LawsFlaws - NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy NYU Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

In this episode Senior Online Editor Teddy Rube and 2L editor Ian Allen interviewed Professor J. Mauricio Gaona, the author of the article The Perceptional Gap: Rethinking ‘The Migrant Threat’ in JLPP’s issue 25.1. Professor Gaona explored the interdisciplinary approach he took in the piece—combining physics, neuroscience, and philosophy—and explained why wealthy nations like the United States treat certain immigrants like threats instead of with compassion. Professor Gaona explained why a reorientation in how our legal system assesses threats and the “other” is critical to creating a more realistic, more efficient, and more compassionate system of migrant support that will benefit migrants themselves and the countries receiving them. Along the way, he spoke powerfully about his career-long work in human rights and how his roots in Colombia have inspired his work.  

In this episode, our editors Sophia Mietus, Michael Beckwith, and Teddy Rube sat down with attorney and advocate Aliza Shatzman to discuss the difficulties in holding federal judges accountable for harassment and abuse of their law clerks, and analyzed a possible legislative solution in Congress: the Judicial Accountability Act. Drawing from her own harrowing experience in the federal judiciary, Shatzman deconstructed the power structures that keep clerks, professors, and students from discussing federal abuses who are abusing their authority. The group discussed how federal legislation extending Title VII to the judiciary could provide protections for clerks and create a stronger culture for judges and clerks alike, and explored potential objections and responses to the legislation. 

Aliza Shatzman is an attorney and advocate who writes and speaks on the subject of harassment in the judiciary. You can read some of her writing on the Judicial Accountability Act in JLPP's companion outlet, Quorum.

In this episode, our editors Jamie DiMario and Teddy Rube sat down with Jalakoi Solomon and Salim Zymet from Made to Save, a grassroots initiative dedicated to ensuring communities of color disproportionately impacted by the pandemic have access to COVID-19 vaccines and accurate, timely information about public health resources.

In particular, Jalakoi and Salim spoke about How Made to Save helped build a network of community organizations and activists to create trust in public health institutions during the height of the pandemic. They explained their strategy for using community messengers to effectively combat misinformation and help communities of color access and build public health infrastructure. And they discussed how their model of messaging and organizing can be used to address issues of misinformation and unequal resource distribution in other areas.

In this episode, our editors Dan Lipkowitz and Michael Beckwith sat down with Professor John P. Collins, Jr. to discuss the legal and political features of nominating and confirming federal judges. In particular, their discussion analyzed the nomination and confirmation strategies recently used by the Biden administration in comparison with its predecessors. The conversation concluded with a discussion of Supreme Court vacancies and how the nomination and confirmation of a Supreme Court justice differs from other federal judges.

Professor Collins is a Visiting Associate Professor at the George Washington University School of Law. His scholarship focuses on court administration, court reform, and the judiciary. His insights on the judicial nomination process have been featured in Reuters, Bloomberg Law, The New York Law Journal, The National Law Journal, and Law360 and his most recent article “Judging Biden” appears in the SMU Law Review Forum.

Representative David Price (NC-04) discusses his work on H.R. 1, the omnibus election reform bill in Congress, rising attempts to delegitimize democracy at home and abroad, and how the structure of Congress has responded to growing political polarization. Representative Price also discusses the new edition of his book "The Congressional Experience (Transforming American Politics)," analyzing Congress’ structure.

In this episode, Professor Kim Taylor-Thompson and Professor Anthony Thompson answer a deceptively simple question: “Why are Black Lives Matter and its advocacy goals now gaining momentum now?” In a wide-ranging conversation, the professors touch on racial biases in policing and education, the coronavirus pandemic, the movement to defund the police, and concrete steps that can be taken to address systemic racism.

Kim Taylor-Thompson is a Professor of Clinical Law at NYU School of Law. Her teaching and scholarship focus on the impact of race and gender in public policy – particularly criminal and juvenile justice policy – and the need to prepare lawyers to meet the demands of practice in and on behalf of marginalized communities. Before academia, Taylor-Thompson spent a decade at The D.C. Public Defender Service, ultimately serving as its director. Taylor-Thompson received her J.D. from Yale Law School and her B.A. from Brown University.

Anthony Thompson is a Professor of Clinical Law at New York University School of Law. His scholarship focuses on race, offender reentry, criminal justice issues and leadership. Prior to his appointment to the NYU faculty, Professor Thompson served for nine years as a Deputy Public Defender in Contra Costa County California. He earned his JD at Harvard Law School and his BS Ed from Northwestern University.

Hosted by Kim Taylor Thompson and Anthony Taylor Thompson; Produced by Patrick Derocher (JD ‘21), Arianne Connell (JD ‘21), and Jennifer Thompson (JD ‘21); Edited by Patrick Derocher (JD ‘21); Published by Serena Warner (JD ‘21)