of a relationship that profoundly impacted my life. Following the ABA conference, Senator Bayh gave me…
The Center on National Security at Fordham Law School was cited in a NBC News article that highlights the need for additional resources to assist law enforcement agencies in the fight against domestic terrorism. In contrast, there is no domestic terrorism statute. Cases involving white supremacists are typically not prosecuted in federal courts under terrorism statutes because they don’t involve government-designated “foreign terrorist organizations.” They often land in state courts, becoming drug, fraud or murder cases, and frequently don’t get as much attention. Law enforcement simply doesn’t have the same robust tool kit to address domestic terrorism that it can…
Professor Deborah Denno is quoted in a Washington Post article about the recent legal opinion put forth by the U.S. Justice Department that opens the door for departments of corrections to access lethal injection drugs outside the country without FDA approval. The legal opinion from the Justice Department this month sides against the FDA and with Texas. It says that drugs intended for executions are different from any others, noting that “they exclusively inflict harm” and “are not intended to produce any benefit for the end user.” It expressly highlights “the narrowness of our conclusion,” saying that it does not…
Professor Susan Scafidi, academic director of Fordham Law’s Fashion Law Institute, was quoted in a HuffPost Life article about what constitutes cultural appropriation. Part of the blame lies with the fashion industry and its longtime obsession with the undifferentiated “East.” There are unique fashions from every Asian country, and from different groups within those countries ― Asians are not a monolith. But you might think otherwise based on Western designers’ flagrant use of the “Eastern” or “Oriental” aesthetic. “In fashion, cultural appropriation can play out in not only sexualized stereotypes ― dragon-lady dominatrices and eager-to-please geishas ― but also the…
Professor Andrew Kent wrote an article for Lawfare that takes a detailed look at obstruction of justice statutes. An important debate is happening at Lawfare and elsewhere about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s application of the obstruction of justice statutes to conduct by President Trump. Jack Goldsmith argues that Mueller’s analysis of the obstruction statutes does not stand up to close scrutiny. Benjamin Wittes argues that it does. By way of background, the obstruction of justice statutes do not expressly state that they apply to the president. The most relevant statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c), applies to “[w]hoever” corruptly interferes with an ongoing proceeding. The Mueller report concluded…
Adjunct professor Joel Cohen co-wrote an article for Law & Crime about the investigation process for white collar crimes. You’re under investigation for alleged white collar crime. Maybe you’re guilty, maybe not. It doesn’t necessarily matter in terms of how the investigation will proceed. While prosecutors typically say they have an open mind and everyone deserves a presumption of innocence, don’t necessarily believe it. They’re not investigating you because they think you’re innocent – it’s just a question of whether they believe they’ll be able to sufficiently establish your guilt to get an indictment, and ultimately take you to trial.…