Michelle Adams

Professor of Law
Co-Director, Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy

Education

B.A., 1985, Brown University
J.D., 1989, City University of New York
LL.M., 1994, Harvard University

Areas of Expertise

Civil Rights
Constitutional Law
Federal Courts
Race Discrimination

Bio

Professor Adams is the co-director of the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy. She has concentrated her scholarship on affirmative action, race and sex discrimination and housing law. She has published extensively in law reviews and other scholarly journals. She has been quoted in Inside Higher Ed, "Counting Justices" (discussing the importance of Justice Kennedy's vote in Fisher v. University of Texas, a landmark Supreme Court case dealing with affirmative action admissions policies at the University of Texas), and has been a commentator for the New York Times, "Under Obama, Is America 'Post-Racial'?" (providing analysis of President Obama's views on affirmative action and how they relate to the views of the Supreme Court). She has also been a guest blogger for www.concurringopinions.com and www.blackprof.com.

 

Before coming to Cardozo, she was a professor of law at Seton Hall University School of Law, where she taught for 12 years. She has been teaching at Cardozo since 2007.

Honors and Awards

 •Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Center for Public Service Faculty Inspire! Award (2009)
•Dean's Scholar, Seton Hall University School of Law, (2003-2005)
•Seton Hall University School of Law Professor of the Year nominee: (1997-1998; 1998-1999; 1999-2000; 2000-2001; 2003-2004; 2004-2005)
•Public Interest Law Association Alumni Award for Public Service, CUNY Law School (1996)
•Charles Hamilton Houston Fellow, Harvard Law School (1993)
•Staten Island NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award for Achievement in Civil Rights Litigation (1993)
•Law Students Civil Rights Research Council Summer Internship Award (1987)

Professional Activities and Board Memberships

 •Member, The Board of Directors, The Innocence Project (2010-2013)
•Chair, Poverty Law Section, Association of American Law Schools (2003 – 2003)

Additional Teaching Experience

 •Harvard Law School: Teaching Assistant, Legal Writing Workshop (1994)
•Bennington College: Instructor, The Law Class, July Program (Summers 1994, 1995)
•CUNY Law School: Guest Lecturer, Housing Law and Policy Seminar (1993)
•New York Civil Liberties Union: Instructor, Civil Rights and Race Relations Class (1992)

Legal Experience

  •Staff Attorney, The Legal Aid Society, Civil Appeals and Law Reform Unit (1990 – 1993), New York, New York

Clerkships

 •Magistrate Judge James C. Francis, IV, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

Publications

Articles and Essays

Racial Inclusion, Exclusion and Segregation in Constitutional Law
28 CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY 1 (2012)

 

Is Integration a Discriminatory Purpose?
96 IOWA LAW REVIEW 837 (2011)

 

Stifling the Potential of Grutter v. Bollinger: Parents Involved In Community School Districts v. Seattle School District No. 1
88 BOSTON UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 937 (2008)
(Cited in BROOKS, CARRASCO & SELMI, THE LAW OF DISCRIMINATION: CASES AND PERSPECTIVES (2011))

 

Radical Integration
94 CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW 261 (2006)

 

Shifting Sands: The Jurisprudence of Integration Past, Present, and Future
47 HOWARD LAW JOURNAL 795 (2004)

 

Searching for Strict Scrutiny in Grutter v. Bollinger
78 TULANE LAW REVIEW 1941 (2004)

 

Grutter v. Bollinger: This Generation’s Brown v. Board of Education?
35 UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO LAW REVIEW 755 (2004)

 

Causation, Constitutional Principles and the Jurisprudential Legacy of the Warren Court
59 WASHINGTON & LEE LAW REVIEW 1173 (2002)

 

Intergroup Rivalry, Anti-Competitive Conduct and Affirmative Action
82 BOSTON UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 1089 (2002)

 

Isn’t It Ironic? The Central Paradox at the Heart of Percentage Plans
62 OHIO STATE LAW JOURNAL 1729 (2001)
(Cited in BROOKS, CARRASCO & SELMI, THE LAW OF DISCRIMINATION: CASES AND PERSPECTIVES (2011) and FARBER, ESKRIDGE & FRICKEY, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: THEMES FOR THE CONSTITUTION’S THIRD CENTURY (4th ed., 2009))

 

Causation and Responsibility in Tort and Affirmative Action
79 TEXAS LAW REVIEW 643 (2001)

 

The Last Wave of Affirmative Action
1998 WISCONSIN LAW REVIEW 1395
(Cited in BROOKS, CARRASCO & SELMI, THE LAW OF DISCRIMINATION: CASES AND PERSPECTIVES (2011))


Knowing Your Place: Theorizing Sexual Harassment at Home
40 ARIZONA LAW REVIEW 17 (1998)

 

Separate and [Un]Equal: Housing Choice, Mobility and Equalization in the Federally Subsidized Housing Program
71 TULANE LAW REVIEW 413 (1997)

 

Amicus Briefs

 Co-Author, Brief Amici Curiae of 38 Current Members of the Texas State Senate and House of Representatives, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
Supreme Court of the United States 2012-2013 Term

 

Co-Author, Brief Amici Curiae of The National Parent Teacher Association, Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1
Supreme Court of the United States 2006-2007 Term

 

 

 

Contact Information

212.790.0478

Cardozo School of Law
55 Fifth Avenue
Room 507
New York, NY 10003

SSRN

Michelle Adams in the news

More from Michelle Adams

"Michelle Adams is a leading scholar in social justice issues and civil rights"

 

Videos

JUN 25, 2013: BENCHMARKS: Cardozo Analyzes the Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Ruling

 

 MAR 4, 2013: Michelle Adams on Fisher v. University of Texas