the DOCKET
A Message from Rutgers Law Dean Johanna Bond
Celebrating a Year of Excellence
It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I invite you to dive into this newsletter outlining the achievements and successes of our academic centers over the past year. We are reminded of the significant impact our faculty, students, staff, and alumni have had within and beyond our campuses in Camden and Newark. These centers serve as the heart of our intellectual and professional mission, fostering deep engagement with some of the most pressing issues we face right now. In each of these spaces, we witness innovation, collaboration, and a commitment to excellence that pushes the boundaries of legal scholarship. Whether tackling questions of constitutional law, defending labor and employment rights, providing impactful research on corporate responsibility, or bringing trial advocacy training to groups worldwide, our academic centers continue to set the standard for what it means to be a leader in legal education. From groundbreaking research on human rights to transformative community partnerships in the criminal justice space, the achievements of the last year speak to the very best of what we stand for. I invite you to explore these accomplishments and consider how you might engage with our community. There are countless ways for you to participate in the ongoing success of our law school. I am excited to share our news and stories with you, and I look forward to celebrating our Centers’ successes with you.
A Message from Rutgers Law Associate Dean Thea Johnson
Leading the Way in Legal Scholarship
With the help of our innovative centers and institutes, Rutgers Law faculty are producing leading scholarship in areas including civil rights law, corporate law, constitutional law, human rights, and philosophy, among others. Two of our faculty members associated with Rutgers research centers, Rose Cuison-Villazor and Katie Eyer, have been named to the Top 100 Legal Scholars of 2024. They exemplify the thoughtful, creative, and deeply important work our faculty engage in across a diverse range of legal scholarship. Beyond law review articles, though, the centers also help our faculty reach the public, judiciary, legal practitioners, and field experts through public-facing reports and programming. The centers are committed to translating scholarship and research into real-world action to help New Jersey, the country, and the international legal community. A huge congratulations to our center and institute directors, affiliated faculty, staff, and students for a productive year that showcases the very best that Rutgers Law has to offer.
State Constitutions and Excessive Criminal Punishments
THE CENTER FOR STATE CONSTITUTIONAL STUDIES co-sponsored a successful day-long symposium in Camden, “State Constitutions and Excessive Criminal Punishments.” Other sponsors included the Brennan Center, the State Law Research Institute, and the Rutgers University Law Review. The October symposium was built around the Keynote Address: the Center-sponsored Robert F. Williams Annual Lecture on State Constitutional Law. Speakers addressed the declining protections offered by the U.S. Supreme Court and the alternative approaches under state constitutions. Papers will be published in the Law Review. The 2025 Williams Lecture will be held in the fall.
Rutgers Law Dean Johanna Bond
Above, Hon. Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Judge, New York Court of Appeals and Professor Emeritus Bob Williams
Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development Thea Johnson
A Hazy Forecast: ESG, Climate, and the Law
THE RUTGERS BUSINESS LAW REVIEW held a symposium on the current landscape of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) as it relates to corporate America. New regulations are cropping up, like the SEC climate rule, which requires companies to standardize how they disclose their carbon emissions. This program, held in April 2024, examined the different avenues that create change in the ESG space, such as government regulation, consumer/investor driven regulation, or incentives such as tax credits. Panelists discussed these topics along with the future of ESG and offered their thoughts on what the best approach might be and whether it will be driven by individual states or the federal government. The Center for Corporate Law and Governance co-sponsored the symposium. Panelists included: Shawn LaTourette, New Jersey’s Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection;
Jurgita Ashley, Partner and Co-chair of the ESG Collaborative, Thomson Hines; Monica Perez Schroeck, Environmental Law Attorney, Norris McLaughlin; David Yawman, current Senior Advisor at BarkerGilmore and former Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of PepsiCo and; Moderator: Douglas Chia, President, Soundboard Governance LLC and Senior Fellow, Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance.
Could AI Replace Human Judges?
VIEWS FROM OVERSEAS: A SEMINAR WITH SUPREME COURT JUSTICES OF POLAND
SUPREME COURT JUSTICES OF POLAND shared their views on whether AI could replace human judges in the future in a fascinating panel discussion in March 2024. The panel was followed by Q&A with attendees. Panelists included Professor Tomasz Szancilo, Justice of the Supreme Court of Poland; Mariusz Zalucki, Justice of the Supreme Court of Poland; and Professor Beata Stepien-Zalucka, Head of the Human Rights Laboratory at the University of Rzeszów, Poland; pictured at right with Professor Yuliya Guseva, Director of CCLG’s Blockchain and Fintech Program; and Professor Doug Eakeley, CCLG Co-Director.
THE CENTER FOR GENDER JUSTICE AND LAW, along with the University of California (UC) Davis Aoki Center for Race and Nation Studies, hosted the Asian American Legal Feminisms Workshop, convened by Rutgers Law Professor and CGJL Director Suzanne Kim and UC Davis School of Law Professor Lisa Ikemoto. A nationwide group of legal scholars participated in the October 2024 workshop, including those from UC Irvine, UC Davis, Fordham, William and Mary, SMU, Brooklyn Law School, Seattle University, and Rutgers.
Distinguished Speaker: Rohit Chopra
ROHIT CHOPRA was the Distinguished Speaker for the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance spring session in April 2024. He served as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) until February 2025. The CFPB is a unit of the Federal Reserve System charged with protecting families and honest businesses from illegal practices by financial institutions, and ensuring that markets for consumer financial products and services are fair, transparent, and competitive.
The Center for Gender Justice and Law hosted a discussion with Seton Hall School of Law Professor Solangel Maldonado about her book, The Architecture of Desire: How the Law Shapes Interracial Intimacy and Perpetuates Inequality (NYU Press 2024). Professor Maldonado discussed how the law influences our most personal and private choices—who we desire and choose as intimate partners—and the psychological, economic, and social effects of these choices. Rutgers Law Professors Suzanne Kim, Aníbal Rosario-Lebrón, Sarah Swan, and David Troutt contributed to the discussion in September 2024.
The Care and Worker Justice Project of the Center for Gender Justice and Law is pleased to serve as a forum for advocates, scholars, and thought leaders on law and policy reform addressing care workers’ legal needs and legal solutions for care needs of all workers. Public education programs have included those on reproductive care issues in the workplace and leading-edge federal protections for pregnant workers and lactating workers. Recent projects included tracking claims of violations of the newly implemented federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and federal PUMP Act.
CGJL co-sponsored, “The Rapidly Changing Landscape of Labor and Employment Law: A View for Agency Leadership.” The October 2024 event was also co-sponsored by The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, the Labor and Employment Law Society of Rutgers Law School (Newark), and the Rutgers Law School Institute for Professional Education.
Rohit Chopra speaking at the CCLG spring session
Use this QR code to access the full issue of Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance newsletter.
Left to right: Professors Swethaa Ballakrishnen, Rana Jaleel, Seema Mohapatra, Suzanne Kim, Lisa Ikemoto, Maggie Chon, Margaret Hu, and Shirley Lin.
Professor Heads to Delhi as Fulbright Specialist
DISTINGUISHED CLINICAL PROFESSOR JC LORE III has traveled the world as an advocacy consultant, training students, lawyers, judges, and other leaders in countries like Japan, China, Ireland, Singapore, Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania. This summer, he will visit India’s National Law University, Delhi (NLU Delhi) as a Fulbright Specialist, where he’ll work to enhance the university’s pro bono initiatives, establish a legal aid clinic, train faculty and students, and build partnerships with the local legal services community.
Lore’s partnership with NLU Delhi began in 2023 when he was part of a team that led a three-day training on child advocacy, teaching lawyers and law professors about childcentered representation and the experiences of children in the legal system. After the sessions, the law school invited him to assist as a Fulbright Specialist in building their clinical legal education, pro bono programs, and skills training. “It was an incredibly exciting proposal,” Lore says. “This is one of the top law schools in India, and any improvements they make could influence many other law schools across the country.”
When Lore begins his six-week tenure at NLU Delhi in July 2025, he will focus on three key objectives. First, he will review and expand the law school’s clinical and pro bono programs and establish a formal Legal Aid Clinic. Second, he will conduct interactive training sessions with faculty and students to enhance their clinical teaching skills. Finally, he will collaborate with local organizations like the Delhi Legal Service Authorities and the National Human Rights Commission to develop training programs aimed at improving local legal awareness and literacy.
“Many law schools worldwide rely heavily on lecture-style teaching,” Lore explains. “But they’re starting to recognize the value of alternative methods for teaching legal skills. Clinical legal education and strong pro bono programs can make a real impact on both students and the broader community.”
Professor Lore is one of over 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist
Program each year. Award recipients are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Throughout his career, Lore has traveled extensively, training attorneys and supporting legal initiatives around the world. For example, he supported the Nigerian government when it established its first forensic lab and trained lawyers from Lagos State’s Office of the Public Defender— the only public defender system in Nigeria, where 63 lawyers serve a population of 23 million.
teaching and taught a course on international negotiation.
In addition to India, Lore’s 2025 travels will take him to Ethiopia in May and Ghana in the fall. “Both countries have recently recognized the right to counsel and established their first public defense systems to provide lawyers for those who cannot afford them,” Lore explains. “My role will be to train these new public defenders.”
In Tanzania and Kenya, he developed legal training programs to combat human and wildlife trafficking. Additionally, as a visiting professor at Jilin University in Changchun, China, he trained faculty on skills-based
It’s a tall order, as each country’s unique needs will shape his approach. However, Lore describes his core focus as advocacy—helping attorneys effectively represent clients in court. “This is my passion,” he says. “I’ve spent most of my career supporting public interest lawyers across the US, and this is a natural extension of that work. Improving these new legal systems has the potential to create widespread change. In Nigeria, for example, we were able to reach all the public defenders in the country. Opportunities like this allow us to make a meaningful impact on the people and communities these systems serve.”
Solutions to Catastrophe Insurance Post-Hurricanes
WITH HURRICANE SEASON BEGINNING IN JUNE, efforts to rebuild following back-to-back Hurricanes Helene and Milton from last season are ramping up across the Southeast US. As a result, the topic of insurance is once again top of mind as residents, first responders, and lawmakers assess billions of dollars in damage and chart a path forward.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Jay M. Feinman, co-director of the Center for Risk and Responsibility (CRR) at Rutgers Law School, is contributing to this ongoing discussion with his paper, “Designing Public Solutions to Catastrophe Insurance Market Failures.” In this Q&A, Feinman breaks down the significant challenges facing both insurers and residents and the importance of asking the tough questions.
What are the biggest issues surrounding disaster insurance that lawmakers and private insurance providers should be examining?
The biggest issue is that most homeowners don’t have the right insurance or enough insurance to cover their losses. Ordinary homeowners’ insurance doesn’t cover flood damage, for example, but according to The Wall Street Journal, 19 out of 20 of homes in Hurricane Helene’s path across Florida’s Big Bend lacked federal flood insurance. As losses grow, insurance companies are cutting back on coverage in ways big and small, increasing deductibles, raising premiums, and even pulling out of many insurance markets altogether.
The lack of coverage matters to individuals, of course, because they won’t have the resources to rebuild their homes. It matters to the economy and society as a whole, too. Without insurance as a backstop, entire communities can be wiped
out, regional economies undermined, and social ties severed.
Why is this an important issue right now?
Climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of catastrophes, so more property owners are subject to more serious losses. In 2023, for example, there were 22 natural disasters with more than a billion dollars in losses each, the most ever in a single year. It’s a national problem—hurricanes in Florida, hailstorms in Minnesota, wildfires in California, even the massive rainstorms of Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina, 300 miles from the coast.
Why haven’t these insurance challenges been adequately addressed thus far?
Politics, of course. People generally don’t pay much attention to insurance until something bad happens. After a catastrophe, interest and
Top photo, Professor JC Lore III; bottom photo, Professor Lore teaching in Kenya
CIJ Director Participates on Fred Korematsu Day Panel
CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE (CIJ)
Director Rose Cuison-Villazor participated in a panel commemorating Fred Korematsu Day at Rutgers Law on January 30. The event was hosted by the Rutgers Law Asian-Pacific American Law Students Association. Since 2023, New Jersey has designated January 30 to commemorate the life and legacy of Fred Korematsu, an American civil rights activist who resisted the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. Korematsu famously defied the government’s Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced
relocation and incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans in camps across the U.S. after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The event discussed Korematsu v. United States (1944) (which upheld E.O. 9066) and Trump v. Hawaii (2018) (which overturned Korematsu) and Fred Korematsu's legacy today. Korematsu's courageous fight is a reminder of the importance of standing up for justice, defending civil rights, and learning from the mistakes of the past to prevent similar injustices from occurring in the future.
Conference Tackles High Drug Prices
TOGETHER WITH CHRISTOPHER LESLIE of the University of CaliforniaIrvine School of Law, Professor Michael Carrier organized and ran the “Competition Policy and Pharmaceutical Markets” conference held in Irvine, California. The purpose of the conference was to bring together the leading scholars on pharmaceutical competition issues and government enforcers to find areas of mutual interest to lower high drug prices.
Know Your Rights
PROFESSOR ROSE CUISON-VILLAZOR, Center for Immigrant Justice (CIJ) Director, CIJ fellows Arman Aliasgharpour, Kristina Goshorn, and Chaewon Park, and other faculty and community members affiliated with the CIJ, including Associate Dean Randi Mandelbaum, Professor Jessica Rofé, and Professor Jason Hernandez, have taken a leadership role in serving as coordinators of a collaboration of New Jersey legal providers and advocates advancing the rights of immigrants and their families.
Among other things, they have been conducting Know Your Rights training for Rutgers University faculty, students, and staff and immigrant communities all over New Jersey.
In addition, CIJ received another $50,000 grant to research the implementation of the New Jersey Professional Licensing Law (passed in 2020), which allows individuals to apply for professional licenses regardless of immigration status.
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activity surges in Congress, state legislatures, and among regulators. Conflicting interests rise up—consumers and the insurance industry, state and federal governments, regulators with varying perspectives—arguing about how insurance premiums should be set, whether the government should supplement the private market, and who should pay for what. Sometimes changes are made, even more rarely compromise is achieved, but more often things stalemate and interest dies down, at least until the next catastrophe.
What needs to happen for people to get the coverage and support they need?
To fix this problem, we first need to ask the right questions. There are tough choices to be made. If insurance premiums need to increase sharply to cover disaster losses, what if existing homeowners can’t afford to pay? What happens when individual property owners can’t pay to rebuild and the recovery of entire communities is in jeopardy? Insurance mostly is regulated at the state level, but should the federal government play a bigger
role, as it does with flood insurance? Put more broadly, is protection against loss an individual responsibility or a shared responsibility?
What can the average person do to address this issue?
People should first check their own insurance policies. Think of all the types of large losses that could happen, even if they are unlikely, and see if your homeowner’s policy would cover them. If it doesn’t, check with your insurance company to see if broader coverage is available and if you want to pay for it. At least some of the answers to those questions likely will be unsatisfactory, so if you want to press further, check with your state insurance department or legislators and see if they are thinking about these problems. There are no easy answers, but ignoring the problem only will make things worse.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus Jay M. Feinman, co-director of the Center for Risk and Responsibility (CRR) at Rutgers Law School
Photo at right: Participants in RIIPL co-sponsored conference on Antitrust and Pharmaceutical Markets
Professor Chris Kwok and Professor Rose Cuison-Villazor
Professor Randi Mandelbaum, Associate Dean of Clinical Education in Newark, presenting at a Know Your Rights session for Rutgers-Newark staff at Express Newark
Film Screening Explores Censorship and Campus Activism
Professor Sahar Aziz, Rutgers Center for Security, Race, and Rights Director, and Jennifer Ruth, Co-Director of the film “The Palestine Exception”
THE RUTGERS CENTER FOR SECURITY, RACE, AND RIGHTS (CSRR) hosted a screening of “The Palestine Exception,” followed by a conversation with the film’s Co-Director Jennifer Ruth on February 24. The documentary brings together insights from scholars to explore the limitations placed on discussions about Palestine within academic institutions. The documentary delves into the broader climate of suppression, from congressional hearings on antisemitism to the backlash against campus activism. The film critically examines how anti-war, pro-Palestinian human rights rhetoric has been incorrectly labeled hate speech and how these narratives shape university policies and disciplinary actions against students.
Through interviews with both faculty and student organizers, “The Palestine Exception” situates the current struggle for Palestinian justice within a larger historical framework, drawing parallels to past moments of campus activism, including McCarthy-era blacklists and student movements of the 1970s. The documentary sheds light on the challenges of advocating for Palestinian rights in an academic setting, illustrating both the risks of repression and the continued advocacy for free intellectual discourse.
Following the screening, Professor Sahar Aziz, Director of CSRR, led a discussion with Ms. Ruth, delving into the broader implications of censorship and political assaults on higher education. Their conversation examined how bad-faith allegations of antisemitism are used to stifle free speech and silence criticism of Israeli policies. The documentary screening provided a space for analyzing the challenges faced by students and scholars who support Palestinian human rights and engage in anti-war protests in the United States.
The Center for Security, Race and Rights at a Glance
IMPACTFUL EVENTS: The Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR) events feature unparalleled experts and powerful testimony about the issues that matter most to Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. Over the years, CSRR hosted over 60 lectures that have educated tens of thousands of listeners on topics that don’t get nearly enough attention. Featured speakers are renowned scholars and experts of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. Among them are Rashid Khalidi, Sheryll Cashin, Marc Lamont Hill, Kenneth Roth, Khaled Beydoun, and Aslı Ü. Bâli. Events this academic year include:
Democracy and Ethnonationalism Lecture Series
Countries across the world are experiencing an alarming rise in ethnonationalism, including in Western self-described democracies. Expressed in racial or religious exclusionary terms, these often-violent movements are led or enabled by governments as a means of scapegoating minorities for failed policies and poor governance. In the most extreme cases, these contemporary ethnonationalist movements seek to ethnically cleanse or eliminate an entire religious or racial minority from the nationstate. The Democracy and Ethnonationalism Lecture Series, hosted by the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights, brings to the forefront diverse perspectives and the lived
experiences of minorities collectively harmed by ethnonationalism in Europe, India, Israel and North America.
Humanizing Palestine Lecture Series
American taxpayers fund the Israeli army with $4 billion per year. However, many know little about the Palestinians who live under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza or as citizens of Israel. Moreover, when Palestinians are discussed in American media or the halls of power, they are often portrayed through a terrorism lens that reinforces false Islamophobic and anti-Arab stereotypes. The Humanizing Palestine Lecture Series, hosted by the Rutgers Center for Security, Race and Rights, features scholars who highlight the lived experiences, voices, culture and political analysis of Palestinians and their allies.
First-of-its-kind podcast: CSRR is home to The Race and Rights Podcast, which features scholars, lawyers, and other experts discussing current events impacting the civil and human rights of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities at home and abroad. Their critical analysis brings to light the experiences often overlooked in mainstream media. Host Sahar Aziz engages with academics and experts that provide critical analysis of law, policy, and politics that center the experiences of under-represented communities in the United States and the Global South.
CSRR Director Sahar Aziz attending the Ramadan Iftar hosted by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy in March 2024.
report.
Exploring International Law in Buenos Aires
FOR HANI JAWABRAH, A THIRD-YEAR STUDENT at Rutgers Law School, international law is more than just an academic interest—it’s a means for citizens and civilians to have their voices heard in disputes between states. So when he discovered an internship opportunity through the Center for Transnational Law (CTL) that would allow him to work with a nonprofit organization in Buenos Aires, he jumped at the chance.
From July to August 2024, Jawabrah interned at Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending the rights of the most disadvantaged groups in society and strengthening democracy in Argentina. “I was eager to learn as much as I could from the experience,” he says. What he found when he arrived was a welcoming and collaborative work environment, where supervisors asked about his interests and tailored assignments to align with them.
One of Jawabrah’s main tasks was researching the Inter-American Human Rights System, and exploring ways the Argentinian government and legal organizations could apply international laws to address major issues. “One challenge we identified was that even when Argentinian courts could comply with certain international laws, the process was often slow and complex,” Jawabrah explains. “One potential solution I
Old Law and New War Symposium
THE RUTGERS CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW (CTL) CO-SPONSORED THE SYMPOSIUM, “Old Law and New War: International Humanitarian Law and Conflict 75 Years After the Geneva Conventions.” The all-day symposium, presented by the Rutgers International Law and Human Rights Journal, took place in February 2025 at the law school in Newark. CTL Founding Director Jorge Contesse was one of the panelists on the topic: “Post-Conflict Justice and Recovery: Addressing War’s Aftermath and the Role of International Legal Institutions.”
found was connecting with international civil society groups and legal organizations, and informing them about the standards set by the InterAmerican Human Rights System. This way, they could integrate these standards into their funding strategies and action plans.”
Professor Jorge Contesse, founding director of CTL, said, “Law is a global phenomenon. Allowing our students to have exposure to other legal cultures is critical to making them better lawyers. That’s the goal of CTL summer internships.”
As Jawabrah looks ahead to life after graduation, he hopes to focus on international law. “I’m from Palestine and the Middle East— the majority of my family lives in the West Bank,” he says. He says he would love for his work to address critical issues in the region.
Regardless of where his career takes him, Jawabrah knows the lessons he learned in Buenos Aires will stay with him for years to come. “I discovered how well I can adapt to a new environment,” he reflects. On the one hand, he had never been to Buenos Aires before; at the same time, he was taking on a
role where he was responsible for conducting research, producing results, and holding himself accountable in a legal setting.
Ultimately, Jawabrah offers strong encouragement for other students considering an international internship. “Anyone who has the chance to intern abroad through the Center for Transnational Law should absolutely do it,” he says. “I’m incredibly grateful for the experience and would highly recommend it.”
Institute for Law and Philosophy Faculty Achievements
CRESCENTE MOLINA has been awarded the Association of American Law Schools Section on Jurisprudence Future Promise Award for his article, “Exhortative Legal Influence,” published in Law and Philosophy. The award is given annually to a pre-tenure-track or early tenuretrack scholar whose work reflects future promise in both philosophy and law. Use this QR code to access “Human Rights and Transnational Law” podcast.
MATTHEW SHAPIRO has been awarded a Rutgers University Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence, which is awarded annually to five of the “most distinguished young faculty members” across all of Rutgers University in recognition of “truly outstanding contributions to research.”
Hani Jawabrah, ‘25
l to r: Ronald Chen, Rutgers Law School University Professor; Mandira Sharma, Senior International Legal Adviser for the International Commissions of Jurists; Tom Dannenbaum, Fletcher School Associate Professor; and Jorge Contesse, Professor and CTL Founding Director
Professor Matthew Shapiro Associate Professor Crescente Molina
Wrongful Conviction Day
THE RUTGERS CENTER FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE, YOUTH RIGHTS, AND RACE co-hosted an event marking Wrongful Conviction Day.
The annual event in October is spearheaded by the national Innocence Network to increase understanding of the causes of and harms associated with wrongful convictions. It’s also occasion to mobilize efforts to undo, prevent, and hold government accountable for these wrongful convictions.
To mark the day, the Center along with the New Jersey Innocence Project at Rutgers, the Rutgers Law Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic, Criminal Law Society, and American Constitution Society hosted the program featuring exoneree Armond McCloud and civil rights attorneys Baree Fett and Gabriel Harvis. Rutgers Law students and faculty helped vacate McCloud’s conviction in 2023. He was forced to falsely confess, at age 20, to a 1994 fatal shooting and spent 29 years in prison.
The Hard Road Home
THE RUTGERS CENTER FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE, YOUTH RIGHTS, AND RACE hosted an interactive event, “The Hard Road Home: The Reality of Reentry,” in November 2024. It was an immersive simulation exercise in which participants tried to navigate the barriers confronting people returning from prison. A group of formerly incarcerated actors played the roles of the parole and law enforcement officers, court and government agency personnel, landlords, shelter workers, and others who determine whether returning citizens will find essential support and stability in the community. Damon Venable, Community Affairs and Policy Specialist with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender (and the first formerly incarcerated person to be hired by the OPD) gave the keynote.
“Sing
Sing”
Screening and Panel Highlights Redemption and Art
“WE’RE HERE TO BECOME HUMAN AGAIN.”
That is perhaps one of the most powerful lines in the critically acclaimed film, “Sing Sing.”
The movie is a lightly fictionalized account of a theater program that has operated inside New York’s Sing Sing prison for many years. The Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) program has been so successful that it now operates in eight correctional facilities nationwide.
Likewise, the movie about RTA has been so successful that it was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Actor (Colman Domingo), Best Song (Fly Like a Bird), and Best Adapted Screenplay. Founding RTA member “Divine G” Whitfield, one of the nominated writers who was portrayed by Domingo’s lead character, spoke on a panel after a screening at Rutgers Law School in Newark on January 30. Whitfield also stars in the film along with several former RTA participants in leading roles.
“Creative arts is an explosive expression of humanity,” he said. “It allows us to connect with each other on mind-boggling levels.”
Rutgers Law School’s Center for Criminal Justice, Youth Rights, and Race (CJYRR) hosted the screening and panel the day before it was released on streaming platforms. This is the second in a series CJYRR is planning this year. “Artistic expression is essential to the survival and well-being of every human being, including those who are imprisoned,” said Professor and CCJYRR Director Laura Cohen. “We are thrilled and honored to have three extraordinary artists share their experiences, vision, and passion for the arts with the Rutgers community.”
Two other returning citizens, Shakoure Charpentier and Christopher White, spoke about artistic expression being crucial to their survival on the inside and the journey home. Charpentier spent part of his 25 years in prison at Sing Sing with Whitfield. He also participated in the Story Arts and Theater Collaborative at Otisville Correctional Facility in New York.
“Men and women can change. They can refocus,” Charpentier said. “They can grow new behavioral stem cells. The program allowed us to see a side of ourselves we didn’t realize was there all along.”
Charpentier is now an award-winning writer, youth mentor, non-profit founder, and business owner.
Whitfield says RTA participants have a recidivism level of 3% compared to 60% of the national average. The lifesaving program helps improve social and communication skills and helps participants manage emotions. Whitfield said it was a critical conduit to expel negative energy having been locked away nearly 25 years for a crime he didn’t commit. According to Whitfield, “Sing Sing” the film is now helping to highlight a large population of prisoners trying to improve themselves through programs like RTA.
“Our mission was to give our audiences an entirely different view of prisons,” he said. “We always see the violence and intense drama. That’s true, but there’s another side. ‘Sing Sing’ is another side.”
The movie is far from Whitfield’s only creative accomplishment. He has published eight novels, some from Sing Sing while he was incarcerated. Seven of those novels have been adapted into screenplays. Since his release, he’s traveled on Lil Wayne’s international tour as a stage manager. Though the film didn’t pick up any Oscars, he said going to the Academy Awards on March 2 was like flying on cloud nine.
Panel from left to right: Christopher White, Shakoure Charpentier, and “Divine G” Whitfield
“Divine G” Whitfield in a scene with Colman Domingo from the film ‘Sing Sing.’
“Equitable Growth in the City: Problems, Approaches, and Public Scholarship” Conference
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR DAVID TROUTT, founder of the Center on Law, Inequality, and Metropolitan Equity (CLiME), opened a conference at Rutgers Law in April 2024 on equitable growth with a reflective speech. He discussed CLiME’s inception seven years ago with former Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s support, highlighting its commitment to tackling urban challenges like housing, education, and social mobility through actionable public scholarship. Troutt proudly referenced CLiME’s pivotal publication, “Making Newark Work for Newarkers,” as foundational in setting their research agenda focused on addressing structural inequalities in Newark and similar urban environments.
The conference opened with its first panel, “Visions of an Equitable Newark: Now and in the Future.” Howard Gillette, the first panel speaker and founder of Rutgers’ Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities, discussed themes from his upcoming book, “The Paradox of Urban Revitalization.” He explored the complex dynamics between urban investment and demographic changes, emphasizing the necessity of equitable development measures in Newark, such as those under Mayor Baraka’s administration which ensures affordable housing in new developments and promotes inclusive city planning practices.
Dr. Denise Rodgers, Vice Chancellor for Interprofessional Programs at Rutgers Health,
Expansion at the Center on Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity
focused on the complexities of urban health and homelessness. She expressed gratitude for the innovative approaches initiated by Troutt and for the guidance from Chancellor Cantor. Detailing her tenure as chair of Newark’s homelessness commission, Rodgers highlighted the collective efforts that curtailed major COVID-19 outbreaks in shelters. However, she criticized the poor conditions within these shelters and underscored the discrepancies in mental health and substance abuse data, advocating for robust, compassionate policies that address these issues directly.
Moderator Mussab Ali introduced Vivian Cox Fraser, CEO of the Urban League, who has transformed the organization into a pivotal community development corporation since 2004. Fraser discussed the evolution from focusing on social services to tackling systemic issues like property ownership and capital distribution. She emphasized the importance of local ownership in fighting gentrification,
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SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW JOSHUA MILLER
n Reimagining Criminal Justice: Leveraging Federal Grants to Foster Community-Based Criminal Justice Programs
n The Invisible Black Man: A Great Opportunity for Democrats in 2024 and Beyond
n Legislative Briefing: New Jersey’s Community Wealth Preservation Act
ANDRÉA MADDAN’S “WHAT TO DO”
n Tax Foreclosure
n Mortgage Foreclosure
n Mortgage and Tax Foreclosures
Tackling
the Infrastructure of Inequality
In 2025, CLiME continues its expansion in order to inform policies addressing what director David Troutt calls “the infrastructure of inequality” in New Jersey and beyond.
“These pillars include housing, civil rights enforcement, economic development and equitable governance,” he said. Housing studies will proliferate under the supervision of a new (and returning) Assistant Director of Housing, Dr. Katharine (Katie) Nelson. Her primary role is the build out and oversee CLiME’s Housing Studies Initiative. Katie is a housing and community development expert, with sophistication in GIS, program evaluation, spatial analysis, and quantitative and mixed methods research. Her work emphasizes the role of finance in ongoing segregation and inequality, particularly in access to affordable housing and mortgage credit.
New and Expanding Initiatives
In the spring semester alone, over a dozen CLiME fellows from Newark, Camden and New Brunswick are engaging in projects ranging from state discrimination law reforms to critical changes in New Jersey’s cities to racial integration in Camden County. CLiME is pursuing possible legislative safeguards, examining the real costs of higher rents, updating gentrification in three North Jersey cities, and following the growth of a corporate residential investor lobby seeking influence over state-wide policies in a gubernatorial election year.
Assistant Director Dr. Katharine (Katie) Nelson Senior Research Fellow Anna Griffith
The CLiME Civil Rights Initiative
CRI will study the current state of civil rights doctrines in the United States. Fulltime staff will examine case law trends and doctrinal challenges while engaging in interdisciplinary study related to factual issues in contemporary civil rights litigation. Senior Research Fellow Anna Griffith helps drive CRI with advice on DEI and public universities in an era of stricter scrutiny. Anna is lending her prodigious research and writing skills to work on the shape of civil rights doctrine in the backlash to racial reckoning.
CLiME
Conference panelists, Staci Berger, Richard Cammarieri, Joseph Della Fave, Aisha Glover, Allison Ladd, Raymond Ocasio, and Judith Thompson-Morris
New Book Examines How the Weaponization of Expertise Fuels Populism
RUTGERS LAW PROFESSORS JACOB HALE
RUSSELL AND DENNIS PATTERSON published their new book, The Weaponization of Expertise: How Elites Fuel Populism (MIT Press). They developed the book out of a course taught at Rutgers Law, “Populism and the Law.” In the book published on March 4, they argue that misuse of experts has contributed to the rise of populism, using the COVID-19 pandemic as a key example. The book critiques “three dimensions of a flawed elite mindset”— condescension, technocratic paternalism, and intellectual tyranny—that stifle debate and contribute to polarization. The authors call for a more honest and open approach to public discourse to avoid repeating the mistakes made during the pandemic and to prevent future crises from further undermining trust in expertise.
Jacob Hale Russell is an Associate Professor of Law at Rutgers Law School. Jacob began his career as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal He now teaches business and property law. He studies the design of policy and institutions that are fair and responsive. His scholarship examines how insights from political science, psychology, finance, and economics can improve the effectiveness of legal policies and institutions.
Coerced Debt, Identity Theft and Financial Exploitation
THE RUTGERS CENTER FOR CORPORATE LAW AND GOVERNANCE—TOGETHER WITH THE RUTGERS CENTER FOR GENDER LAW AND JUSTICE and the Norwegian Research Council’s Social Security and Dignity Identities Project—hosted a working conference on “Coerced Debt, Identity Theft, and Financial Exploitation.” This June 2024 conference brought together 20 of the foremost identity theft and coerced debt experts from around the world, including academics, lawyers, advocates, and even cryptologists. Conference participants included members of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), the Center for Information Technology at Princeton, the Legal Aid Society, and Volunteer Lawyers for Justice, among many others. The conference addressed the financial exploitation of vulnerable groups, with a focus on exploitation and injustice around gender, age, ethnicity, and disability. Conference participants shared research, data, and case examples, and strategized and problem-solved together.
Dennis Patterson is a Board of Governors Professor at Rutgers Law School and Professor of Legal Philosophy at Surrey Law School in the United Kingdom. His expertise is in commercial law, trade law, and legal philosophy. He has been a visiting professor at the universities of Berlin, Vienna, Texas, and
Top 100 Legal Scholars
RUTGERS LAW SCHOOL PROFESSORS ROSE CUISON-VILLAZOR AND KATIE EYER were recently named to the Top 100 Legal Scholars of 2024 list. This distinction is the result of a unique study by researchers at George Mason University, which ranks scholars based on their recent, influential law review articles rather than lifetime contributions. According to the study’s authors, “This approach allows for the recognition of a broader range of scholars who have produced influential work.” Notably, Rutgers Law School outperformed its US News & World Report ranking with two scholars— both women—earning spots in the top 100.
Rose Cuison-Villazor
Professor of Law Rose Cuison-Villazor is Rutgers Law School’s Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar and serves as director of the Center for Immigrant Justice. She previously served as vice dean (2019-2021) and interim co-dean (20212023), becoming the first Filipina American dean of a U.S. law school. Her research explores how laws, policies, and societal norms influence community inclusion and exclusion, particularly in immigration and citizenship law, property law, and race and the law. Her scholarship has appeared in top law journals such as California Law Review, Columbia Law Review, Harvard Law Review Forum, Michigan Law Review, and New York University Law Review Cuison-Villazor is co-editor of three casebooks, including Immigration and Citizenship: Process and Policy (10th Ed.) (forthcoming 2026); Integrating Spaces: Property Law and Social Identity (2nd Ed.) (2023); and Race and Races: Cases and Resources for a Diverse America (4th Ed.) (2022). She is currently working on two books: a monograph entitled Forbidden Love: Race, Citizenship, and the American Family (forthcoming 2027) and a co-written book, AsianCrit at the Intersections (with Robert Chang) (forthcoming 2027)
“I am deeply honored to be included on this list along with my colleague and friend, Katie Eyer,” says Cuison-Villazor. “My scholarship delves into how laws and policies shape our
Georgetown. He is also the author of numerous books and articles in law and philosophy.
Use this QR code to learn more about The Weaponization of Expertise.
understanding of who belongs—questions that are more urgent and relevant than ever in today’s world. As a first-generation lawyer and an immigrant, my perspective is informed not only by legal definitions of membership, but also by the ways these laws intersect with race, gender, class, and other critical factors. I am truly grateful that my work is making a meaningful impact.”
Katie Eyer
An affiliated faculty of the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance, Professor of Law Katie Eyer is an anti-discrimination law teacher, scholar, and litigator, and a leading expert in LGBTQ employment rights, social movements, and constitutional change. Her 2019 article, Statutory Originalism and LGBT Rights, is widely credited with originating the textualist argument that the Supreme Court adopted in the 2020 case Bostock v. Clayton County, the landmark decision that recognized anti-LGBTQ discrimination as a form of sex-based discrimination under Title VII. Her scholarship has been published in top law journals such as Yale Law Journal, University of
Board of Governors Professor Dennis Patterson and Associate Professor Jacob Hale Russell
Jessica Kitson, Volunteer Lawyers for Justice; Laura Russell, The Legal Aid Society; and Professor Andy Rothman, Rutgers Law Associates
Faculty Publications
CENTER FOR CORPORATE LAW AND GOVERNANCE
Sarah Dadush
n Draft Model Clauses for Responsible Investing: Call for Consultation, Business Law Today, February 2025.
n Responsible Contracting in Sustainable Procurement, chapter, United Nations Global Compact, February 2025.
n What the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Says About Contracts, policy brief, Responsible Contracting Project, July 2024.
Katie Eyer
n Anti-Transgender Constitutional Law, 77 Vand. L. Rev. 1113 (2024).
n As-Applied Equal Protection, 59 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev 49 (2024).
n Textualism and Progressive Social Movements, U Chi. L. Rev. Online (2024).
n (with Karen Tani) Disability and the Ongoing Federalism Revolution, 133 Yale L. J. 839 (2024).
Douglas Eakeley
n (with Yuliya Guseva and Sangita Gazi) On the Coexistence of Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies, Law and Contemporary Problems (2024).
Matteo Gatti
n (with Martin Gelter) Barking without Biting: How Corwin Did Not Change M&A, Fordham Law Legal Studies Research Paper No.4988673 (2024).
n How the EU Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Could Reshape Corporate America, 78 Stanford Law Review (forthcoming).
Jonathan Gingerich n Democratic Vibes, 32 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 1135 (2024).
Yuliya Guseva n Decentralized Markets and Self-Regulation, George Washington Law Review (2024).
n (with Adam C. Pritchard, Irena Hutton, and Joseph Grundfest) SEC Rulemaking: An Empirical Analysis of Comments and Memoranda (2025).
Reid Kress Weisbord n Joint Bank Accounts: Who Needs Them? Iowa Law Review (forthcoming 202526).
TOP 100 LEGAL SCHOLARS
continued from page 10
Pennsylvania Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Vanderbilt Law Review, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, and others.
Before joining the Rutgers Law faculty, Eyer was a leading LGBTQ employment rights litigator. In 2005, she founded the Employment Rights Project at Equality Advocates Pennsylvania, one of the nation’s first initiatives dedicated to
Reid Kress Weisbord (continued)
n Restricted Charitable Gifts to the Government, Yale Law Journal Forum (forthcoming 2025-26).
CENTER FOR GENDER JUSTICE AND LAW
Carlos A. Ball
n Progressive Constitutionalism and its Libertarian Discontents, 68 St. Louis U. L.J. (2024).
Suzanne A. Kim
n Bringing Visibility to AAPI Reproductive Care After Dobbs, 71 UCLA L. Rev Disc. 318 (2024).
n On “Self” Care, 57 Conn. L. Rev. 317 (2025).
Aníbal Rosario-Lebrón
n (with Jamie Abrams and Daniela Kraiem) Gender and the Law (Thomson Reuters, 2024-25 Ed.)
Sarah L. Swan
n Constitutional Backfires Everywhere, 25 U. Pa. J. Const. L. 311 (2023).
CENTER FOR IMMIGRANT JUSTICE
Rose Cuison Villazor
n Creating a Racialized Liminal Status: The 1790 Act and Interstitial Citizenship, William and Mary Law Review (2024).
n Rewriting Downs v. Bidwell, ___ Cardozo L. Rev. ___ (2025).
CENTER ON LAW, INEQUALITY AND METROPOLITAN EQUITY
David D. Troutt
n Urban Renewal’s Grandchildren: Remedying the Persistent Effects of Post-War Race Planning, 52 Fordham Urb. L.J. (2024).
CENTER FOR SECURITY, RACE AND RIGHTS
Sahar Aziz
n Islamophobia in Russia: Ethnicity, Migration, and National Security (in Global Islamophobia in an Era of Populism) (Oxford Press 2024) (co-authored with Sarah Calderone).
n Legally White, Socially Brown: Racialization of Middle Eastern Americans, Routledge Handbook on Islam and Race (ed. Zain Abdullah) (Routledge Press, 2025).
n The End of Cuban Exceptionalism in American Migration Policy, 25 Rutgers Race & L. Rev. 69 (2024) (co-authored with Gisell Curbelo).
CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW
Jorge Contesse
n Chagos and The Intelligence of a Future Day, Temple International and Comparative Law Journal, Vol. 38 (2024).
n Inter-States Disputes Under the InterAmerican Human Rights System, 13 International Human Rights Law Review (2024).
n Implementation of Human Rights Judgments in Latin America, Time and International Adjudication (Andrea Gattini ed., 2025).
n Constitutional Change from Afar, 76 Rutgers Law Review 1267 (2024).
INSTITUTE FOR INFORMATION POLICY AND LAW
Michael Carrier
n The Antitrust Case Against Live Nation Entertainment, 15 Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law 1 (2024).
n Why Pharmaceutical Patent Thickets Are Unique (with Sean Tu), 32 Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal 79 (2024).
n An Antitrust Analysis of the NCAA Transfer Policy (with Marc Edelman), 11 Texas A&M Law Review 999 (2024).
n Pharmaceutical Antitrust Enforcement in the Biden Administration, Concurrences (2024).
n PBMs and Product Hopping (with Victoria Field), CPI Antitrust Chronicle (2025) (symposium).
INSTITUTE FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY
Adil Haque
n “After War and Peace,” in Jennifer Welsh, Dapo Akande, and David Rodin (eds), The Individualization of War Rights, Liability, and Accountability in Contemporary Armed Conflict (Oxford 2024).
John Oberdiek n “The Trouble with Trespass,” in Leslie Green and Brian Leiter (eds), Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Law, Volume V (Oxford 2024).
Matthew Shapiro n “Recourse, Litigation, and the Rule of Law,” 43 Law and Philosophy 689 (2024).
protecting the employment rights of LGBTQ workers. Her litigation resulted in several precedent-setting decisions that expanded protections for LGBTQ and disabled workers, including one of the first appellate rulings in the country allowing a gay plaintiff’s Title VII claims to proceed to trial.
“It is such an honor to be recognized as one of the Top 100 Legal Scholars of 2024, and I am especially honored to be recognized alongside my esteemed colleague Rose Cuison-Villazor,”
says Eyer. “I was raised most of my childhood by my mother as a single parent: a woman who was herself an academic trailblazer, as the first woman to be tenured in the biology department at Penn. I hope to be a mentor and role model for other women entering academia and the legal profession just as she was to me.”
study.
the DOCKET
Center for Corporate Law and Governance
Douglas S. Eakeley, Co-Director
Vice Dean Arthur B. Laby, Co-Director cclg.rutgers.edu
Center for Criminal Justice, Youth Rights, and Race
Laura Cohen, Director
Center for Gender Justice and Law
Suzanne A. Kim, Director cgslp.rutgers.edu
Center for Immigrant Justice
Rose Cuison-Villazor, Director cij.rutgers.edu
Center for Risk and Responsibility
Jay Feinman, Co-Director Emeritus
Rick Swedloff, Co-Director Adam Scales, Co-Director crr.rutgers.edu
EQUITABLE GROWTH
continued from page 9
challenging the notion that hard work alone can overcome systemic poverty, and advocating for substantial support for homeownership to stabilize community members.
The panel also featured Maria Lopez-Nunez, Deputy Director of Organizing and Advocacy at the Ironbound Community Corporation. She spoke passionately about the transformative legal strides in Newark, particularly the inclusive policies like the right to counsel for all residents, including undocumented individuals. Lopez-Nunez highlighted the city’s environmental justice efforts, critiquing the placement of harmful industrial facilities in minority neighborhoods and advocating for a just transition to a green economy that respects local input and ownership in urban planning. The first panel concluded with a vibrant Q&A session, where the speakers and audience
RUTGERS LAW SCHOOL ACADEMIC CENTERS
Center for Security, Race and Rights
Sahar Aziz, Director csrr.rutgers.edu
Center for Transnational Law
Jorge Contesse, Director ctl.rutgers.edu
Center on Law, Inequality and Metropolitan Equity
David D. Troutt, Director clime.rutgers.edu
Institute for Information Policy & Law
Michael A. Carrier, Co-Director Ellen P. Goodman, Co-Director riipl.rutgers.edu
NEWARK CAMPUS give.rutgersfoundation.org/ rutgers-law-school/
explored various facets of equity in Newark. The discussion touched on the role of capitalism in shaping urban landscapes, the impact of voter turnout on policy effectiveness, and the ethical considerations in addressing homelessness through regional cooperation.
David Troutt moderated the second panel titled “Challenges Behind Affordable Housing,” featuring key insights from various experts. Marcus Randolph, President and CEO of Invest Newark, discussed the Newark Land Bank, a public entity established to revitalize vacant properties into productive use since New Jersey’s 2019 land bank law. He highlighted the land bank’s goals of increasing ownership, reducing blight, and fostering both affordable and market-rate housing, noting challenges in scaling the program and integrating creative subsidies, like the Section 8 voucher program, to aid the transition from renting to homeownership.
Institute for Law and Philosophy
Alex Guerrero, Co-Director
Adil Haque, Co-Director
Doug Husak, Co-Director
John Oberdiek, Co-Director
Dennis Patterson, Co-Director
Matthew Shapiro, Co-Director
Alec Walen, Co-Director lawandphil.rutgers.edu
Center for State Constitutional Studies
Robert F. Williams, Director Emeritus statecon.camden.rutgers.edu
Rutgers Advocacy Center
JC Lore III, Director Staff
Habibah Johnson, Newark Program Coordinator
Katie Sferra, Newark Program Coordinator
Carol Shaner, Camden Program Coordinator
Alan Mallach, a senior fellow at the Center for Community Progress, addressed the persistent issue of high housing costs affecting the poor, advocating for making housing assistance as dependable as SNAP and Medicaid. He emphasized utilizing publicly owned land to improve Newark’s social and physical infrastructure. David Troutt expressed concerns about the daunting gap in affordable housing needs in Newark, with an estimated deficit of 16,000 units. Elana Simon, contributing via Zoom, proposed the strategic use of city-owned properties to manage high land and development costs, introducing a simulation tool to aid in planning for housing and commercial uses that consider social determinants of health. Adenah Bayoh, an entrepreneur and developer, stressed the need for inclusivity in urban development.
CAMDEN CAMPUS give.rutgersfoundation.org/ campuses/
