Civil Liberties

Eric Berger, who joined the faculty in 2007, has written extensively about lethal injection litigation. He previously practiced in Jenner & Block’s Washington, D.C. office, where he worked on litigation in several state and federal trial and appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Berger’s matters there included cases involving lethal injection, same-sex marriage, the detention of foreign nationals at Guantanamo Bay, and internet obscenity. Much of his work explores judicial decision making in constitutional cases, with special attention to deference, fact finding, rhetorical strategies, and other under-theorized factors that help shape judicial opinions in constitutional cases. (Updated November 2024.)

Professor Duncan joined the faculty in 1979. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) in 1973. In 1976, he received his J.D. degree from the Cornell Law School, where he served on the Board of Editors of the Cornell Law Review. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1977. From 1976-79, he was associated with White & Case, a New York City law firm. Professor Duncan teaches Property and Constitutional Law. He is a passionate and enthusiastic classroom teacher, whose style is not so much Socratic Dialogue as Socratic Performance Art. Professor Duncan has a strong interest in writing and speaking about federalism, liberty, religious freedom, and the right to life.

Danielle Jefferis's unique teaching and practice experiences lies at the intersection of constitutional law, prisoners' rights immigration law and federal courts. She has extensive civil rights litigation experience and has represented plaintiffs in federal courts across the United States, including the United States Supreme Court. In 2018, she was a part of a team of clinic faculty and student attorneys whose successful challenge of a federal court prisoner's convictions resulted in his release from prison. One of her most memorable moments as an attorney and teacher occured when she witnessed her client reunite with his family after a 10-year separation. Professor Jefferis's biography includes teaching at California Western School of Law in San Diego and working in the Civil Rights Clinic of the University of Denver College of Law.

Kyle Langvardt is a First Amendment scholar who focuses on the Internet's implications for free expression, both as a matter of constitutional doctrine and as a practical reality. He studies new and confounding policy issues such as tech addiction, the collapse of traditional gatekeepers in online media, and 3D-printable weapons. He has been published in the Journal of Free Speech Law, the Yale Law Journal Forum, Georgetown Law Journal and the Fordham Law Review. He is co-editor of "Media and Society after Technological Disruption" (2024), published by Cambridge University Press. He was awarded the Schmid Professor for Excellence in Research for the 2024-25 academic year.