Jeffrey Rosen
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Rosen is an American
academic
and commentator on legal affairs. Legal historian David Garrow
has called him "the nation's most widely read and influential legal commentator."
and was a Marshall scholar at Oxford University, from which he received a second bachelor's degree. He also has a law degree
from Yale Law School
.
He is a professor of law at George Washington University
Law School in Washington, D.C.
and has been the commentator on legal affairs for The New Republic
since 1992. Rosen is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
, where he speaks and writes about Technology and the Future of Democracy. He often appears as a guest on National Public Radio, and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine
.
John Roberts
, Justice John Paul Stevens
, and Justice Stephen Breyer
. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
credited his early support for her Supreme Court candidacy as a factor in her nomination. More recently, an essay posted on The New Republic
website about Sonia Sotomayor
, the then-potential nominee for the Supreme Court
, provoked controversy for using anonymous sources. Other media outlets, however, including the New York Times, had relied upon similar sources. Rosen has known Justice Elena Kagan
for many years and is the brother-in-law of Neal Katyal
, the acting Solicitor General. In an opinion piece published after Kagan's nomination hearings and before the Senate's vote on her confirmation, Rosen encouraged Kagan to look to former Justice Louis Brandeis
as a model "to develop a positive vision of progressive jurisprudence in an age of economic crisis, financial power and technological change."
Rosen's articles assessing the Supreme Court have been ideologically unpredictable. He strongly denounced Bush v. Gore
, but supported the nomination of Chief Justice Roberts, while opposing that of Justice Alito
. He supported Sotomayor's confirmation, and has written stories for the New York Times Magazine about the Court's pro-business and anti-regulatory agenda.
Rosen also writes frequently about the effects of technology on privacy and liberty, including articles about the Fourth Amendment
implications of pre-flight screening by the TSA
, free speech on the Internet, privacy in the Internet Age, surveillance cameras in Britain, data mining
in Silicon Valley
, technology and the Constitution, the effect of neuroscience
on the law, DNA database
s and genetic surveillance, and Google
and the future of free speech.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
and commentator on legal affairs. Legal historian David Garrow
David Garrow
David J. Garrow is an American historian and author of the book Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. He is also the author of Liberty and Sexuality, a history of the legal struggles over...
has called him "the nation's most widely read and influential legal commentator."
Biography
Rosen is the son of Sidney and Estelle Rosen, both of whom are psychiatrists. He has been married to Christine Rosen (formerly Stolba), a historian, since 2003. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and was a Marshall scholar at Oxford University, from which he received a second bachelor's degree. He also has a law degree
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...
from Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
.
He is a professor of law at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
Law School in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and has been the commentator on legal affairs for The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
since 1992. Rosen is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, where he speaks and writes about Technology and the Future of Democracy. He often appears as a guest on National Public Radio, and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
.
Journalism
Rosen has written frequently about the United States Supreme Court. He has interviewed Chief JusticeChief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
John Roberts
John Roberts
John Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
, Justice John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history...
, and Justice Stephen Breyer
Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and known for his pragmatic approach to constitutional law, Breyer is generally associated with the more liberal side of the Court....
. Justice 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...
credited his early support for her Supreme Court candidacy as a factor in her nomination. More recently, an essay posted on The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
website about Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
, the then-potential nominee for the 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...
, provoked controversy for using anonymous sources. Other media outlets, however, including the New York Times, had relied upon similar sources. Rosen has known Justice Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 7, 2010. Kagan is the Court's 112th justice and fourth female justice....
for many years and is the brother-in-law of Neal Katyal
Neal Katyal
Neal Kumar Katyal is an American lawyer and chaired professor of law. He served as Acting Solicitor General of the United States from May 2010 until June 2011. As Acting Solicitor General, Katyal succeeded Elena Kagan, who was President Barack Obama's choice to replace the retiring Associate...
, the acting Solicitor General. In an opinion piece published after Kagan's nomination hearings and before the Senate's vote on her confirmation, Rosen encouraged Kagan to look to former Justice Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
as a model "to develop a positive vision of progressive jurisprudence in an age of economic crisis, financial power and technological change."
Rosen's articles assessing the Supreme Court have been ideologically unpredictable. He strongly denounced Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore, , is the landmark United States Supreme Court decision on December 12, 2000, that effectively resolved the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush. Only eight days earlier, the United States Supreme Court had unanimously decided the closely related case of Bush v...
, but supported the nomination of Chief Justice Roberts, while opposing that of Justice Alito
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
. He supported Sotomayor's confirmation, and has written stories for the New York Times Magazine about the Court's pro-business and anti-regulatory agenda.
Rosen also writes frequently about the effects of technology on privacy and liberty, including articles about the Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
implications of pre-flight screening by the TSA
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
, free speech on the Internet, privacy in the Internet Age, surveillance cameras in Britain, data mining
Data mining
Data mining , a relatively young and interdisciplinary field of computer science is the process of discovering new patterns from large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics and database systems...
in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
, technology and the Constitution, the effect of neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
on the law, DNA database
DNA database
A DNA database or DNA databank is a database of DNA data. A DNA database can be used in the analysis of genetic diseases, genetic fingerprinting for criminology, or genetic genealogy. DNA databases may be public or private. These databases do not normally hold DNA except for a short time...
s and genetic surveillance, and Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
and the future of free speech.