Touro Law Review Podcast

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.

Stephen Bright’s relentless pursuit of equal justice is at the center of Professor Robert Tsai’s most recent book. For nearly forty years, Bright led the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit that provided legal aid to incarcerated people and worked to improve conditions within the justice system. Among other things, Bright argued four death penalty cases at the Supreme Court and won each of them. As Tsai discusses with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, the story of these four cases illustrate inequalities in the legal system and legal strategies for combatting them. The discussion illuminates how race, economics, and politics influence the operation of the criminal justice system when the stakes are at their highest – that is when the defendant’s life literally depends upon the outcome.

Professor Kennedy conducted an insightful interview with Professor Daniel Kiel, a distinguished law professor at the University of Memphis and author of the book "The Transition: Interpreting Justice from Thurgood Marshall to Clarence Thomas." This literary work seamlessly blends historical narratives, legal analysis, and literary elements, comprehensively exploring the Supreme Court justices' perspectives on educational inequalities and racial disparities—issues Professor Kiel has dedicated his career to addressing. Notably, Professor Kiel directed the acclaimed documentary "The Memphis 13," shedding light on students' groundbreaking efforts during the segregation era in Memphis. For further exploration, you can access the book and the documentary through the links below. The Transition: Interpreting Justice from Thurgood Marshall to Clarence Thomas: https://eastapt.wixsite.com/daniel-kiel The Memphis 13: http://www.thememphis13.com/

In 2023, Supreme Court justices made news not only for the cases decided but also for their personal conduct. As David Lat and Zach Shemtob noted in an article for The Atlantic, the news stories often involved “financial entanglements between justices and wealthy benefactors.” As Lat and Shemtob discuss with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, the intensity of the public response to the justices’ behavior is more noteworthy than the underlying conduct. They attribute the strong reaction to our current political era, which is not only hyper-partisan but anti-elitist as well. Lat and Shemtob discuss their article, the Supreme Court’s adoption of an ethics code in late 2023, and how concerns over the justices' ethics relate to the current Supreme Court term in this Touro Law Review podcast.

This podcast features a discussion of law and literature with author David Guterson, author of The Final Case and the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning novel Snow Falling on Cedars. Guterson discusses with Associate Dean Rodger Citron the inspirations for The Final Case – including the death of an adopted girl in a rural county in Washington State and the life of his father, an accomplished criminal defense attorney – and what he learned while immersing himself in criminal law and procedure to write the novel

Please join us for this week's episode featuring Lawyer and author Ray Brescia where he discusses his book Lawyer Nation. Professor Zablotsky hosts and the two discuss institutions, methodologies, history, and an analysis of dynamics in the legal system. In his book Lawyer Nation Brescia identifies six forces that represent the most significant challenges facing the legal profession today. Lawyer Nation gives a significant analysis and critique of the legal system but offers concrete ideas on how to fix it.

Please join us for a deep dive between Dean Burch and Dean Zakarin into the switch from the Universal Bar Examination (UBE) to the Next Gen Bar, rolling out in phases starting July 2026. Dean Burch discussed what is now tested, the new format, and gave tips on how students and schools can smoothly adjust to the change.

Few lawyers know who Martin Manton was. Even fewer, if any, law students learn about Manton while in school. That may change with the Hon. Gary Stein’s recent biography of Manton, Justice for Sale: Graft, Greed, and a Crooked Federal Judge in 1930s Gotham. (See Justice for Sale: Graft, Greed, and a Crooked Federal Judge in 1930s Gotham: Stein, Gary: 9781493072569: Amazon.com: Books) Judge Stein tells the history of Judge Manton’s rapid rise – President Woodrow Wilson appointed Manton, then 36-years old, to the federal district court in 1916, then elevated him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit two years later. As a judge, Manton continued to be involved in a number of businesses, including real estate ventures on which he had given mortgages. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Manton desperately needed money and turned to selling his office, repeatedly soliciting payments from lawyers and litigants arguing cases before him. Judge Stein calculates that Manton received improper payments of about $823,000 – about $17 million today. Ultimately, in 1939, Manton was publicly exposed. This led to his resignation, prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment. As Judge Stein discusses with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, the story of Manton’s corrupt conduct on the bench is an extraordinary tale. Manton was friends with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, served on the Second Circuit with, among others, the Hon. Learned Hand, and nearly was appointed to the United States Supreme Court in the 1920s. This may seem like ancient history, but Judge Stein’s book reminds us that judges – even federal judges – are human, subject to the same flaws and foibles as the rest of us. That is a timely lesson that is still instructive today.

Brief Summary: Cybercrime has become a topic of discussion in the last few years. In this Touro Law Review podcast, Nicole E. Osborne, an Associate at Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C., speaks about her experience and daily life as a member of the firm’s Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Practice Group. Nicole Osborne began with her journey to this world. Her path was more untraditional and she was in the right spot at the right time. Nicole gives advice to any student that wants to find a job in this practice area to take any available courses in law school, write a paper on cybersecurity, or work as an intern in a firm that has such a department. Alternatively, she noted that there are a lot of traditional practice areas that lend themselves perfectly to cybersecurity such as health care law. Nicole tells us that this is a very unpredictable area because of the phone calls that can come in any second due to data breaches. Everyday is different and it is a very interdisciplinary area of law. Dean Zakarin then asked Nicole to specifically discuss data breaches– something Nicole deals with frequently and is very passionate about.

This Podcast featured Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks, where he discussed his role as a magistrate, his path to get there, and advice to practitioners. Judge Wicks began discussing his various roles and positions as an attorney prior to his judgeship. He first became acquainted with the federal courts when he clerked for the Honorable Judge Arthur Spatt. Judge Spatt had a large influence on him and told him to consider becoming a Judge. As Judge Wicks stated, the good things that Judge Spatt did on the bench made it a "calling" for me to become a Judge. Judge Wicks then spoke to the extremely thorough process of becoming a magistrate judge and the difference between his role as an Article I judge from that of an Article III judge. He stated the extensive application process, which consists of two panels, interviews, and an FBI investigation. Additionally, the Judge discussed what cases he personally presides over as well as the ability for certain cases to agree for him to take over the case instead of district court judge. The Judge also advised how to navigate discovery disputes, and discussed the reputations of lawyers and how fast those reputations are built in the courts and what battles attorneys should pick.

When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question,” he surely could not have anticipated all of the pending legal cases against former President Donald Trump. Nevertheless, here we are nearly two centuries later, with four criminal prosecutions and one civil case pending and another civil case likely to be filed soon against Trump. Thane Rosenbaum, Distinguished University Professor at Touro University, joins us on the Touro Law Review Podcast to help make sense of the legal cases against Trump. After describing the cases, Rosenbaum explains to Associate Dean Rodger Citron what he finds problematic about each one. The conversation focuses on the four criminal cases: the New York “hush money” case; the federal classified documents case in Florida; the federal January 6 case pending in Washington, D.C.; and the Georgia election interference case. Brought to you by the Touro Law Review.

This Podcast featured Associate Professor and Associate Dean TIffany C. Graham regarding her role on the New York State Advisory Committee. Professor Zablotsky moderated this podcast, where he asked Professor Graham questions about her role and work on the Committee, which led to a discussion of the racial disparities that black families face. Tiffany C. Graham is the Associate Dean for Diversity & Inclusion and Associate Professor of Law at Touro Law Center in Long Island, New York. Professor Graham primarily teaches in the areas of constitutional law and race and the law, but has also taught criminal procedure, law and sexuality, and torts. She has written and spoken nationally on topics broadly related to LGBTQ+ equality, including marriage equality, LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, conversion therapy, and the integration of LGBTQ+ communities in rural spaces. Her work has appeared in multiple journals, most recently in the Creighton Law Review and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review, and has been cited at various stages of appellate litigation. Professor Graham discusses her journey to academia, which occurred when she realized quickly private practice was not her passion but rather, to join a student environment. Professor Graham then dives into a deep discussion of the different committees she was part of and the issues she has worked on.

This Podcast featured Ashley C. Keller who represented the Plaintiff in a recent Supreme Court case, Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (2023). Dean Rodger Citron moderated this podcast, where he asked Mr. Keller questions about his case, the Court's decision, and other constitutional issues that related. Mr. Keller is a founding partner of the firm Keller Postman LLC. He focuses on complex plaintiff side litigation and he is also a proud federalist society member. In this case, he defended a plaintiff regarding the plaintiff's right to sue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He felt very strongly about this case and only requested a dollar as his fee to represent the plaintiff. Mr. Keller knew he would get all the way to the Supreme Court with this case and long behold he did.

Lawyer and author Martin J. Siegel discusses his biography of the Hon. Irving R. Kaufman on this week’s Touro Law Review podcast. Kaufman is most well-known today for having presided over the Cold War espionage case of United States v. Rosenberg, in which Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, a married couple, were charged with conspiring to share atomic secrets with the Soviet Union, found guilty by the jury, and sentenced to death by Judge Kaufman in 1951. Two years later, after numerous appeals, the United States executed the Rosenbergs. Siegel’s biography shows that there was more to Kaufman’s life than the infamous Rosenberg trial. Kaufman, the son of Jewish immigrants, was able and ambitious. His appointment to the federal bench in 1949, at the age of 39, was an extraordinary accomplishment. No less interesting is that after President Kennedy appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1961, Kaufman became one of the more liberal judges on that court. Nonetheless, even today, the Rosenberg case casts a long shadow over Kaufman’s judicial legacy. As Siegel discusses with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, the author benefited from the cooperation of Kaufman’s family while writing the book, enabling him to shed light on the judge’s personal life. The podcast concludes with Siegel sharing his thoughts on the relevance of biography in understanding how judges decide cases and, accordingly, how the law develops through judicial decision-making."

On this episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast, we are joined by the Honorable Sol Wachtler, former Chief of the New York State Court of Appeals. This podcast is moderated by Professor Lauren Wachtler. Judge Wachtler has had an exceptional career. Serving for many years in government, and as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, and later elected to the New York Court of Appeals where he served first as an associate judge and then as its Chief over the course of 14 years.

On this episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast we are joined by guest moderator Professor Lynne Kramer and guest speaker Anthony LaPinta. Anthony LaPinta is one of the top criminal trial lawyers in the State of New York who served as one of the defense attorney's representing Michael Valva in the tragic Valva case in Suffolk County, New York. The podcast discussion is centered around the ability to represent unpopular defendants. Among many other things, Mr. LaPinta explains why he volunteered to represent Michael Valva and how he was able to defend him against charges relating to the death of his son.

On this Touro Law Review podcast, we are joined by John Belcaster, the General Counsel of MSCHF, a Brooklyn-based art collective. MSCHF (pronounced “mischief”) produces artworks that critique and comment on American culture. The podcast discussion with Belcaster focuses on Jack Daniels Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, a trademark case currently pending before the Supreme Court. As he explains, MSCHF filed an amicus brief (available here: MSCHF SUPREME COURT AMICUS BRIEF.indd.) in the Supreme Court that, among other things, asked the Justices and their law clerks to draw pictures – and thereby create art. The purpose of the brief, according to Belcaster, is to illuminate the issues raised by Jack Daniels Properties and to persuade the Court to take a broad view of what constitutes protected artistic expression.

This week on the Touro Law Review podcast we are joined by Lisa Gochman to talk about her experience arguing the case, Charles C. Apprendi Jr. v. New Jersey, in front of the highest court in this country -- The United States Supreme Court.

Please join us for the first podcast of the Spring 2023 semester with guest speaker Professor Michael Lewyn and Dean Citron. Dean Citron and Professor Lewyn discuss what we can expect for future bar exams and decisions to remove zoning questions from the bar exam.

This week's episode of the Touro Law Review Podcast features guest speaker Professor Lisa Pomerantz and our first student moderator Stephanie Stephenson. The two discuss, what Professor Pomerantz has termed, the Arbitration Paradox.