Your Witness

In 1997, Louise F. Mooney, then Communications Director of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, penned an elegant history of the John Marshall School of Law, one of the predecessors of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. On the basis of recent research, Professor David F. Forte adds to the events surrounding the founding of the John …

When The John Marshall School of Law Became The John Marshall School of Law Read More »

What counts for the success of Asian American students in higher education? Cleveland-Marshall Professor Reginald Oh discounts the suits by Asian Americans against affirmative action as having any real bearing on the difficulties facing Asian Americans, though other institutional discriminations do exist. Instead, Professor Oh directs his analysis to the pressures placed upon these students …

Asian Americans and the Pursuit of Unhappiness Read More »

On June 15, 2020, in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts protects employees from discrimination because they may be gay or transgender. Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion was an exercise in a textual interpretation of the statute’s language. His opinion has engendered serious …

Textualism and Bostock Read More »

In an era when the validity of elections is vigorously disputed, Professor David Forte reminds us of how America’s tradition of a “peaceful transition” began. Professor Forte … your witness I On January 6, 2021, Americans stared at their television screens in disbelief as rioters besieged the Capitol Building where within, the electoral votes for …

John Marshall, Thomas Jefferson and the First Peaceful Transition Read More »

If there be a “Dean” of First Amendment studies, it has to be Geoffrey R. Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Professor of Law, at The University of Chicago. Author and editor of dozens of articles, monographs, and casebooks on freedom of speech and other fundamental rights, Professor Stone was also the prime mover of The …

Do Not Take Your Freedom of Speech for Granted Read More »

The Supreme Court’s evolving criminal law jurisprudence always reveals the developing criminal law perspectives of individual justices as well.  Here, Cleveland-Marshall’s Associate Dean and Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich opens up for us the rich and sometimes surprising results of the Court’s 2020 October term. Professor Witmer-Rich, … your witness The Supreme Court’s 2020 October Term started …

The Supreme Court’s Surprising Criminal Case Term Read More »

Inauthentic media depictions can harm a person’s privacy and reputation and pose a risk to broader society, as well.  “Deepfake” technology allows the creation of a type of inauthentic media using “deep machine learning” techniques, using a computer to quickly swap or simulate faces, voices, and movements.    Professor Christa Laser argues that Notice and …

Deepfakes, Privacy, and Freedom of Speech Read More »

Eugene Volokh is the Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law, where he teaches and writes about First Amendment law. He also directs the UCLA First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic, which has filed briefs in over 100 cases throughout the country. Here, Professor Volokh confronts attempts to outlaw criticism as …

The First Amendment and Consumer Criticism Read More »

Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, has had a long and warm relationship with the faculty of the Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He is the author of a highly regarded textbook on Constitutional Law, was the founding dean of the University of …

Hearing All Views Read More »

Today, Your Witness forum begins a new series entitled “The Advocates.” Along with essays on legal issues in the Your Witness forum, “The Advocates” will highlight the contributions of particular lawyers who have advanced the cause of the rule of law and liberty under the Constitution. Our first contribution is by Jonathan L. Entin, David …

The Advocates: Fred Gray and the First Amendment Read More »