[Marxism] Attack on academic freedom

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2007/09/erwin-chemerinsky-and-post-911-attack.php
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Op-eds on legal news by law professors and JURIST special guests...

Erwin Chemerinsky and the Post-9/11 Attack on Academic Freedom

JURIST Contributing Editor Marjorie Cohn of Thomas Jefferson School of 
Law says that the rejection of Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky by 
the administration of the University of California at Irvine as the new 
dean of its law school because he is "too politically controversial" is 
the latest chapter in the post-September 11 attack on US academic 
freedom under the guise of protecting security ...

        
One week after renowned legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky was offered the 
position of dean of the new law school at the University of California 
at Irvine, Chancellor Michael Drake withdrew the offer, informing 
Professor Chemerinsky he had proved to be "too politically 
controversial." Chemerinsky is one of the most eminent law teachers and 
constitutional law scholars in the country. Author of a leading treatise 
on constitutional law, he has written four books and more than 100 law 
review articles. In 2005, he was named by Legal Affairs as one of "the 
top 20 legal thinkers in America."

This is the latest chapter in the post September 11 attack on academic 
freedom under the guise of protecting security. Two weeks after 9/11, 
former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer cautioned Americans "they 
need to watch what they say, watch what they do." The American Council 
of Trustees and Alumni, a group founded by Lynne Cheney and Senator Joe 
Lieberman, accused universities of being the weak link in the war on 
terror; it included the names of 117 "un-American" professors, students 
and staff members. A few months later, a blacklisting Internet cite 
called Campus Watch was launched. It publishes dossiers on scholars who 
criticize U.S. Middle East policy and Israel's treatment of the 
Palestinians. Earlier this year, the Bruin Alumni Association at UCLA 
offered students $100 to tape left-wing professors.

In 2003, the American Association of University Professors recalled the 
"still-vivid memories of the McCarthy era" and warned of the perils of 
sacrificing academic freedom in the war on terror. The premise of their 
report was that "freedom of inquiry and the open exchange of ideas are 
crucial to the nation's security, and that the nation's security and, 
ultimately, its well-being are damaged by practices that discourage or 
impair freedom."

At a 2004 conference on academic freedom at UC Berkeley, Professor 
Beshara Doumani observed, "Academic freedom in the United States is 
facing its most important threat since the McCarthy era of the 1950s. In 
the aftermath of 11 September 2001, government agencies and private 
organizations have been subjecting universities to an increasingly 
sophisticated infrastructure of surveillance, intervention, and control. 
In the name of the war against terrorism, civil liberties have been 
seriously eroded, open debate limited, and dissent stifled."

Art. 9, § 9 of the California Constitution, which sets forth the powers 
and duties of the Regents of the University of California, provides, 
"The university shall be entirely independent of all political or 
sectarian influence and kept free therefrom in the appointment of its 
regents and in the administration of its affairs."

Drake denied he was influenced by pressure from donors, politicians or 
the UC California Board of Regents. Yet psychology professor Elizabeth 
Loftus, a member of the search committee, told the Los Angeles Times 
that Drake told the committee he was compelled to make the decision by 
outside forces whom he did not identify. Her account was confirmed by a 
second member of the committee, who talked to the Times on condition of 
anonymity.

Chemerinsky has handled several cases in the appellate courts and the 
U.S. Supreme Court, and has testified many times before congressional 
and state legislative committees, including before the Senate Judiciary 
Committee in the Samuel Alito confirmation hearings. Chemerinsky has 
represented Valerie Plame Wilson, the CIA agent whose identity was 
revealed by members of the Bush administration; a Guantánamo detainee 
asserting his right to habeas corpus; a man sentenced to 50 
years-to-life under California's three strikes law; and a person 
challenging the Texas Ten Commandments monument.

UCI's November 16, 2006 press release announcing the inauguration of the 
new law school said, "UCI law graduates will be particularly encouraged 
to pursue careers in public service, including non-governmental 
organizations and philanthropic agencies. As part of their training, UCI 
law students will provide legal services to people who are unable to 
afford counsel. They also will be encouraged to pursue public interest 
law through programs focusing on underserved communities." Chemerinsky 
is devoted to public service as well as legal scholarship and education. 
He was elected by voters to be a Commissioner and chaired the Los 
Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission; the new Charter was adopted 
by voters in 1999. He also spearheaded the Los Angeles Independent 
Analysis of the Board of Inquiry Report on the Rampart Police Scandal, 
Prepared at the Request of the Police Protective League, September 2000.

Untold numbers of law students have been helped through law school and 
the bar exam by Chemerinsky, including National Lawyers Guild Student 
Vice President Teague Briscoe, who said, "Chermerinsky on Constitutional 
Law saved my life in law school and I loved him doing the Professional 
Responsibility lectures but, most of all, I really dug that he was a 
progressive law prof who defends an unpopular client."

David Dow, Adjunct lecturer at the Annenberg School of Journalism and 
former veteran CBS correspondent who frequently interviewed Chemerinksy 
on legal issues, said, "I can't imagine any considerations that would 
outweigh the prospect of launching a law school with an 
internationally-known, highly-respected, fair-minded expert at the helm. 
Apart from his legal and professional credentials, Erwin has 
demonstrated an ability to get along well with colleagues and the 
community wherever he's been." Dow's words were echoed by Stanford Law 
School Dean Larry Kramer, who called Chemerinsky "the nicest person in 
legal education." Conservative law professor Douglas Kmiec wrote of 
Chemerinsky, "there is no person I would sooner trust to be a guardian 
of my constitutional liberty. Nor is there anyone I would sooner turn to 
for a candid, intellectually honest appraisal of an academic proposal."

One of the "controversial" matters Drake cited to Chemerinsky was an 
August op-ed the professor wrote in the Los Angeles Times criticizing a 
proposed regulation by then-Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales to shorten the 
time death row inmates have to file habeas corpus petitions. In an op-ed 
in the Sep. 14 Times, Chemerinsky explained, "There are more than 275 
individuals on death row in California without lawyers for their 
post-convictions proceedings. The effect of the new rule would be that 
many individuals, including innocent ones, would not get the chance to 
have their cases reviewed in federal court."

Drake's action, which sends a clear message to academics that they must 
avoid speaking out or writing about controversial issues, is a threat to 
academic freedom. As Chemerinsky wrote, "Without academic freedom, the 
reality is that many faculty members would be chilled and timid in 
expressing their views, and the discussion that is essential for the 
advancement of thought would be lost."

Hundreds of faculty, students and staff at UC Irvine are urging 
reinstatement of Chemerinsky. In an open letter to Drake, they wrote, 
"We are disturbed because of the deep violation both of the integrity of 
the university and of the intrusion of outrageously one-sided politics 
and unacceptable ideological considerations into a hiring process that 
should be driven by academic excellence, administrative experience, 
leadership capacity, and personal integrity."

Chancellor Michael Drake should immediately reinstate Professor Erwin 
Chemerinsky as dean of the UC Irvine Law School.


Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and 
president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author of Cowboy 
Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law. Her articles are 
archived at http://www.marjoriecohn.com/

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