Foreword

Chief Justice John Roberts reportedly asserts that he seldom reads or relies on law review articles. “Pick up a copy of any law review that you see and the first article is likely to be, you know, the influence of Immanuel Kant on evidentiary approaches in 18th-century Bulgaria, or something, which I’m sure was of great interest to the academic that wrote it, but isn’t of much help to the bar.” 1

The pieces in this issue of Fordham Law’s Faculty Spotlight Journal challenge those critics and show that scholarship by our faculty—doctrinal, interdisciplinary, theoretical, and every combination thereof—does influence the law and has an impact on the real world. We stress how lawyers can use their skills of critical analysis to become thoughtful leaders in the law who question the status quo and make a difference. The work of our faculty contributes to that culture at Fordham Law.

Rebecca Kysar identifies a new category of legislation that Congress could use to overcome inertia. Joseph Landau discusses a number of process-based mechanisms to surface the intent behind facially neutral government action. Research by Andrew Kent, Ethan J. Lieb, and Jed Shugerman shows that clauses in the U.S. Constitution relating to “faithful execution” do not support imperial conceptions of the presidency and instead are connected to a history of limited executive power. Robin A. Lenhardt focuses critical attention on the role family law systems and structures have long played in shaping racial subordination and disadvantage in the United States.

The content of this journal represents a small sample of our faculty’s work. Please visit our website to learn more about the work of all of our professors as well as our renowned student-edited journals, which are among the most cited in the country.

Please enjoy this issue of the Faculty Spotlight Journal and see for yourself how Fordham Law scholarship is making an impact throughout the legal profession and beyond.

Matthew Diller Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law