Kenneth Starr, of Clinton impeachment fame, is welcome to be dean at California’s Pepperdine Law School. John Eastman, Republican nominee to the House and member of the Reagan administration, is welcome to be dean at California’s Chapman Law School. Erwin Chemerinsky, an imminent constitutional law scholar from Duke named “one of the top 20 legal thinkers in America,” had accepted the deanship of the soon-to-be-opened University of California at Irvine Law School but has been fired before he can start. His problem? Too liberal. It seems that he wrote an op-ed criticizing Alberto Gonzales, and suddenly Chemerinsky was too “controversial” in the words of the UC Chancellor who fired him shortly after the op-ed appeared.
Chemerinsky recognized that a dean must be dean of all the people, liberal and conservative alike. He had already moved to form a law school Board of Advisers with prominent conservatives. But that wasn’t good enough. The law school blogs are lighting up over this. Nothing is juicier than academic politics. But this is about real politics — conservatives targeting a well-known scholar because they don’t like his liberal views. Recent events show how easy it is to politicize the Department of Justice. Are American law schools next?
Warren Reports sticks to middle class issues, but Erwin has been a long-time friend to those who care about access to bankruptcy. He has often pitched in when Constitutional issues have arisen, volunteering his time and talents to help people work through the issues or to talk with critical policymakers. He deserves better than this.
