May 9, 2016

University of Virginia School of Law experts are available to speak to the media about a number of significant U.S. Supreme Court cases still forthcoming.

Fisher v. University of Texas (Racial preferences in undergraduate admissions decisions):
Charles Barzun, Kim Forde-Mazrui, Risa Goluboff, Douglas Laycock, George Rutherglen

Foster v. Chatman (Death penalty and racial discrimination):
Richard Bonnie, Brandon Garrett

Green v. Brennan (Federal employment discrimination law):
George Rutherglen

McDonnell v. United States (Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell appeal; controlling fraud statutes):
Brandon Garrett

Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins (Article III standing to seek statutory minimum damages):
Jason Johnston, Douglas Laycock

United States v. Texas (Immigration and presidential power):
David Martin, Saikrishna Prakash

Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt (Abortion rights):
Charles Barzun

Williams v. Pennsylvania (Eighth and 14th Amendments; state supreme court justice declines to recuse himself in a capital case):
Brandon Garrett, Richard Bonnie

Zubik v. Burwell (Religion and the contraception-coverage mandate):
Douglas Laycock, Micah Schwartzman

Charles Barzun

Armistead M. Dobie Professor of Law
@email
(434) 924-6454

Charles Barzun's areas of interest include evidence, torts, legal history and jurisprudence. After graduating law school, he clerked for Judge Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

  • Available for: Fisher v. University of Texas and Whole Women's Health v. Hellerstedt

Richard Bonnie

Harrison Foundation Professor of Medicine and Law
Class of 1941 Research Professor of Law
Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences
Director, Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy
Professor of Public Policy, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
@email
(434) 924-3209

Richard Bonnie teaches and writes about criminal law, bioethics and public policies relating to mental health, substance abuse, aging and public health. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Medicine and has chaired numerous National Academy studies on subjects ranging from elder mistreatment to juvenile justice reform. Bonnie represented the first four death row prisoners after the reinstatement of capital punishment in Virginia in 1977, and is the principal architect of Virginia statutes on mental health and criminal justice since the 1980s.

Kim Forde-Mazrui

Mortimer M. Caplin Professor of Law 
Director, Center for the Study of Race and Law
@email
(434) 924-3299

Kim Forde-Mazrui's scholarship focuses on equal protection, especially involving race and sexual orientation. He has also examined the parallels between historical arguments against interracial relationships and contemporary arguments against same-sex relationships, as well as the role of tradition as a justification for banning same-sex marriage.

Brandon GarrettBrandon Garrett

Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law
@email
(434) 924-4153

Brandon Garrett is the author of "Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong" and "Too Big To Jail: How Prosecutors Compromise with Corporations." His research and teaching interests include criminal procedure, wrongful convictions, habeas corpus, corporate crime, scientific evidence, civil rights, civil procedure and constitutional law. His work has been widely cited by courts, including the Supreme Court, lower federal courts, state supreme courts, and courts in other countries, such as the Supreme Courts of Canada and of Israel.

  • Available for: Foster v. Chatman, McDonnell v. United States and Williams v. Pennsylvania
  • Garrett in the media

Risa Goluboff

John Allan Love Professor of Law
Professor of History
@email
(434) 924-3749

Risa Goluboff studies American constitutional and civil rights law, especially their development in the 20th century. In addition to numerous shorter works, Goluboff is the author of two books, "The Lost Promise of Civil Rights" and "Vagrant Nation: Police Power, Constitutional Change, and the Making of the 1960s." Goluboff clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Jason Johnston

Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation Professor of Law
@email
(434) 243-8552

Law and economics expert Jason Scott Johnston's scholarship has examined subjects ranging from natural resources law to torts and contracts. He is currently working on a book that critically analyzes the foundations of global warming law and policy, a series of articles on the economics of regulatory science, and another series of articles on various aspects of the law and economics of consumer protection.

Douglas Laycock

Robert E. Scott Distinguished Professor of Law
Class of 1963 Research Professor in Honor of Graham C. Lilly and Peter W. Low
Professor of Religious Studies 
@email
(434) 243-8546

Douglas Laycock is one of the nation's leading authorities on the law of remedies and also on the law of religious liberty. He has argued five cases at the Supreme Court, including the religious freedom case Holt v. Hobbs, which he won unanimously in 2015. In the current term of the Supreme Court, he filed amicus briefs in support of the consumer in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins; in support of the government in Zubik v. Burwell; and is on the brief for the university in Fisher v. University of Texas.

David MartinDavid Martin

Warner-Booker Distinguished Professor of International Law
@email
(434) 924-3144

David Martin is a leading scholar in immigration, constitutional law and international law. He has helped shape immigration and refugee policy while serving in several key U.S. government posts, including as principal deputy general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security and general counsel to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Saikrishna Prakash

James Monroe Distinguished Professor of Law
Horace W. Goldsmith Research Professor
@email
(434) 243-8539

Saikrishna Prakash's scholarship focuses on separation of powers, particularly executive powers. He is the author of "Imperial from the Beginning: The Constitution of the Original Executive." The book examines the presidency and tries to explain the legal traditions behind each provision in an effort to reconstruct the understood powers, duties and responsibilities of the office. Prakash clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Micah Schwartzman

Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law
@email
(434) 924-7848

Micah Schwartzman is an expert on constitutional law and the First Amendment. His areas of interest include law and religion, jurisprudence and political philosophy. Schwartzman co-edited "The Rise of Corporate Religious Liberty," a book of essays that examine the evolution and rise of the idea that corporations have a right to religious freedom.

George Rutherglen

John Barbee Minor Distinguished Professor of Law
Barron F. Black Research Professor of Law
@email
(434) 924-7015

George Rutherglen has written widely on employment discrimination, civil rights and admiralty. His research interests also include conflict of laws, federal courts, legal philosophy, affirmative action, sexual harassment and sexual discrimination. He has been an instructor for the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and clerked for Supreme Court Justices William O. Douglas and John Paul Stevens.

Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.

Constitutional Law
Faculty
Charles Barzun
Richard J. Bonnie
Kim Forde-Mazrui
Risa Goluboff
Jason S. Johnston
Douglas Laycock
David A. Martin
Saikrishna Prakash
Micah J. Schwartzman
George Rutherglen