The Faculty Lounge

San Francisco Bay Blues

Jesse Fuller, the great one man band of the Bay Area, wrote and recorded San Francisco Bay Blues in the 1950s, playing 12-string guitar, harmonica, bass drum, high-hat cymbal, "fotdella," and kazoo. Peter, Paul, and Mary famously covered it in 1965, keeping only the kazoo in their live appearances (but not on the record). Fuller's "fotdella" was a six-string bass of his own devising, played with foot pedals.

Marissa Cianciarulo Named Dean of Western State Law

Western State College of Law has announced that Marissa Cianciarulo will be the new dean of its law school.   She is currently interim dean at Chapman.  Cianciarulo, who holds a JD from American University Law, will take over on July 1, following the retirement of Allen Easley.

Miami Faculty Hiring Announcement 2024-2025

The University of Miami School of Law seeks several entry-level and lateral candidates (Tenure-Track or Tenured) to join our intellectual community beginning in the 2024-25 academic year. We welcome applications from outstanding scholars in any area of focus who will add to the diversity of our faculty, contribute to the intellectual life of the school, enhance our teaching mission, and engage in meaningful service.  We have particular needs in Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, International Law (public or private), and Law & Technology. Juris Doctor degree required.

Applicants may apply for the position via the University of Miami employment portal https://www.hr.miami.edu/careers/  and submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, the names of three references, and teaching evaluations (if available) in PDF format.  Questions can be directed to Professors Donna Coker and Kele Stewart, Co-Chairs, Faculty Appointments Committee, at [email protected] 

The University of Miami is an Equal Opportunity Employer - Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities are encouraged to apply. Applicants and employees are protected from discrimination based on certain categories protected by Federal law. Click here for additional information.

Franita Tolson Named Co-Dean of USC Law

University of Southern California Law has announced that Franita Tolson is the new co-dean of its law school.   She was previously vice dean for faculty and academic affairs at USC Law.  Tolson, who holds a JD from Chicago, took over on April 7.  Her co-dean, Andrew Guzman, becomes the provost of USC this summer.

University of Massachusetts School of Law Seeking Visitor

The University of Massachusetts School of Law is hiring a Visiting Professor for AY 2023-2024 to teach a minimum of two courses: Criminal Law and Constitutional Criminal Procedure, with the option of also teaching an elective of one’s choosing. Start date is July 1, 2023.

UMass Law is the Commonwealth’s only public law school. We are located on the beautiful south coast of Massachusetts. We are dedicated to providing an excellent and affordable legal education, and to improving the quality and reach of justice in the Commonwealth and beyond. We are committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty and student body, and encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups who will add diversity to the UMass Law community.

Preferred qualifications include prior law school teaching experience and practice in the field.

Please email all inquiries and applications to Professor Hillary Farber at [email protected] Applications should include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and three references. Applications will be reviewed immediately and the position will remain open until filled.

Hiring Announcement: UC Berkeley (visiting faculty position)

From a recent email message:

We are delighted to announce the following visiting faculty positions in the Dept of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley in collaboration with Berkeley Law for course instruction and additional responsibilities.

Visiting Professor in Real Estate Law and Urban Planning, Theodore B. and Doris Shoong Lee Chair

Position description and application process is at the link below. 

https://ced.berkeley.edu/about-ced/work-at-ced     

Zelda Harris Named Dean of Western New England Law

Western New England University School of Law has announced that Zelda B. Harris will be the new dean of its law school.   She is currently director of the Center for Advocacy and professor of law at Loyola Chicago Law.  Harris, who holds a JD from Washington University in St. Louis, will take over on August 1.

William McGeveran Named Interim Dean of Minnesota Law

William McGeveran, professor of law and former associate dean for academic affairs, has been named interim dean of the University of Minnesota School of Law beginning on July 1.  McGeveran joined Minnesota in 2006 and holds a JD from NYU.

 

Dear Justices: A Statement of Principles Is Not a Code of Conduct

My new column for The Hill explains why the Supreme Court's recent "Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices" is no substitute for an actual code of conduct. It leaves many important ethics issues unaddressed, including political activity, solicitation of contributions, avoiding outside influence, ex parte communications and leaking information, public comments on pending cases and reporting misconduct, among others. 

Regarding recusal, the Statement of Principles is simply baffling:

The Statement defends the court’s long-standing practice in which “individual Justices, rather than the Court, decide recusal issues.” The justification is that any other approach “would create an undesirable situation in which the Court could affect the outcome of a case by selecting who among its Members may participate.”

That is wrong for at least two reasons. First, if the majority believes that a justice should be recused, then the justice should not participate no matter how it affects the case. The alternative is to have an otherwise disqualified justice cast the deciding vote, which is obviously far worse.

Moreover, the rationale bizarrely suggests that some future majority might conspire to disqualify another justice simply to control the outcome of a case. Not only does that betray an astonishing mistrust of their successors, but it would be nonsensical for a majority to deviously disqualify a colleague when, by definition, there are already enough votes to prevail in the case.

You can read the entire essay at The Hill.