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Daily Beast Reports: "Karl Rove: ‘Strong Likelihood’ Trump Will Be Convicted if Giuliani Leads Impeachment Defense"

"Fox News contributor Karl Rove lamented on Sunday that if Rudy Giuliani leads President Donald Trump’s impeachment defense in the Senate, there is a “strong likelihood” the president will be convicted." 

Rudy has been a notable failure as Trump's lawyer.  If his impeachment defense shows the same proficiency, it would end up being -- as we used to call it -- a slow plea of guilty. 

Linda Greene Selected as New Michigan State Law Dean

Michigan State University provost Teresa Woodruff has selected Professor Linda Greene, from the faculty of Wisconsin Law, as its new dean (pending Board of Trustee approval.) Greene, who holds a JD from UC Berkeley, joined the Wisconsin faculty in 1989 and has held administrative positions at both Wisconsin and UC San Diego.  She starts June 1.

Democracy's Big Day [UPDATED]

Jim Bendat -- my undergrad classmate, occasional coauthor, and good friend for life -- picked up the term "Democracy's Big Day" to describe presidential inaugurations, celebrating the democratic tradition of peaceful transitions of power. He wrote a book of the same name, which is the definitive history of American presidential inaugurations, filled with fascinating details of every inauguration from Washington to Obama (he did not write a new edition to include Trump).

Jim has been a frequent television commentator at presidential inaugurations. He covered the Trump inauguration for CNN is 2017. He is now back in action, having given many interviews about Wednesday's Biden inauguration. You can hear him discuss the history of inaugurations on C-Span here.

UPDATE: The original version of this post said that Jim coined the term "Democracy's Big Day," but he has corrected me. He actually picked it up from  the inaugural address of George H.W. Bush in 1989. After the jump, see the note from Pres. Bush to Jim, following publication of the book.

Tulsa College of Law Dean Search Announcement

Position Summary

The University of Tulsa (TU) seeks a candidate beginning July 1, 2021, to serve as the Dean of the University of Tulsa College of Law. The Dean is the chief academic officer of the College and provides strategic vision and operational leadership for all aspects of the academic enterprise; supports and promotes excellence in faculty scholarship and teaching; and preserves a collaborative and transparent environment for students, faculty, administrators, staff, and alumni. The Dean supports the College’s fundraising and development efforts, develops, and promotes strategic plans for the College, and works with law school faculty, administrators, and other program directors in advancing the broad interests of the College. The Dean must work collegially with faculty, staff, and fellow members of the President’s Leadership Team and Deans’ Council, other colleges, alumni, and community members to advance the academic mission of the College and the University.

We seek an intellectually curious, thoughtful, and forward-looking person who can manage a complex institution, raise funds, and identify opportunities in the challenges presently facing legal education. The next Dean of the College of Law must be equipped to understand and respond to the unique challenges and opportunities in professional legal education today.

Minimum Qualifications

Juris Doctorate degree or equivalent; academic and professional credentials necessary for eligibility for a tenured faculty appointment

Application Information

The University of Tulsa seeks to recruit and retain talented students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds. The University of Tulsa is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and encourages qualified candidates across all group demographics to apply. The University does not discriminate on the basis of personal status or group characteristic including, but not limited to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, or marital status.

Please submit a cover letter addressing the candidate’s experience, qualifications, education, and vision for the future of the College of Law, and a CV to: The University of Tulsa, Office of Human Resources, 800 S Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104 or submit online at utulsa.edu/job-application.

Applicants who progress in the search process will be asked to provide five references, accompanying letters of recommendation, and official transcripts.  Application review will begin on February 1 and continue until the position is filled.

Confidential inquiries and expressions of interest may be addressed to Search Committee Chair, Elizabeth McCormick, at LAWsearchchair@utulsa.edu.

The University of Tulsa is an Equal Opportunity Employer including Disability/ Veteran.

I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home [UPDATED]

A bluegrass standard, first recorded by the Carter Family in 1929.

West Virginia Law Names Amelia Smith Rinehart as Dean

West Virginia University has announced that Amelia Smith Rinehart will be its new law dean.  Rinehart is currently associate dean of academic affairs , and a faculty member, at Utah Law.  She holds a JD from the University of Chicago.

One More Reason Trump's Senate Trial Can Proceed after January 20

It's all in the punctuation (seriously). Here is the relevant passage of Article I, Section 3:

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States.

Note the location of the initial comma, inserted between removal from office and disqualification to hold any future office. This indicates that the two available judgments are distinct, the second is not dependent upon or derivative of the first. It follows that a Senate trial may be held solely to determine whether the impeached person will, if convicted, be disqualified to hold or enjoy any office in the future.

No, It Would Not Be Unconstitutional for Trump's Impeachment Trial to Be Held after He Is Out of Office

Michael Luttig believes that the Senate lacks constitutional authority to hold Trump's impeachment trial after January 20. He is wrong, as Andy Koppelman and I explain in an essay for Law & Crime. Here is the gist:

Former federal appellate court judge Michael Luttig evidently played an important role in saving American democracy last week, when he convinced Vice President Mike Pence that he lacked the “unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted.” As Luttig explained it – and as quoted in Pence’s letter to Congress –  “the only responsibility and power of the Vice President under the Constitution is to faithfully count the Electoral College votes as they have been cast.” Luttig is rightly revered among conservatives as a close reader of the Constitution, making his analysis of the Twelfth Amendment especially persuasive. Now Luttig has opined, in the pages of the Washington Post, that the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Trump cannot be held after he leaves office. This time, Luttig is wrong. The Senate can indeed try and convict Trump once he again becomes an ordinary citizen, although the only available judgment will be to disqualify him from holding a federal government office in the future.

You can read the entire article here.

Josh Hawley Is Not the First Missouri Senator with Blood on His Hands

I have this piece up today on The Tropics of Meta:

Josh Hawley Is Not the First Missouri Senator with Blood on His Hands

Joshua David Hawley is neither the first nor the worst Missouri senator to have inspired mob violence by attempting interference in an out-of-state election. That dishonor squarely belongs to David Rice Atchison, who served two terms in the U.S. Senate, 1843-55. If Hawley needed a “Show-Me State” role model for provoking bloodshed and canceling voters’ rights, he would never have to look beyond Atchison’s odious example.

“Intemperate, profane, and bellicose,” in the words of historian James McPherson, Atchison was the “most outspoken defender of southern rights in the Senate.” He played a role in the Compromise of 1850, which included the despicable Fugitive Slave Act, but that was only a prelude to his true infamy. In 1854, he helped push through the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed a ban on slavery in federal territories that had been in effect since 1820. The next step, as Atchison saw it, was to “extend the institutions of Missouri” – meaning slavery – into the newly organized Kansas territory, “at whatever sacrifice of blood or treasure.”

The settlement of Kansas was highly contested, with Free Soil “emigrants” from the northern states struggling for dominance with pro-slavery Missourians, many of whom were recruited by Atchison. “If we win,” he promised, “we carry slavery to the Pacific Ocean.” New York’s Senator William Seward, later to be Lincoln’s secretary of state, took up the challenge from the Slave Power. “I accept it in behalf of the cause of freedom,” he said. “We will engage in competition for the virgin soil of Kansas, and God give the victory to the side that is stronger in numbers as it is in right.”

It's good to be back....Can President Biden End Indelible Debates Over Immigration?

 

President-elect Biden promised to roll back the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration policies, but shortly thereafter he backtracked over asylum rates in order to avoid winding up with “2 million people on our border.” Sadly, this about-face on one aspect of the immigration debate exemplifies domestic leaders' lack of will to address sensible and comprehensive reform. Historically, those antagonistic to immigration, such as President Donald Trump, focused on the largely baseless immigrant threat. The democrats for their part, more often than not, seem to be sympathetic but in the end only propose stop-gap non-legislative measures that are temporary, such as executive policies that can be easily changed or ended by subsequent presidents. Sadly, President-elect Biden's proposals on immigration do not seem to get the country much closer to address the loggerhead over immigration.

It may be refreshing Biden did not launch his campaign by attacking and scapegoating immigrants by calling them “rapists” and “drug dealers.” And it is in fact useful he admitted that deporting migrants that had not committed any crimes was a “big mistake.” A Biden administration can nonetheless do far more. His administration must have the courage to pass comprehensive immigration reform (CRI).

As things stand now, the question remains how the Biden administration will prioritize competing immigration and national security demands. Such demands include the treatment and priority of asylum-seekers and refugees, the eligibility of deferred action childhood arrivals (DACA), the availability of temporary protective status (TPS), the importance visa applicants, and concerns over border security and organized crime deterrence.

Hiring Announcement: Florida A&M University College of Law Seeking Director of Legal Research and Writing

Florida A&M University College of Law welcomes applications for appointment to the position of tenured Associate or Full Professor of Law and Director of Legal Research and Writing to administer and direct the College of Law’s Legal Research and Writing Program and to teach Legal Research and Writing I and II courses on a full-time basis at its Orlando, Florida, location starting in the 2021-2022 academic year.  Responsibilities of the Director include teaching one section of first-year Legal Research & Writing I and II each term, developing uniform research and writing assignments in consultation with other Legal Writing Instructors, and administering and overseeing the program. This position is a full-time tenure track or tenured faculty position.  The Director of Legal Research and Writing position is a nine (9) month contractual position. Ideally, applicants should have five (5) or more years of teaching experience at the law school level, academic records denoting excellence, and a demonstrated commitment to teaching, scholarship and research, and service.     The Legal Writing Director will have responsibility for administering our day and evening programs and may teach in either the day or evening programs, depending on curricular need.   

Located in beautiful and sunny downtown Orlando - one of the most highly sought venues in the southeastern United States - the College is housed in a 160,000 square foot, state of the art facility.  Strategically situated in the heart of Orlando's thriving downtown business community, the College of Law lies within walking distance of federal and state courts, major law firms, art galleries and important civic arenas.  The College of Law has a current enrollment of more than 500 full and part-time students. The student body ranks as one of the most diverse in the nation. The College of Law boasts a diverse faculty composed of thoughtful and productive scholars from nearly every walk of legal life, including diplomatic, military, and government service, large and small private law practice, international organizations, and the judiciary. Increasing the number of minority lawyers in Florida able to practice law upon passing the bar is central to the College's mission.     

Minimum Qualifications: Applicants for this position must possess a JD degree from an ABA-accredited law school, be admitted to the bar in any state, have a strong academic record, and excellent writing and communication skills.  Applicants should have at least five (5) years of legal work experience beyond graduation from their JD degree. Preference will be given to candidates with strong post-law school experience as instructors or professors at the college, university, and law school levels; in the practice of law; and as judicial law clerks at the federal and state levels. 

Additional Details:  Florida A&M University College of Law is an equal opportunity employer and is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community. Candidates from underrepresented and underserved groups are encouraged to apply. 

For a full description of the position, and to apply electronically, please visit: http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?hr&Careers@FAMU.

Hiring Announcement: Florida A&M University College of Law Seeking Director of Legal Clinics and Field Placement Program

Florida A&M University College of Law welcomes applications for appointment to the position of tenured Associate or Full Professor of Law and Director of Legal Clinics and Field Placement Program to administer and direct the College of Law’s clinic and field placement program and to teach clinic and field placement courses on a full-time basis at its Orlando, Florida, location starting in the 2021-2022 academic year. Responsibilities of the Director include administering and overseeing the program, and developing systems, procedures, policies and programs to ensure the maintenance and growth of a viable, visible, dynamic and nationally recognized law school clinical and field placement program that supports the mission of the College of Law. The Director of the program manages the day-to-day administration of operational details of the clinics and the field placements in a manner that supports and enhances the overall functioning of the program, and ensures that goals and objectives specified for the program are accomplished in accordance with priorities, time and funding limitations, University policies or other specifications. This position is a twelve (12) month contractual full-time tenure track or tenured faculty position. Ideally, applicants should have five (5) or more years of teaching experience at the law school level, academic records denoting excellence, and a demonstrated commitment to teaching, scholarship and research, and service. Clinical faculty teach in both the day and evening programs, depending on curricular need.

Located in beautiful and sunny downtown Orlando - one of the most highly sought venues in the southeastern United States - the College is housed in a 160,000 square foot, state of the art facility. Strategically situated in the heart of Orlando's thriving downtown business community, the College of Law lies within walking distance of federal and state courts, major law firms, art galleries and important civic arenas.  The College of Law has a current enrollment of approximately 500 full and part-time students. The student body ranks as one of the most diverse in the nation.  

Minimum Qualifications: Applicants for this position must possess a JD degree from an ABA-accredited law school, have a strong academic record, and excellent writing and communication skills. The successful candidate must have been admitted to a state bar and, if not already a member of the Florida bar, become so within 18 months of accepting the appointment. Applicants should have at least five (5) years of legal work experience beyond graduation from their JD degree. Preference will be given to candidates with strong post-law school experience as instructors or professors at the college, university, and law school levels; in the practice of law; and as judicial law clerks at the federal and state levels. 

Additional Details:  Florida A&M University College of Law is an equal opportunity employer and is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community. Candidates from underrepresented and underserved groups are encouraged to apply.  

For a full description of the position, and to apply electronically, please visit: http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?hr&Careers@FAMU.  

Drexel University Kline Law Seeks VAP or Teaching Faculty for BA Program

Posted on behalf of, well, my own law school

The Drexel University Kline School of Law invites applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor, Postdoctoral Fellow,  or non-tenure track faculty position in our new BA in Law program.   The BA program, based in Drexel's Kline School of Law and offered jointly with Drexel’s College of Arts and Sciences, will provide undergraduates with a firm grounding in legal doctrine along with a critical, social science-informed perspective on the way law shapes society, government, technology, and industry. 

We seek candidates who hold a JD and/or PhD (or appropriate equivalent) who can demonstrate excellence in teaching and excitement about building an innovative, interdisciplinary, student-centered undergraduate program. Kline School of Law is committed to recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding faculty members who bring scholarly interests and life experiences that contribute to the diversity and success of our students, our University, and our communities.

Teaching responsibilities will include a mix of required courses in the BA in Law program as well as the opportunity to develop upper-level electives based on the candidate’s areas of interest. Faculty are expected to teach about six or seven 10-week courses each year, over three quarters (though we anticipate the load will include no more than 3-4 different courses). Core courses we are looking to cover include:

• Law and Society;
• The American Legal System (sources of legal authority in the US, introduction to torts, contracts, and administrative and criminal law);
• Public Law I (legislation & regulation);
• Public Law II (criminal legal processes);
• The Common Law (property, torts, and contracts)

Fields of specialization are open, though we are particularly interested in candidates who can offer elective courses in areas such as race/ethnicity (especially from a disciplinary base in political science, sociology, or criminology), intellectual property (especially as relates to digital arts and/or media), or science (especially health, technology, engineering, or environment) that broaden our curricular offerings and strengthen partnerships across the University.

The University and Law School

Drexel University, founded in 1891, is one of only 37 private universities receiving a Carnegie R1 research classification.  It has 24,000 students (including 15,000 undergraduates.) Drexel established its law school in 2006 and the Kline School of Law has rapidly developed a reputation for innovative scholarship across disciplines, a diverse portfolio of academic programs, and a focus on civic engagement.  The law school houses the Center for Law, Policy and Social Action and the Program in Privacy, Cybersecurity and Compliance, and we anticipate soon extending our focus in law and technology with a new center.  Drexel faculty played a central role in the creation of the Mid-Atlantic Law and Society Association and the law school has hosted multiple MALSA conferences. The law school has a vibrant scholarly culture, including an active workshop series.

The Application Process

Applications for this position should include a vita, cover letter, a teaching statement (max. 750 words) that describes how you would teach doctrinal material to undergraduate students, and three letters of recommendation.

Review of applications will begin immediately, and prompt application is encouraged.  Questions should be directed to Professor Rose Corrigan.

Apply online via Drexel’s HR portal.  

Dana Milbank Wants the GOP to Go the Way of the Whigs

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank recently argued that the “Republican Party needs to go the way of the Whigs,” meaning that the GOP should dissolve into factions, hoping that a renewed party of conscience will emerge. That is more or less what happened in the antebellum era, although Milbank exaggerates the extent to which “the GOP was born from the ashes of the Whigs.” In fact, many disillusioned Democrats also participated in the founding of the Republican Party.

Milbank is even more seriously wrong, however, when it comes to describing the Whigs’ demise, putting it this way:

The Whigs in 1848 jettisoned their core principle — limited presidential power — in favor of political expediency. Instead of nominating one of their legendary statesmen — Daniel Webster or Henry Clay — the Whigs went with celebrity war-hero Zachary Taylor, an enslaver who was popular with Southerners but had no governing experience and no fealty to Whig principles. Taylor won, but he savaged Whig leaders and Whig doctrine. The party, split over slavery, dissolved.

I realize that there is a great need for brevity in a newspaper column, but Milbank has collapsed, and therefore seriously misstated, about four years of important history. His obvious intention is to make a connection between Zachary Taylor and Donald Trump, with both presidents leading to the destruction of their respective parties, but the comparison just doesn't work.

It is true that Zachary Taylor was an enslaver with little previous attachment to the Whigs, but once in office he turned out to be the most anti-slavery president since John Quincy Adams. Surprising his southern backers, Taylor opposed the legislation that turned into the Compromise of 1850, including a harsh Fugitive Slave Act.

In any case, Taylor died after only about 16 months in office, and he had nothing to do with the dissolution of the Whigs. It was Taylor’s successor, Millard Fillmore, who endorsed the Compromise of 1850 and signed the Fugitive Slave Act, with the approval of “legendary statesman” Daniel Webster, and ended up doing far more to preserve slavery than would have Taylor.

The actual breakup of the Whigs came four years after Taylor’s death. The Whigs fared poorly in the 1852 elections, having nominated another military hero, Gen. Winfield Scott, who lost in a landslide to pro-slavery Democrat Franklin Pierce -- a doughface, or a northern man with southern principles.

In 1854, midway through the Pierce presidency, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which authorized slavery in territories – ultimately Kansas and Nebraska – where it had been prohibited since the 1820 Missouri Compromise. It was the brazen repeal of the Missouri Compromise that outraged many northerners – mostly Whigs, but also a good number of Democrats – who left their original parties and eventually coalesced as Republicans. Abraham Lincoln and William Seward had been Whigs, of course, but Salmon Chase and Charles Sumner had been Free-Soil Democrats.

The rest is Republican history. The Whigs never fielded another serious presidential ticket. John Fremont was the Republican candidate in 1856, running under the slogan “Free Speech, Free Soil, Free Men, Fremont.” He lost to James Buchanan, another doughface Democrat, but set the stage for Abraham Lincoln’s victory in 1860.

Milbank’s attempt to draw a parallel between Zachary Taylor and Donald Trump – jettisoned principles, inexperienced celebrity candidate, party demise – just doesn’t work as a matter of historical fact. That doesn’t make Milbank wrong about hoping for the collapse of the current GOP, and its replacement by something better, but it does make him historically inaccurate.

Kevin McCarthy Says . . .

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is not a compromising or conciliatory kind of guy. Until last Thursday, he had never referred to Joe Biden as the president-elect. Even after the insurrection at the Capitol last Wednesday, he voted to sustain the objections to counting the electoral votes from Pennsylvania and Arizona. And before that, he signed on to Texas's bogus lawsuit against Pennsylvania and other states, in its absurd attempt to invoice SCOTUS's original jurisdiction.

After all that, McCarthy announced "I have reached out to President-elect Biden today and plan to speak to him about how we must work together to lower the temperature and unite the country to solve America’s challenges." The only think Joe Biden did to raise the temperature was to win the election.

So, to paraphrase Chief Justice Roberts: The way to lower the temperature and unite the country, Mr. McCarthy, is for you to lower the temperature and stop being so divisive.

Going Down the Road Feeling Bad

Although often attributed to Woody Guthrie, "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" is actually a traditional song of unknown authorship. Sometimes called "Lonesome Road Blues" or "Blowin' Down the Road," it was first recorded by Henry Whitter in 1924. According to one story, Guthrie first heard the song in John Ford's  film adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath, performed by Eddie Quillen. That seems unlikely, but it is possible. The film was released in January 1940 and Guthrie recorded it in April of the same year (he also copyrighted it, with the Weavers' and Almanac Singers' Lee Hays as coauthor). Needless to say, the song has been included in many repertoires ever since: