PODCAST: What to Expect from the United States Supreme Court With Professor Barry Friedman

On this week’s episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast, we are joined by New York University Law School Professor Barry Friedman, an expert on the Supreme Court and public opinion, discusses the current Supreme Court.  According to the Pew Research Center, “Americans’ ratings of the Supreme Court are now as negative as – and more politically polarized than – at any point in more than three decades of polling on the nation’s highest court.”  (See Views of Supreme Court Far Less Positive After Abortion Ruling Reversing Roe v. Wade | Pew Research Center.)       

Professor Friedman puts this research in historical context, noting that the public’s view of the Court has waxed and waned over time.  During the New Deal, for example, the public’s view of the Court declined during its clash with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the mid-1930s.  Professor Friedman explains why he believes the situation with the Court today may be different from dips in public opinion in prior eras.  He suggests that this may be due, in part, to the erosion of political checks on the Court that previously were stronger.  Along the way, Professor Friedman and Associate Dean Rodger Citron discuss a number of the current justices and some of the most important cases of the Court’s 2021-22 term.

      

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Our guest today is Professor Barry Friedman.

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PODCAST: Robin Peguero: With Prejudice

On this week’s episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast, Associate Dean Rodger Citron talks with Robin Peguero about his first novel, With Prejudice, and his views about the criminal justice system.  After graduating from Harvard Law School, Peguero worked as a prosecutor in Miami, an experience he drew on while writing the novel.       

The conversation begins with Peguero talking about his life-long interest in writing stories.  It then turns to a discussion of the jury – its critical role in a trial, its composition (which is intensely contested by the lawyers trying the case before them), and its operation.  What do we mean when we talk about “a jury of our peers?”  To what extent does deliberation give us confidence in the jury’s verdict?  Peguero addresses these questions and others during the conversation, exploring them from his perspective as a lawyer and a writer.      

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Our guest today is Robin Peguero.

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PODCAST: What’s Next from the Supreme Court with Professor Thane Rosenbaum

On this week’s episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast, Professor Thane Rosenbaum talks with Associate Dean Rodger D. Citron about several recent Supreme Court decisions.   

The conversation begins with Professor Rosenbaum’s views on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.  In Dobbs, the Court overturned Roe v. Wade and held that the regulation of abortion is a matter for states to address.  Among other things, as Rosenbaum notes, Dobbs illustrates the challenge for Chief Justice John Roberts of maintaining the Court’s institutional legitimacy.  The conversation then turns to New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc., Inc. v. Bruen, in which the Court ruled in favor of the petitioners challenging a New York law requiring an individual to show “a special need for self-protection” in order to obtain a license to carry a handgun for that purpose.  Bruen, as Rosenbaum explains, illustrates the current Court’s commitment to originalism.  The conversation concludes with a discussion of the “Independent State Legislature” case, Moore v. Harper, that will be argued before the Supreme Court in the 2022-23 term.   

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Our guest today is Professor Thane Rosenbaum.

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PODCAST: Provost Patricia Salkin – “Lawyers Leading Higher Education”

On this week’s episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast, Patricia Salkin, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for Touro University and Provost of the Graduate and Professional Divisions in New York, talks with Associate Dean Rodger D. Citron about lawyers as leaders in higher education.  Provost Salkin is an expert on the subject, having completed her dissertation on the subject while serving as a senior administrator at Touro.   

The conversation begins with Provost Salkin setting the stage for lawyers increasingly serving as presidents of colleges and universities.  Among other things, lawyers possess the set of skills necessary to navigate the complex landscape of higher education – one that is substantially regulated and includes litigation risks.  Provost Salkin then discusses the data she compiled and conclusions she reached in her dissertation.  Perhaps the most important aspect of her work is that she has gathered and analyzed a comprehensive data set, one that will be invaluable to future research in this area.       

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Our guest today is Provost Patricia E. Salkin.

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PODCAST: Professor Hal Abramson- Embracing Opportunities in a Legal Profession

On this week’s episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast, we are joined by Professor Michelle Zakarin who interviews Professor Hal Abramson. The theme of this podcast episode is the importance of embracing professional opportunities. Professor Abramson highlights several fascinating opportunities early in his career as the podcast tracks his legal career to today.  Specifically, Professor Abramson discusses the opportunity early in his career to file three Amicus Briefs before the United States Supreme Court and the opportunities during the 1970s energy crisis that led him to testifying in Congress and meetings with senior public officials at the Carter White House. He also discusses some of his initiatives in Russia when Russia was trying to build a democracy and considers his recent work at the UN on helping to draft a treaty. And, of course, he recalls what triggered his interest in professionally engaging in and publishing in the fields of negotiations and mediation. 

Keep a look out for Professor Abramson’s most recent article that he co-authored with Brig. Gen Letendre, US Air Force Academy, “Negotiating Social Change: The Back Story on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” 

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Our guest today is Professor Harold (Hal) Abramson.

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PODCAST: Part Two – A Discussion of No-Knock Search Warrants With The Hon. Mark D. Cohen

In the second part of this podcast, the Hon. Mark D. Cohen discusses Ferreira v. City of Binghamton, a recent New York Court of Appeals decision involving civil liability for negligence in connection with the execution of a no-knock search warrant.  As Judge Cohen explains, although Ferreira is a civil case, it nevertheless may be the most important criminal case decided by the Court of Appeals this year.  The case arose out of an incident in which an unarmed occupant of a home was shot in the stomach during the execution of a no-knock search warrant. The individual filed a negligence suit against the officer, the police department, and the city. In a 5-2 decision, the Court of Appeals held that municipalities have a special duty to protect innocent bystanders when executing such a warrant.

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Our guest today is Hon. Mark D. Cohen.

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PODCAST: Part One -“Hitting the Trifecta” With the Hon. Mark D. Cohen


The Hon. Mark D. Cohen has been a prosecutor, a judge, and now, in private practice, a defense attorney.  In short, he has hit the trifecta as a trial attorney.  In the first part of this podcast, Judge Cohen joins Associate Dean Rodger Citron to talk about his very interesting and rewarding career in the law.  Among the highlights:  As a young man, Judge Cohen trained as a cellist before deciding to go to law school.  After an extended stint in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, he served as the Deputy Director and Chief Counsel of the New York State Department of Homeland Security – perhaps the most challenging position he ever has held.  Throughout the discussion, Judge Cohen makes the case for going to law school and for a career in public service.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

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Our guest today is Hon. Mark D. Cohen.

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