History

PODCAST: A Discussion with Judge Michael Ponsor on “Point of Order.”

TLR BLOG

Summary: 

Long before he became a federal judge, even before he went to law school in the
early 1970s, Michael Ponsor wrote fiction.  It was not until 2013, however, that Judge Ponsor published his first novel, The Hanging Judge.  In this podcast, Judge Ponsor discusses his passion for writing as well as his experiences as a lawyer and judge that inform his third published novel, Point of Order. 

In his conversation with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, Judge Ponsor discusses the demands and challenges of being a judge and how he presents them in his novels involving Judge David S. Norcross.  Among other things, Judge Ponsor says, it is necessary for a judge to “rule and roll” in order to do the job.  Judge Ponsor also talks about how his experience teaching in Kenya as a young man figures into Point of Order as well. 

This podcast will be of interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about the relationship between law and literature.

Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.   

Learn more about Judge Michael Ponsor

Continue reading →

PODCAST: The Supreme Court and the “Independent State Legislature Theory”: A Discussion with Nicholas Maggio

tlconlineeditor

Summary: In Moore v. Harper, decided last year, the Supreme Court addressed the “independent state legislature theory.”  In a case arising out of an election in North Carolina, proponents of the theory contended that North Carolina’s Supreme Court did not have the authority to review a legal claim that the state legislature had adopted an illegally gerrymandered congressional map.  The Supreme Court rejected the theory by a 6-3 vote in Moore.  In this Touro Law Review podcast, Nicholas Maggio, an attorney who has written about the independent state legislature theory, discusses the case – in particular, its relevance during an election year and its significance for understanding the current Supreme Court – with Associate Dean Rodger Citron. 

Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.   

Learn more about Nicholas Maggio

Continue reading →

A Life in the Law: An Interview with Drew Days

TLR BLOG

Rodger D. Citron*

Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship& Professor of Law

2014 © Posted with permission from the author.

Drew Days (photo credit: Yale Law School)

Drew S. Days, III, lived an extraordinary life in the law. Born in the segregated South, Days graduated from Yale Law School in 1966 and pursued a career as a civil rights lawyer. In 1977, he was appointed Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.  

After his stint in the administration of President Jimmy Carter, Days became a professor at Yale Law School. In 1993, Days returned to the federal government after President Bill Clinton appointed him Solicitor General of the United States.  He served in that position until 1996 then returned to Yale Law School as a professor.   

Days died earlier this month at the age of 79.  Regarding Days, former Yale Law School Dean and Sterling Professor of International Law Harold Hongju Koh said, “Drew was a gentle, courageous lawyer of principle, deeply committed to human and civil rights. He always spoke quietly and modestly, but with such moral authority.”  Koh added that Days “cared nothing for titles or recognition because his client was always the Constitution, not the political powers of the moment. His life will be remembered as a reminder of the moral urgency of putting principle first.” 

In 2011, Days visited Touro College, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center to deliver the Howard A. Glickstein Civil Rights and Public Policy Lecture. As part of his visit, Professor Days was interviewed by Professor Rodger Citron about his life and career. An edited transcript of their conversation, published in the Touro Law Review in 2014, follows. 

Continue reading →