'Interesting times' in the Land of the Free.
Still, not to worry, I'm absolutely *sure* that those hundreds of
Academic-Freedom Fighters who were so eager to climb on the Dershowitz
band-wagon at the mere thought of having to discuss an academic boycott of
Israel, will be equally incensed at these insidious attacks on freedom of
expression and academic freedom, and equally eager to join in the good
fight....
Jon Cloke
"About three weeks ago Pluto books and the University of Michigan Press -
our US distributor - came under attack by Stand With Us (a Zionist lobby
group) who were objecting to the publication of "Overcoming Zionism" by Joel
Kovel which resulted in the book being withdrawn in the US. The vitriolic
attack questioned the University's relationship with Pluto generally and
denigrated "Overcoming Zionism."
Since then the Executive Board of the University has considered the matter
and issued a public statement. Joel's book has now been reinstated but they
plan to review the ongoing relationship between Pluto and UMP in October.
Pluto Press's importance & presence in the US is under threat.
Joel is setting up a network to rally support for Pluto as we are determined
to defend ourselves. We hope you will help and support our efforts in the US
by writing to Joel and Kathy who are co-ordinating the campaign
<[log in to unmask]> and [log in to unmask]
If you have your own networks, please first go through Joel and Kathy, as
they are co-ordinating the campaign
In the meantime we intend to get the UK media to take notice of these
events.
warmly Roger
Roger van Zwanenberg (Dr)
Chair & Commissioning Editor
Pluto Press
Log on to the new Pluto Website:
www.plutobooks.com
Chemerinsky and Academic Freedom / Chemerinsky, Cohn
Erwin Chemerinsky: Dumped over an Op-Ed
Erwin Chemerinsky, unhired as UC Irvine's founding law school dean, says his
ordeal is a lesson in academic freedom.
By Erwin Chemerinsky
September 14, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-chemerinsky14sep14,0,1499542.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail
After so many years of commenting on the news, it is strange to be the news.
But, in a sense, this story isn't really about me, it's about academic
freedom in our deeply polarized times.
As has been widely reported, on Aug. 16 I was asked to be the founding dean
of the new law school at the University of California at Irvine. After a
couple of weeks of negotiations, I formally accepted the position and signed
a contract on Sept. 4. It always was understood that the job was contingent
on approval of the University of California Board of Regents, and it was to
be on the agenda for the regents' meetings on Sept. 18-20. I was
tremendously excited about the possibility of being part of starting a new
law school at an excellent university.
On Tuesday, Sept. 11, however, the chancellor at UC Irvine, Michael V.
Drake, withdrew the offer. He told me that I had proved to be "too
politically controversial." Those, by the way, were the exact words that he
said I could use to describe the reason for the decision. He told me that he
had not expected the extent of opposition that would develop.
What was it about my views that was too controversial? Only one example was
mentioned: an Op-Ed article I wrote on these pages criticizing a proposed
regulation by then-Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales to shorten the time death
row prisoners have to file their habeas corpus petitions. There are more
than 275 individuals on death row in California without lawyers for their
post-conviction proceedings. The effect of the new rule would be that many
individuals, including innocent ones, would not get the chance to have their
cases reviewed in federal court.
The Op-Ed article was written and published before I was offered the
position as dean. More important, the whole point of academic freedom is
that professors -- and, yes, even deans -- should be able to speak out on
important issues. It would never have occurred to me that arguing against a
proposed federal regulation on behalf of those on death row would be deemed
objectionable. On the ideological spectrum, it is not radical.
Some people, in speaking to me, have compared this to McCarthyism, but in an
important way that analogy is not apt. I did not lose my job. I am a tenured
law professor at a terrific university, and I can continue to teach and
write and handle legal appeals, as I have for the last 28 years. I have
received nothing but support over this from my university president,
provost, dean and colleagues. During the McCarthy era, some faculty members
lost their jobs for what they wrote and said.
A key lesson learned from those tragic times is that academic freedom
matters. Tenure has many costs, but it exists so that academics will feel
free to express themselves without fear of reprisal. It is based on the idea
that everyone benefits from the free exchange of ideas. Without academic
freedom, the reality is that many faculty members would be chilled and timid
in expressing their views, and the discussion that is essential for the
advancement of thought would be lost.
This is not a liberal or conservative proposition. I said to Chancellor
Drake that if I were conservative and my appointment had been blocked by
liberals, the right would be justifiably outraged that "political
correctness" had done me in. The truth is that a person's politics should
play no role in the decision to hire them for a faculty or administrative
position. All that matters is that the individual be committed to creating
an institution where all viewpoints will be respected and flourish. That is
what academic freedom is all about.
My concern is that the message from this episode, especially for my more
junior colleagues who may aspire to be deans someday or, for that matter,
judges, is that if you speak out -- liberal or conservative – you may lose
your chance at a position that you really want.
That's why I decided to answer questions about what happened and to accept
the invitation to write this article. Chancellor Drake initially asked that
I simply say that we had mutually agreed to end my prospective deanship. I
refused and said that all I wanted was that the truth be told. We live in
such ideologically polarized times. It is important for those on both sides
of the ideological spectrum to realize that their common commitment to
academic freedom is far more important than blocking a particular faculty or
dean candidate based on ideology.
What now? I have enormous fondness for the many wonderful people I met at UC
Irvine, and I hope they find a terrific dean and create a great law school –
a school that, like all schools, should be committed to a rich diversity of
ideas and views.
-------------------
Erwin Chemerinsky is a professor of law and political
science at Duke University.
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*****************************************************
Erwin Chemerinsky and the Post-9/11 Attack on Academic Freedom
Marjorie Cohn
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2007/09/erwin-chemerinsky-and-post-911-attack.php
JURIST Contributing Editor Marjorie Cohn of Thomas Jefferson School of Law
says that the rejection of Duke law professor Erwin Chemerinsky by the
administration of the University of California at Irvine as the new dean of
its law school because he is "too politically controversial" is the latest
chapter in the post-September 11 attack on US academic freedom under the
guise of protecting security
----------------------------
One week after renowned legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky was offered the
position of dean of the new law school at the University of California at
Irvine, Chancellor
Michael Drake withdrew the offer, informing Professor Chemerinsky he had
proved to be "too politically controversial." Chemerinsky is one of the most
eminent law teachers and constitutional law scholars in the country. Author
of a leading treatise on constitutional law, he has written four books and
more than 100 law review articles. In 2005, he was named by Legal Affairs as
one of "the top 20 legal thinkers in America."
This is the latest chapter in the post September 11 attack on academic
freedom under the guise of protecting security. Two weeks after 9/11, former
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer cautioned Americans "they need to watch
what they say, watch what they do." The American Council of Trustees and
Alumni, a group founded by Lynne Cheney and Senator Joe Lieberman, accused
universities of being the weak link in the war on terror; it included the
names of 117 "un-American" professors, students and staff members. A few
months later, a blacklisting Internet cite called Campus Watch was launched.
It publishes dossiers on scholars who criticize U.S. Middle East policy and
Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Earlier this year, the Bruin Alumni
Association at UCLA offered students $100 to tape left-wing professors.
In 2003, the American Association of University Professors recalled the
"still-vivid memories of the McCarthy era" and warned of the perils of
sacrificing academic freedom in the war on terror. The premise of their
report was that "freedom of inquiry and the open exchange of ideas are
crucial to the nation's security, and that the nation's security and,
ultimately, its well-being are damaged by practices that discourage or
impair freedom."
At a 2004 conference on academic freedom at UC Berkeley, Professor Beshara
Doumani observed, "Academic freedom in the United States is facing its most
important threat since the McCarthy era of the 1950s. In the aftermath of 11
September 2001, government agencies and private organizations have been
subjecting universities to an increasingly sophisticated infrastructure of
surveillance, intervention, and control. In the name of the war against
terrorism, civil liberties have been seriously eroded, open debate limited,
and dissent stifled."
Art. 9, § 9 of the California Constitution, which sets forth the powers
and duties of the Regents of the University of California, provides, "The
university shall be entirely independent of all political or sectarian
influence and kept free therefrom in the appointment of its regents and in
the administration of its affairs."
Drake denied he was influenced by pressure from donors, politicians or the
UC California Board of Regents. Yet psychology professor Elizabeth Loftus, a
member of the search committee, told the Los Angeles Times that Drake told
the committee he was compelled to make the decision by outside forces whom
he did not identify. Her account was confirmed by a second member of the
committee, who talked to the Times on condition of anonymity.
Chemerinsky has handled several cases in the appellate courts and the U.S.
Supreme Court, and has testified many times before congressional and state
legislative committees, including before the Senate Judiciary Committee in
the Samuel Alito confirmation hearings. Chemerinsky has represented Valerie
Plame Wilson, the CIA agent whose identity was revealed by members of the
Bush administration; a Guantánamo detainee asserting his right to habeas
corpus; a man sentenced to 50 years-to-life under California's three strikes
law; and a person challenging the Texas Ten Commandments monument.
UCI's November 16, 2006 press release announcing the inauguration of the new
law school said, "UCI law graduates will be particularly encouraged to
pursue careers in public service, including non-governmental organizations
and philanthropic agencies. As part of their training, UCI law students will
provide legal services to people who are unable to afford counsel. They also
will be encouraged to pursue public interest law through programs focusing
on underserved communities." Chemerinsky is devoted to public service as
well as legal scholarship and education. He was elected by voters to be a
Commissioner and chaired the Los Angeles Elected Charter Reform Commission;
the new Charter was adopted by voters in 1999. He also spearheaded the Los
Angeles Independent Analysis of the Board of Inquiry Report on the Rampart
Police Scandal, Prepared at the Request of the Police Protective League,
September 2000.
Untold numbers of law students have been helped through law school and the
bar exam by Chemerinsky, including National Lawyers Guild Student Vice
President Teague Briscoe, who said, "Chermerinsky on Constitutional Law
saved my life in law school and I loved him doing the Professional
Responsibility lectures but, most of all, I really dug that he was a
progressive law prof who defends an unpopular client."
David Dow, Adjunct lecturer at the Annenberg School of Journalism and former
veteran CBS correspondent who frequently interviewed Chemerinksy on legal
issues, said, "I can't imagine any considerations that would outweigh the
prospect of launching a law school with an internationally-known,
highly-respected, fair-minded expert at the helm. Apart from his legal and
professional credentials, Erwin has demonstrated an ability to get along
well with colleagues and the community wherever he's been." Dow's words were
echoed by Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer, who called Chemerinsky "the
nicest person in legal education." Conservative law professor Douglas Kmiec
wrote of Chemerinsky, "there is no person I would sooner trust to be a
guardian of my constitutional liberty. Nor is there anyone I would sooner
turn to for a candid, intellectually honest appraisal of an academic
proposal."
One of the "controversial" matters Drake cited to Chemerinsky was an August
op-ed the professor wrote in the Los Angeles Times criticizing a proposed
regulation by then-Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales to shorten the time death row
inmates have to file habeas corpus petitions. In an op-ed in the Sep. 14
Times, Chemerinsky explained, "There are more than 275 individuals on death
row in California without lawyers for their post-convictions proceedings.
The effect of the new rule would be that many individuals, including
innocent ones, would not get the chance to have their cases reviewed in
federal court."
Drake's action, which sends a clear message to academics that they must
avoid speaking out or writing about controversial issues, is a threat to
academic freedom. As Chemerinsky wrote, "Without academic freedom, the
reality is that many faculty members would be chilled and timid in
expressing their views, and the discussion that is essential for the
advancement of thought would be lost."
Hundreds of faculty, students and staff at UC Irvine are urging
reinstatement of Chemerinsky. In an open letter to Drake, they wrote, "We
are disturbed because of the deep violation both of the integrity of the
university and of the intrusion of outrageously one-sided politics and
unacceptable ideological considerations into a hiring process that should be
driven by academic excellence, administrative experience, leadership
capacity, and personal integrity."
Chancellor Michael Drake should immediately reinstate Professor Erwin
Chemerinsky as dean of the UC Irvine Law School.
---------------
Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School
of Law and president of the National Lawyers Guild. She
is the author of Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush
Gang Has Defied the Law. Her articles are archived at
http://www.marjoriecohn.com/
September 15, 2007
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