At the start of his legal career, NYU President Emeritus John Sexton achieved an extraordinary clerkship trifecta. Initially, in 1979, he clerked for Judge Harold Leventhal on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Tragically, Judge Leventhal died several months after Sexton began working for him. He then clerked for Judge David Bazelon, also on the D.C. Circuit. As Sexton explains, both judges were towering figures on the court of appeals. Sexton then clerked for Chief Justice Warren Burger, something no other Bazelon clerk ever did. (Sexton wrote about his clerkship with the Chief Justice for the Journal of Supreme Court History in 2018; see “Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, the Court, and the Nation, 43 J. Sup. Ct. Hist. 173 (2018).)
In his discussion with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, Sexton talks about each judge and some of the interesting cases and issues that came up while he was clerking. He concludes with thoughts on what has changed – and what has endured – in the judiciary since he was a law clerk more than forty years ago.
Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.
Our guest today is President Emeritus of NYU, Dr. John Sexton.
Dr. John Sexton
Dr. John Sexton is President Emeritus of New York University, the Dean Emeritus of NYU Law School, and the Benjamin F. Butler Professor of Law. He joined the Law School faculty in 1981 and was named Dean in 1988; he served in this capacity for fourteen years. He was named the University’s President in 2001 and served in that capacity until January 1, 2016. He continues to teach at NYU Law School.
In addition to his work as President Emeritus and Professor, Dr. Sexton served as the CEO of the Catalyst Foundation for Universal Education and the Chair of the University of the People President’s Council. In 2016, Commonweal Magazine honored Dr. Sexton as the Catholic in the Public Square. The previous year, the Arab-American League awarded him its Khalil Gibran Spirit of Humanity Award; and the Open University of Israel gave him its Alon Prize for “inspired leadership in the field of education.”
Dr. Sexton received a B.A. in History (1963) from Fordham College; an M.A. in Comparative Religion (1965) and a Ph.D. in History of American Religion (1978) from Fordham University; and a J.D. magna cum laude (1979) from Harvard Law School. He married Lisa Goldberg in 1976. Their two children are Jed and Katie Sexton and their grandchildren are Julia, Ava, Natalie, and Ellis.
You must be logged in to post a comment.