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Professor Melissa Murray of New York University School of Law completed a weeklong residency at the University of Hawa‘i at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law as the Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals from March 20-24, 2023. She is a leading expert in constitutional law, family law, and reproductive rights and justice.
Murray’s weeklong residency featured a presentation on her co-authored article, “Dobbs and Democracy,” visits to classes at both Richardson Law School and the American Studies department, a talk with students at an event co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society, and a lunch with faculty and students of Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law, where Murray offered advice about pursuing social justice in a legal environment dominated by a conservative Supreme Court supermajority.
At the culmination of the week, Murray and her co-hosts Professors Leah Litman (Michigan Law School) and Kate Shaw (Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law) recorded an episode of the award-winning “Strict Scrutiny” podcast before a live audience at UH Mānoa. The episode, available here and on major streaming platforms, included a segment with special guest U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono. It also featured the Hawai‘i Supreme Court’s recent application of “the right to a life-sustaining climate system” in the Hu Honua case, and highlighted the Law School’s Ka Huli Ao Center’s “pathbreaking work at the intersection of Native Hawaiian rights and environmental law.”
Professor Murray began her residence virtually last October 2022 with a keynote presentation moderated by Dean Camille Nelson titled “Unpacking the Court: What Does a Conservative Super-majority Mean for the Court and America?”
More information on the appointment and about Professor Murray is available in prior stories by UH News and the Law School website.