Cornell Law Review
Encyclopedia
The Cornell Law Review is the flagship legal journal of Cornell Law School
. Originally published in 1915 as the Cornell Law Quarterly, the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the Cornell Law Review have included articles by Supreme Court
justices Robert H. Jackson
, John Marshall Harlan II
, William O. Douglas
, Felix Frankfurter
, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
.
) Edwin Hamlin Woodruff defended the launch of this new journal from critics who decried the proliferation of legal periodicals at the time (one contemporary critic counted 20 journals total, including non-scholarly periodicals).
Woodruff argued that the Cornell Law Quarterly would "justify its existence if it can reach and be helpful to...lawyers who might otherwise give their attention exclusively to the routine of practice" and noted the "pedagogical value...within the college itself" for the students who worked on the journal. Woodruff wrote that the journal "would not fail of its purpose, if it substantially enhances the spirit of mutual service between the College of Law and Cornell Lawyers; if it aides in some degree to foster any needed reform in the law, or to give help by intelligent discussion and investigation toward the solution of legal problems; and if it satisfies within the college itself among the students and faculty a desire to advance...the cause of legal education in a larger sense."
The first article in the first issue of the Cornell Law Quarterly was authored by Cornell University President Jacob Gould Schurman, who had recently completed his term as Vice-President of the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1915. Schurman, and other authors in that issue and later issues of the Cornell Law Quarterly, chronicled the recent constitutional convention to illuminate the provisions of the state's new Constitution. The journal also realized Woodruff's vision by honing the legal skills of the student editors who served on the journal. One of the first Editors-in-Chief, Elbert Tuttle
, later rose to prominence as the Chief Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
during a time when that court was called upon to be the primary enforcer of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education
in the southern states in that circuit.
The journal grew steadily over the next fifty years, expanding to the point at which a staff of 34 students undertook a two-stage expansion of the journal's publishing schedule. In 1966, the Cornell Law Quarterly published six issues—Fall, Winter I, Winter II, Spring I, Spring II, and Summer. In 1967, it committed itself to a bi-monthly publishing schedule and changed its name to the Cornell Law Review. Today, the Review is edited exclusively by upper class students in Cornell Law School's Juris Doctor
(J.D.) program.
The Cornell Law Review publishes six issues annually.
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School, located in Ithaca, New York, is a graduate school of Cornell University and one of the five Ivy League law schools. The school confers three law degrees...
. Originally published in 1915 as the Cornell Law Quarterly, the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the Cornell Law Review have included articles by Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
justices Robert H. Jackson
Robert H. Jackson
Robert Houghwout Jackson was United States Attorney General and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court . He was also the chief United States prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials...
, John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. His namesake was his grandfather John Marshall Harlan, another associate justice who served from 1877 to 1911.Harlan was a student at Upper Canada College and Appleby College and...
, William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court...
, Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Early life:Frankfurter was born into a Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna, Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe. He was the third of six children of Leopold and Emma Frankfurter...
, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ruth Joan Bader Ginsburg is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Ginsburg was appointed by President Bill Clinton and took the oath of office on August 10, 1993. She is the second female justice and the first Jewish female justice.She is generally viewed as belonging to...
.
History
The Cornell Law Review began publication in 1915. Until 1966, the Cornell Law Review published four issues annually and was known as the Cornell Law Quarterly. Six Student Editors were joined by one Faculty Editor, a Business Manager, and an Assistant Business Manager. In the first issue of Cornell Law Quarterly in November 1915, Cornell professor (and soon-to-be deanDean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
) Edwin Hamlin Woodruff defended the launch of this new journal from critics who decried the proliferation of legal periodicals at the time (one contemporary critic counted 20 journals total, including non-scholarly periodicals).
Woodruff argued that the Cornell Law Quarterly would "justify its existence if it can reach and be helpful to...lawyers who might otherwise give their attention exclusively to the routine of practice" and noted the "pedagogical value...within the college itself" for the students who worked on the journal. Woodruff wrote that the journal "would not fail of its purpose, if it substantially enhances the spirit of mutual service between the College of Law and Cornell Lawyers; if it aides in some degree to foster any needed reform in the law, or to give help by intelligent discussion and investigation toward the solution of legal problems; and if it satisfies within the college itself among the students and faculty a desire to advance...the cause of legal education in a larger sense."
The first article in the first issue of the Cornell Law Quarterly was authored by Cornell University President Jacob Gould Schurman, who had recently completed his term as Vice-President of the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1915. Schurman, and other authors in that issue and later issues of the Cornell Law Quarterly, chronicled the recent constitutional convention to illuminate the provisions of the state's new Constitution. The journal also realized Woodruff's vision by honing the legal skills of the student editors who served on the journal. One of the first Editors-in-Chief, Elbert Tuttle
Elbert Tuttle
Elbert Parr Tuttle , one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a liberal Republican from Georgia, was chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1960 to 1967, when that court became known for a series of decisions crucial in advancing the civil rights of African-Americans...
, later rose to prominence as the Chief Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
during a time when that court was called upon to be the primary enforcer of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
in the southern states in that circuit.
The journal grew steadily over the next fifty years, expanding to the point at which a staff of 34 students undertook a two-stage expansion of the journal's publishing schedule. In 1966, the Cornell Law Quarterly published six issues—Fall, Winter I, Winter II, Spring I, Spring II, and Summer. In 1967, it committed itself to a bi-monthly publishing schedule and changed its name to the Cornell Law Review. Today, the Review is edited exclusively by upper class students in Cornell Law School's Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
(J.D.) program.
The Cornell Law Review publishes six issues annually.
Alumni
Prominent alumni of the Cornell Law Review include:- Mary Donlon AlgerMary Donlon AlgerMary Donlon Alger was an American lawyer and politician. She was the first woman appointed to a federal judgeship in New York.-Life:...
, first female editor-in-chief of Cornell Law Review, and of any US law review, and later Judge on the United States Customs Court. - Robert Hillman, Edwin H. Woodruff Professor of Law at Cornell Law School
- Faust Rossi, Samuel S. Leibowitz Professor of Trial Techniques at Cornell Law School
- Richard WesleyRichard WesleyRichard Wesley is an African American playwright, and screenwriter for television and cinema. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts where he is presently the chair of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing.Wesley was born in Newark, New...
, federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals... - Elbert TuttleElbert TuttleElbert Parr Tuttle , one of the "Fifth Circuit Four", and a liberal Republican from Georgia, was chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1960 to 1967, when that court became known for a series of decisions crucial in advancing the civil rights of African-Americans...
(deceased), former Chief Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana... - Bob DuPuyBob DuPuyRobert A. "Bob" DuPuy is an attorney and former President and Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball . He assumed both titles on March 7, 2002. Prior to joining Major League Baseball in 1998, he was a partner and management committee member of Foley & Lardner, a large Milwaukee-based...
, President and Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball. - Arthur Hobson Dean, diplomat and corporate lawyer, Chairman of Cornell Board of Trustees
- William vanden HeuvelWilliam vanden HeuvelWilliam Jacobus vanden Heuvel is an attorney, businessman and author, as well as a former diplomat.He is the father of Katrina vanden Heuvel, longtime editor of The Nation magazine, and Wendy vanden Heuvel, children from his marriage to author/editor Jean Stein, the well-to-do daughter of Jules C...
- former United States Permanent Representative to the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and former Ambassador to the European Office of the United Nations in GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
.