Law School Events
[PAST EVENT] William & Mary Dunn Speaker Series Lecture by Jeffrey Fisher
This lecture will pivot off of a case that Prof. Fisher argued this term before the Supreme Court, Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado, on whether a jury verdict can be thrown out because of juror bias. Prof. Fisher has argued 29 cases before the Supreme Court and is credited for dramatically improving the quality of representation in criminal cases before the Court. At the law school, he will receive the annual award for advocacy given by the student division of the Institute of Bill of Rights Law.
Prof. Fisher's biography (excerpted from the Stanford Law School website):
A leading authority on Supreme Court practice and nationally recognized expert on criminal procedure, his work at the law school revolves around handling cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. He has argued 28 cases in the Court, on issues ranging from criminal justice to maritime law to preemption.
Professor Fisher?s successes include the landmark cases of Crawford v. Washington and Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, in which he persuaded the Court to adopt a new approach to the Constitution?s Confrontation Clause; Riley v. California, in which the Court for the first time applied the Fourth Amendment?s protections against unreasonable searches to digital information on smart phones; Blakely v. Washington, in which the Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial applies to sentencing guidelines; and Kennedy v. Louisiana, in which the Court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits states from imposing capital punishment for crimes against individuals that do not result in death. Professor Fisher was also co-counsel for the plaintiffs in Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees same-sex couples a right to marry. In 2006, The National Law Journal named Professor Fisher one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America?the youngest person on the list.
In addition to his teaching and practice concerning the Supreme Court, Professor Fisher has published numerous articles on various criminal and constitutional issues, and he currently is writing a treatise on the Confrontation Clause. Before joining the Stanford faculty, Professor Fisher co-chaired the appellate practice group of Davis Wright Tremaine. He clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.