The Faculty Lounge

AALS Section on Election Law Award Winners

From Joshua Sellers, the Chair of the AALS Section on Election Law:

The AALS Section on Election Law is pleased to announce the winners of its annual awards.

The John Hart Ely Prize in the Law of Democracy

This award is presented annually by the executive committee of the AALS Section on Election Law to a senior scholar in the field for his or her “extraordinary lifetime contributions to the study of election law and the law of democracy in the United States.” This year’s recipient is Daniel Lowenstein (UCLA).

Distinguished Scholarship Award in Election Law

This award is presented annually in recognition of “a single work that exemplifies excellence in the field and that is published in a given year.” Winners are chosen by a scholarship selection committee which, in some years, additionally awards an honorable mention. Because no award was given last year, this year the Section decided to recognize winners for the past two years.

The winner for 2025 is Travis Crum (Wash U – St. Louis) for his article, The Unabridged Fifteenth Amendment, 133 Yale Law Journal 1039 (2024).

The winner for 2024 is Jacob Eisler (Florida State) for his book “The Law of Freedom: The Supreme Court and Democracy” (Cambridge University Press, 2023).

The selection committee also decided to award an honorable mention to Nicholas Stephanopoulos (Harvard) for his book “Aligning Election Law” (Oxford University Press, 2024).

The winners will be recognized at the 2025 AALS Annual Meeting.

Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Scholarship in Professional Responsibility

Submissions and nominations of articles are being accepted for the eleventh annual Fred C. Zacharias Memorial Prize for Scholarship in Professional Responsibility.  To honor Fred’s memory, the committee will select from among articles in the field of Professional Responsibility with a publication date of 2020.  The prize will be awarded at the 2021 AALS Annual Meeting in San Francisco.  Please send submissions and nominations to Professor Samuel Levine at Touro Law Center: [email protected].  The deadline for submissions and nominations is September 1, 2020.

Call for Papers - Legal and Judicial Ethics in the Post-#MeToo World - AALS Annual Meeting

Call for Papers

AALS Section on Professional Responsibility 2021

Co-Sponsored by AALS Sections on Civil Rights,

Employment Discrimination Law, Leadership, and Minority Groups

Legal and Judicial Ethics in the Post-#MeToo World

The Section on Professional Responsibility seeks papers addressing the role of legal and judicial ethics in the Post-#MeToo world. This program calls for scholars to confront big questions facing the profession about sexual discrimination, harassment and other misconduct. In 2016, the American Bar Association amended Model Rule 8.4(g)  to say that it is professional misconduct to “engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socio-economic status in conduct related to the practice of law.” Few jurisdictions have adopted this change, and some explicitly rejected it on First Amendment grounds. In 2019, the federal judiciary amended the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges to make clear that misconduct includes engaging in unwanted, offensive, or abusive sexual conduct and to protect those who report misconduct, but some argue the reforms do not go far enough and they do not apply to state judges or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Congress held hearings on sexual misconduct in the federal judiciary in early 2020. Lawyers and members of the judiciary have avoided investigations into credible allegations of sexual assault, discrimination, and harassment by resigning their positions, only to move on in other positions in the legal profession and, in some instances, repeating the same misconduct. Headlines regularly feature attorneys and their involvement in sexual misconduct in the workplace and beyond, whether as bystanders, facilitators, or perpetrators. This program seeks contributions to address these complex and controversial issues. Panelists will discuss the role of lawyer and judicial ethics as a means to remedy the enduring sexual misconduct in the legal profession and beyond.  Jaime Santos, founder of Law Clerks for Workplace Accountability and commentator for the acclaimed podcast Strict Scrutiny, is confirmed as a presenter. At least two additional presenters will be competitively selected from this call for papers.

Topics discussed at the program might include:

• Does ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) addressing sexual harassment run afoul of the First Amendment? 
• Is ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) merely a values statement or is it a source for discipline?
• What obligations, if any, do disciplinary authorities have to investigate credible, public information about alleged sexual misconduct by the lawyers licensed to practice in their jurisdictions?
• Should regulators adopt new rules or policies to address sexual misconduct, including the ability of lawyers and judges to avoid investigations by resigning their positions?
• If other areas of law (criminal, civil) do not cover aspects of sexual misconduct, is there a role for professional conduct rules to do so because of the lawyer’s special role in society?
• What reporting obligations do law schools have as they certify students’ fitness in bar admission applications? How does this fit within the Title IX framework?
• Should ethical rules on sexual misconduct that apply to the federal judiciary also apply to the U.S Supreme Court?
• How should reporting systems be improved?

To be considered, please email your paper to Renee Knake, Chair of the Section on Professional Responsibility, no later than August 1, 2020 at [email protected] Preference will be given to completed papers, though works-in-progress are eligible for selection.  The Call for Paper presenters will be responsible for paying their registration fee and hotel and travel expenses.  Please note that AALS anticipates that the Annual Meeting will go forward (https://am.aals.org/), and the theme is The Power of Words.

AALS CFP: Outsourced Borders and Invisible Walls

This just in:

The Section on Immigration Law of the Association of American Law Schools invites papers for presentation at its principal session during the 2021 AALS Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California, which will take place January 5-9, 2021. This session has not yet been scheduled. We will send updated information when we have it. Please note that individuals presenting at the program are responsible for their own Annual Meeting registration fee and travel expenses

The Session theme is: “Outsourced Borders and Invisible Walls.”

This panel explores the many ways that the U.S. government relies on outsourced borders and invisible walls in its immigration policy. In recent years, the U.S. has outsourced many of its immigration enforcement functions. The federal government has delegated power and responsibility for immigration enforcement to state and local governments, to private actors, and to foreign governments. In its operation of and within detention facilities that are privately owned and maintained, its formal and informal collaboration with Mexican border agents and police, in its reliance on private contractors for building a border wall, and more, the U.S. government extensively leverages other entities and governments in its immigration enforcement efforts.

At the same time, the government has constructed a number of invisible barriers to immigration. In recent years, the White House has leveraged its control of administrative agencies to promote new barriers to immigration. Agencies and actors formally charged with protecting immigrants and workers have been repurposed to bolster immigration enforcement efforts. The resulting barriers block access to opportunities to immigrate legally under existing law and complicate individuals’ efforts to regularize their immigration status.

This panel will assess these outsourced borders and invisible walls, unpack the history behind them, and discuss the impact that these developments have had on democratic accountability and on the rights of migrants and long-term U.S. residents, including citizens.

Submission Guidelines: The deadline for submissions is August 15, 2020. We welcome submissions at any stage of development, although preference may be given to more fully developed papers over abstracts and paper proposals. Priority also will be given to individuals who have not recently presented a paper at the AALS Annual Meeting. Decisions will be made by September 30, 2020.

Please email submissions in Microsoft Word format to [email protected] with the subject “AALS Submission.” In your email, please indicate whether you have previously presented your work at an AALS Annual Meeting, and if so, when and in what capacity.

Inquiries: Please direct any questions or inquiries to Jennifer M. Chacón ([email protected]) and Kit Johnson ( [email protected])

AALS CFP: New Voices in Immigration Law

This just in:

The Section on Immigration Law of the Association of American Law Schools invites papers and works in progress for its “New Voices in Immigration Law” session at the 2021 AALS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, which will take place January 5-9, 2021. This session has not yet been scheduled. 

This session will be structured as a series of simultaneous works-in-progress discussions, rather than as a panel. Preselected commentators will lead small-group round-table discussions of papers.

Submissions may address any aspect of immigration and citizenship law. We also welcome papers that explore these topics from alternative disciplines or perspectives.

Please note that individuals presenting at the program are responsible for their own Annual Meeting registration fee and travel expenses.

Submission Guidelines: The deadline for submissions is August 15, 2020. Feel free to submit an abstract, a précis, or a work-in-progress. Priority will be given to individuals who have never presented an immigration law paper at the AALS Annual Meeting, works not yet published or submitted for publication, and junior scholars.

Please email submissions in Microsoft Word format to [email protected] (Subject: AALS 2021: New Voices in Immigration Law). In your email, please indicate how you meet our selection priorities. If you have participated on previous AALS panels, please indicate when and in what capacity.

Inquiries: Please direct any questions or inquiries to Kit Johnson ([email protected]).

Organize an AALS Panel!

Did you know that you can organize a session at the 2021 annual AALS meeting without being affiliated with an AALS Section?  You can!  The AALS will take proposals for four different types of non-section sponsored events:

• Open Source programs are traditional scholarly programs other than those sponsored by one of the AALS Sections. Proposals due April 13.

• Discussion Groups provide a setting for discussions among a small group of invited participants. Attendees are welcome. Proposals due April 13.

• Symposia are extended sessions (half a day or longer) that focus on in-depth scholarly exploration of a topic of academic interest. Proposals due May 11.

• Hot Topic programs focus on topics that emerged too late in the year to be included in other types of programs. Proposals due October 19. Proposals directly related to the outcome of the November 2020 elections and that could not be proposed in time for the October deadline are due November 16.

Go here for more details.

Reminder: Philly Law School Reception is Tonight

For those attending the AALS, four Philadelphia area schools - Villanova, Temple, Penn and Drexel - will be hosting a reception tonight.  All are welcome.  Details here.

AALS/Drexel Immigration Law Reception and Panel

For those profs who will be in DC on Thursday evening, check out a timely panel at Drexel University's DC Center.  The AALS Immigration Law Section and Drexel University Kline School of Law's Center for Law, Policy and Social Action  are co-hosting Where Are We Going? Immigration Law in 2020 & Beyond  - a panel featuring immigration law experts Melissa Crow (SPLC), Tom Jawetz (Center for American Progress), Pili Tobar (America's Voice) and my colleague Anil Kalhan.  The reception starts at 5:30 and the presentations at 6:00.  You'll have to flee the Marriott, but Drexel DC is a quick trip on the Red Line from Woodley Park and .  Details (including the RSVP link) are here.

Philly Law School Reception at the AALS

A flock of schools host alumni and friends receptions at the AALS, but the Philly Law School Reception really stands out because...Philadelphia is the city that loves you back.  In this case,"Philadelphia" is embodied by four remarkably friendly law school neighbors co-hosting what promises to be a superb soiree.  

Villanova, Temple, Penn, and Drexel - or more precisely, Widger Law, Beasley Law, Carey Law, and Kline Law - are pleased to welcome you to what has now, in two short years, become a two-year-old tradition.  

Plenty of other schools are hosting events at the same time, but if you're coming to the conference this year, I encourage you to make good choices and stop by Friday night, January 3, between 6:30 to 8, in the Hoover Room, Mezzanine Level.  We'd love to see you.  

No, The House Impeachment Proceeding Is Not Unconstitutional

As I explain today in The American Prospect:

The Conservative Legal Community Is Grasping at Straws to Defend Donald Trump

by Steven Lubet

November 11, 2019

The defense of Donald Trump has taken some strange turns lately, as allies and supporters have constantly had to change their positions—sometimes in a matter of days or hours—in order to justify the president’s shifting moods and explanations. Perhaps the greatest contortion, however, has come from an unexpected source.

Steven Calabresi, the highly respected constitutional law scholar—and my colleague at the Northwestern University Pritzker Law School—recently published an essay claiming that the House of Representatives’ impeachment proceedings are “violating the president’s constitutional rights” to “confront the witnesses against him” in a “speedy and public trial.” To reach this conclusion, Calabresi has to misapply the unambiguous provisions of the Sixth Amendment and completely ignore the equally plain terms of Article I’s definition of the impeachment power.

As a co-founder of the Federalist Society and the current chair of its board of directors, Calabresi ordinarily speaks with great authority on behalf of the conservative legal establishment, which makes this misstep all the more troubling. In the essay, Calabresi argues that “Impeachment is a legal proceeding, and just as criminal defendants have constitutional rights in criminal trials so too does Trump have constitutional rights, which House Democrats are denying him.” He then sets out the basic rights afforded to criminal defendants under the Sixth Amendment, and asserts that these rights have been denied to the president by the House of Representatives.

The opening words of the Sixth Amendment—“In all criminal prosecutions”—make it unmistakable that its provisions do not apply to impeachments, which are clearly noncriminal in nature. Impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate cannot result in imprisonment, fine, or any other criminal penalty. Rather, the only allowable consequences are removal from office and disqualification from future office-holding.

Anita Bernstein to Receive 2020 William L. Prosser Award

Anita Bernstein, the Anita and Stuart Subotnick Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, has been named as the recipient of the 2020 AALS Section on Torts and Compensation Systems William L. Prosser Award.  The Prosser Award recognizes "outstanding contributions of law teachers in scholarship, teaching and service" and "a lifetime of truly outstanding contribution to the law of torts." Past recipients include Guido Calebresi (2011), Richard Posner (2012), Jane Stapleton (2013), James Henderson, Jr. (2014), Michael Green (2015), Aaron Twerski (2016),  Stephen Sugarman (2017), Marshall Shapo (2018), and Ken Simons (2019).

Professor Bernstein's law review articles include For and Against Marriage: A Revision, 102 Mich. L. Rev. 129 (2003); Treating Sexual Harassment with Respect, 111 Harv. L. Rev. 445 (1997); How to Make a New Tort: Three Paradoxes, 75 Tex. L. Rev. 1539 (1997); and Law, Culture and Harassment, 142 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1227 (1994). Her most recent book, The Common Law Inside the Female Body (Cambridge University Press 2018), will be the subject of two forthcoming symposia: one in the Northwestern Law Review Online and one in the Boston College Law Review E. Supp.

Congratulations, Professor Bernstein!

CFP: AALS Section on Commercial and Consumer Law

Commercial Law in the Digital Age

 

Program Description:

 

Emerged and emerging technological developments have created the potential for commercial transactions that may not be adequately addressed by existing commercial laws. Such innovations include distributed ledger technologies like the blockchain, new forms of digital assets like cryptocurrencies, and dynamic electronic transactions like those involving smart contracts and e-debt. 

 

Admittedly some areas of law might already have sufficient flexibility and need only be modified in order to accommodate these new transactions, while others may need significant changes or a complete overhaul. Smart contracts involving the sale and lease of goods may require changes to Articles 2 and 2A of the Uniform Commercial Code. New ways of processing payments and transferring value raise the possible need to fill gaps in Articles 4 and 4A. The use of digital assets, including cryptoassets, in secured lending entail changes to Article 9. Additionally, the increasing prevalence of electronic promissory notes likely requires a reimagining of the largely paper-based Article 3 system. For some or all of these, changes to federal law might also be required.

 

        The Section on Commercial and Consumer Law seeks to promote a careful and creative exploration of these and related issues at the 2020 AALS Annual Meeting during its program panel titled Commercial Law in the Digital Age. 

 

Call for Papers:

 

        The Section invites the submission of abstracts or full papers dealing broadly with issues related to commercial/consumer law and technology, payment systems, the sale and lease of goods, electronic transactions, e-commerce, and commercial transactions using distributed ledger technologies and smart contracts. There is no formal paper requirement associated with participation on the panel, but preference will be given to those submissions that demonstrate novel scholarly insights that have been substantially developed. Untenured scholars in particular are encouraged to submit their work. Please email your submissions to Chris Odinet at [email protected] by Friday, August 16, 2019. The selection results will be announced in early September 2019. In additional to the confirmed speakers below, the Section anticipates selecting two to three papers from the call.

 

Confirmed Speakers:

Neil B. Cohen, Jeffrey D. Forchelli Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School

Carla L. Reyes, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Law, Technology & Innovation, Michigan State University College of Law

Amy J. Schmitz, Elwood L. Thomas Missouri Endowed Professor of Law, University of Missouri School of Law

 

Eligibility:

    Per AALS rules, only full-time faculty members of AALS member law schools are eligible to submit a paper/abstract to Section calls for papers. Faculty at fee-paid law schools, foreign faculty, adjunct and visiting faculty (without a full-time position at an AALS member law school), graduate students, fellows, and non-law school faculty are not eligible to submit.

 

All panelists, including speakers selected from this Call for Papers, are responsible for paying their own annual meeting registration fee and travel expenses.

CFP: AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law 2020 Annual Meeting

The AALS Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law announces a call for papers to be presented as works-in-progress in our committee session at the 2020 AALS Annual Meeting in Washington DC from January 2-5, 2020. The panel will be held on Sunday, January 5^th, 2020 from 10:30-12:00.

The Section seeks submissions on a variety of topics and methodological approaches related to Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law. We are especially interested in receiving submissions from new and junior academics or scholars who have not previously written in the field.

Eligibility: Scholars teaching at AALS member or nonmember fee-paid schools

Due Date: Friday, August 24, 2019

Form and Content of Submission: Submissions may range from early drafts to articles that have been submitted for publication, but not articles that will have already been published by January 6, 2020.

Submission Method: please submit papers electronically in Microsoft Word format to [email protected] "AALS Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law Submission" in the email subject line.

Submission Review: Papers will be selected for inclusion in the program after review by members of the AALS Nonprofit and Philanthropy Law.

Additional Information: Unfortunately, the section is not able to provide any funding to presenters, who will be responsible for their own expenses. If you have any questions, please contact Melanie Leslie at [email protected].

 

AALS Reminder: Philly Law School Reception Tonight

It's not in the printed AALS program but if you're at the conference today, the law schools of Drexel, Penn, Temple and Villanova are co-hosting a Philadelphia Area Law Schools Reception tonight from 6 to 7:30 pm.  Join us in the Newberry Room, 3rd floor of the Hilton, for some Philly-style bites and post-holiday cheer.

AALS Alert: Philly Area Law Schools Reception In New Orleans

This one's for all of you who'll be at the AALS conference next month.  Put this must-do on your calendar:

The law schools of Drexel, Penn, Temple and Villanova are co-hosting a Philadelphia Area Law Schools Reception Friday night, January 4, from 6 to 7:30 pm.  Join us in the Newberry Room, 3rd floor of the Hilton, for some Philly-style bites (guaranteed to be every bit as good as the Étouffée you'd find in Center City Philadelphia), drinks and good conversation.  Think of the convenience of one-stop-shopping - no need to schmooze door to door when you can do it all right there in the Newberry Room.  

 

Before the JD: New AALS Study on Why Students Do or Don't Choose Law

The AALS has just released a study of 22,000 undergraduates and 2800 1L's in its effort to better understand what leads people to choose (or not choose) to pursue a JD.   Karen Sloan at the National Law Journal reports on the study.  Here is some of the juicy stuff:

Half of the undergraduates considering law school have at least one parent with an advanced degree, despite the fact that only 12 percent of people between 45 and 65 nationwide have such a degree. Put another way, applicants from economically privileged backgrounds comprise a disproportionate of the law school applicant pool.

Undergraduates who are interested in an advanced degree report seeing more information on campus about master’s degree, Ph.D.s and Masters in Business degree than about law school, and say their college professors talked about those programs more than a J.D.

The overall cost of a law degree and poor work-life balance were the reasons cited most often by undergraduates for potentially not going to law school, and the three-year length of J.D. programs was another common deterrent.

Location was the most important criterion for choosing a school, according to the first-year students. But the other criteria shifted according to Law School Admission Test scores. Those with scores of 165 or higher were more concerned with the status and prestige of campuses, while respondents with lower scores weight bar pass rates and overall costs more heavily.

Law school comes on the radar of many students quite early. More than half of law students begin thinking about law school before they get to college, and a third consider it even before high school.

Hiring Announcement: St Thomas University School of Law

ST. THOMAS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW seeks to fill entry-level tenure-track or, lateral tenure-track,-position(s) beginning in Fall 2019 in the areas of: Contracts, Business Associations, Tax Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Health Law, Tax Clinic, Academic Support and Bar Prep. Other doctrinal areas may be considered depending on the institutional needs. All applicants must have a strong academic record and be committed to outstanding teaching, scholarship and service. Prior teaching experience preferred.

St. Thomas University School of Law trains lawyers capable of applying legal principles to address and solve problems in an increasingly complex and changing society. The rigorous academic program of the Law School emphasizes lifelong learning and scholarship in a personalized, caring environment under Catholic auspices with a diverse student body and faculty. To this end, the Law School remains committed in teaching, scholarship, and service, to fostering a public order of human dignity, to training lawyers sensitive to the needs of the region’s underrepresented communities, and to expanding access to professional opportunities which includes active partnerships with business, government and the South Florida community.

St. Thomas encourages applications from all candidates, including women and minorities, who will contribute to our stimulating and diverse cultural and intellectual environment.
The Faculty Recruitment Committee will review applications on a rolling basis, and anticipate attending the AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference in October 2018. Applicants should send a cover letter indicating teaching and scholarly interests, a curriculum vitae to Professor Mark Wolff, Chair Faculty Recruitment Committee at St. Thomas University School of Law, 16401 NW 37th Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL 33054 or email [email protected].

AALS CFP: New Voices in Legislation

This just in:

The AALS Section on Legislation & Law of the Political Process is pleased to announce that it will host a “New Voices in Legislation” program during the 2019 AALS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA. This works-in-progress program will bring together junior and senior scholars in the field of legislation for the purpose of providing the junior scholars with feedback and guidance on their draft articles. Scholars whose papers are selected will present their work in small panel sessions. A senior scholar will moderate each panel and lead discussion about the draft article.

Eligibility: The New Voices Program will be open to full-time faculty members from AALS member schools who are untenured or have been tenured for two years or less. All scholars, whether or not presenting a paper or moderating a discussion, are welcome to attend the program and participate in discussions.

Submission Requirements: Submissions should be drafts of articles relating to legislation and the law of the political process, including articles related to legislative structure, the legislative process, the budget process, statutory interpretation, and deliberation. Submissions should be near completion and should not exceed 30,000 words, including footnotes. The purpose of the program is to provide junior scholars with feedback that can be incorporated into their works-in-progress; as a result, articles are ineligible for the program if they are expected to be in print at the time of the program in January 2019. However, articles that already have been submitted to journals for publication, and accepted for publication, are not ineligible for this reason.

Submission Process: To be considered for participation in the program, please email a copy of the paper and abstract to Anthony O’Rourke, [email protected], by Sunday, October 1, 2018. Selected participants will be notified in early November 2018. Final drafts of those who are selected must be submitted by December 15, 2018.

Senior Scholars: If you are interested is serving as a commentator for one of the junior papers, please contact Anthony O’Rourke, [email protected].

Call for Papers—Judicial Diversity in Transnational Courts — AALS 2019 New Orleans

 The AALS Sections on European and African Law invites submissions of paper proposals for the upcoming panel, “Judicial Diversity in Transnational Courts,” which will take place at the 2019 AALS Annual Meeting (New Orleans, January 2-6 2019). Submissions from junior scholars are encouraged. Confirmed speakers include Laurence Burgorgue-Larsen, Professor at the Sorbonne Law School at the University Paris I; Josephine Jarpa Dawuni, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Howard University; Sally J. Kenney, Newcomb College Endowed Chair Professor, Tulane University; and Iyiola Solanke, Professor of Law, Leeds University, UK. The proceeds of the panel will be published as a special issue of the Connecticut Journal of International Law.

Program Summary: Why do so few women and people of color serve on transnational courts and tribunals? Given the paucity of seats available to each nation on the international bench, it should be easy for states to nominate, vote, or appoint them in greater numbers. Yet, despite a series of initiatives to increase gender parity, women, particularly women of color, continue to be conspicuously underrepresented on these courts. Why does it matter? There is now an extensive body of scholarship discussing the reasons why domestic judiciaries might strive for more diversity, including increased legitimacy, dispelling stereotypes, higher quality decision-making and outcomes, and internal institutional change. Are there additional, specific benefits to greater judicial diversity to be expected at the transnational level? Convening leading scholars in the fields of equality law and transnational courts, this panel will address these questions with a special focus on European and African regional courts. 

Submission guidelines:

• To be considered, submit a title and abstract (300 words maximum) to Mathilde Cohen ([email protected]) and Fernanda Nicola ([email protected]) by August 15, 2018.
• Paper drafts will be due on December 15, 2018 to be circulated among panel participants. Final papers will be due on March 1 and should be between 7,000 and 8,500 words.

AALS CFP: Corruption and Legitimation

This just in:

The Anthropology & Law and Law & Social Science Sections invite paper proposals for a joint panel on “Corruption and Legitimation,” to be held at the 2019 meeting of the American Association of Law Schools (New Orleans, January 2-6, 2019). How does government corruption work and what effects does it have? Equally importantly, what constitutes corruption in any given society, and how do we recognize corruption’s inverse, legitimation? The panel seeks to address these questions from a range of methodological and disciplinary perspectives.

We welcome proposals for papers that discuss, among other topics, local perceptions of government action; the conditions for its validity in particular places; debates in legal, scholarly, or popular work about what constitutes corruption; as well as research analyzing recognized corruption and its effects. We hope this panel will lead to a stimulating discussion about both the corruption in government and the malleability of the very concept of corruption.

Confirmed speakers include:

Mary Fan, University of Washington
Eugene Mazo, University of Baltimore
Christopher Robertson, University of Arizona
Mary Szto, Valparaiso University 

We will select the remaining panelists through this call for papers.

Please send an abstract (around 500 words) outlining the paper that you’d like to present by May 1, 2018, to Anya Bernstein ([email protected]) and David Kwok ([email protected]).

 

The Role of Evidence in Social Science

There is no law school in the U.S. (nor, I would venture, in the U.K.) where the curriculum fails to address the importance of social science to law practice. Regrettably, social scientists do not always understand that the lessons can also run in the other direction, especially when it comes to the marshaling of facts. This became apparent to me when I read a review of my recent book, Interrogating Ethnography, on the British website Social Science Space.  The reviewer, a consulting sociologist named Robert Dingwall, panned the book, which of course happens to every author.  But he also missed the entire point of the subtitle – Why Evidence Matters – which I fear may tell us something more troubling about the practice of sociology.

Dingwall, who is co-editor of the SAGE Handbook of Research Management, is highly skeptical of documentary fact-checking, which he considers a “second-best method.” Yes, documentation has its limitations. But so do human informants, witnesses, and interview subjects, whose statements, as lawyers well know, are predictably affected by poor memory, self-interest, skewed perspective, implicit biases, the desire to please, and sometimes outright prejudice or deception. Dingwall may believe that ethnographers can effectively weed through all that, but the best of them – for example, Matthew Desmond, Mary Pattillo, Terry Williams, Kathryn Edin, and, again, Mitchell Duneier – realize that documentary fact-checking is an essential tool for social scientists.  Interrogating Ethnography therefore illustrated various means of fact-checking ethnographies, with results that ranged from disproof to solid verification.

This brings us to the heart of Dingwall’s review, which is his defense of Alice Goffman’s On the Run. I had no plans to revisit these issues – having already said my piece – but Dingwall’s argument presents a good opportunity to elucidate the role of factual accuracy in social science.