About

Erwin Chemerinsky is a faculty member at UC Berkeley Law, where he is involved in various academic and clinical programs. His work encompasses a broad range of legal issues, including civil rights, criminal justice, environmental law, and public interest law. Chemerinsky has contributed significantly to legal scholarship and education, focusing on social justice and public interest advocacy. He is known for his leadership in clinical programs such as the Death Penalty Clinic, Human Rights Clinic, and Policy Advocacy Clinic, which aim to promote human rights, criminal justice reform, and social equity. Chemerinsky's research and teaching emphasize the importance of legal advocacy in advancing social justice causes, and he has been actively involved in community outreach and legal projects that address issues like racial justice, immigrant rights, and environmental conservation.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Law
• Computer Science
• Criminology
• Programming language
• Philosophy
• Epistemology
• Virology
• Medicine
• Gender studies
• History

Selected publications

• 3 “Extramural” Speech

  Yale University Press eBooks · 2026-02-02

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• 5 Principles, Practices, Precautions

  Yale University Press eBooks · 2026-02-02

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Prologue: Knowing the Principles Isn’t Enough

  Yale University Press eBooks · 2026-02-02

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Race and Free Speech

  Oxford University Press eBooks · 2025-09-23

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract This article explores the complex interplay between race and free speech in American history, highlighting how speech serves both as a catalyst for racial justice and a vehicle for racial harm. It traces the use of free speech in the abolitionist movement, where activists face Southern suppression and federal inaction but ultimately shift national discourse. The article examines how the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s uses speech, protest, and litigation to challenge racial segregation, culminating in landmark Supreme Court cases affirming expressive rights. It also discusses Latinx advocacy, focusing on language rights and anti-immigrant ordinances, and how courts address these challenges. Finally, the article assesses hate speech jurisprudence, underscoring that despite efforts to restrict racist expression, courts consistently protect such speech under the First Amendment unless it constitutes a true threat.

  PublisherDOI

• Constitutional Failure

  Michigan Law Review · 2025-01-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  A review of The Constitution of the War on Drugs. By David Pozen.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Justice Blackmun Got It Right in <i>Roe v. Wade</i>

  2024-02-22

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract The premise of the Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is that Roe v. Wade was “egregiously wrong” and “exceedingly weak.” This essay says that Justice Harry Blackmun got it exactly right in addressing the three key questions: Are rights of privacy and autonomy protected even if not enumerated in the Constitution? Do laws prohibiting abortion infringe on privacy and autonomy? Does the state have a compelling interest in prohibiting abortions? A close reading of the Court’s opinion in Dobbs reveals that the Court agrees with Justice Blackmun on the first two issues, and it is only its judgment that states can regard the fetus as “potential life” that explains the overruling of Roe. But this decision is based on a religious judgment inappropriate for the Court to make.

  PublisherDOI

• Acknowledgments

  Stanford University Press eBooks · 2024

  • Political Science
  • Political Science
  DOI

• The Future of Substantive Due Process: What Are the Stakes?

  SMU Law Review · 2023-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Chapter 3 THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL PROBLEM

  Yale University Press eBooks · 2022-09-06

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Chapter 1 THE RISE OF ORIGINALISM

  Yale University Press eBooks · 2022-09-06

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Catherine L. Fisk

  University of Hawaii System

  97 shared

• Mario L. Barnes

  University of Pittsburgh

  92 shared

• Seth Davis

  University of Hawaii System

  82 shared

• Cheryl M. Harris

  Tulane University

  81 shared

• Shirin Sinnar

  University of California Hastings College of the Law

  81 shared

• Pooja Dadhania

  Tulane University

  81 shared

• Kathryn Abrams

  81 shared

• Michael Churgin

  Tulane University

  81 shared

Education

• B.A., Political Science

  Yale University

  1977

• Other, Law

  University of California, Berkeley

  1980

• M.A., Political Science

  Yale University

  1974