Faculty & Research
The faculty of Duke Law School is made up of innovative and influential scholars who are also passionate, creative, and caring teachers.
Duke Law professors are leaders in a broad range of fields and highly regarded for their research, writing, and public service. A community of scholars, they are collegial, collaborative, and interdisciplinary, and many hold joint appointments or collaborate with colleagues in other Duke schools and departments.
They also care deeply about helping students learn, both in the classroom and beyond, devote substantial time to students' academic and professional development, and continue to celebrate successes and provide counsel through difficult times once students become practicing lawyers.
The deep and ongoing engagement of our faculty with the subjects that they study and teach and the students they mentor creates an intellectual excitement that is palpable in our classrooms and hallways and is the foundation for an atmosphere of collaboration and respect that defines our school culture.
Evans explores the issues in Pereida v. Barr, a criminal-immigration case before the Supreme Court
In a commentary for SCOTUSblog, Clinical Professor Kate Evans, who directs the Immigrant Rights Clinic, previewed oral arguments in Pereida v. Barr, a case heard by the Supreme Court on Oct. 14 that Evans says could break new ground in immigration-criminal law.
After he allegedly presented a false Social Security card, Pereida was convicted of a misdemeanor for attempting to commit “criminal impersonation" and was put into federal removal proceedings. However, his record does not clearly state whether he was convicted of a state crime that would trigger mandatory deportation. Pereida, who entered the U.S. without authorization 25 years ago, applied for relief from deportation, but lower courts ruled that because he could not prove that he was not convicted of a crime that would disqualify him from relief, he did not meet the burden of establishing his eligibility for cancellation of removal. The Supreme Court's decision may resolve what happens in cases involving such ambiguity.
Eldar to present paper at American Economic Association conference
A paper co-authored by Associate Professor Ofer Eldar and Chelsea Garber ’23, PhD ’20 has been selected for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association in January 2021. Their paper, “Do Governments Play Favorites? Evidence from Opportunity Zone Funds,” examines the Opportunity Zone program (OZ), an economic development program that grants tax credits to develop distressed tracts in low-income communities.
Their study analyzed empirical data on the relationship between political support for governors and the areas those governors selected to receive federal tax credits for development. It found that nearly 10 percent of the OZ tracts would probably not have been selected had it not been for voter or investor support of the governor. Why was the potential for favoritism greater in OZ than similar programs? One unique feature of the OZ program was that governors were given essentially unfettered discretion to designate tracts from a very large number of low-income tracts, compared to other programs where tracts or investors were essentially determined through a centralized process or a specialized agency, Eldar says.
Benjamin member of team awarded NSF grant to study spectrum policy
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $300,000 grant to study spectrum policy to an interdisciplinary team including Duke Law Professor Stuart M. Benjamin.
The award is for the NSF’s Spectrum Innovation Initiative: National Center for Wireless Spectrum Research. Benjamin, the only law professor on the team, has extensive experience on the topic, having written about spectrum policy, worked on spectrum initiatives at the FCC, and testified on spectrum issues before Congress.
The team will conduct a series of seminars to explore these questions in depth and to lay the foundation for the future of spectrum regulation.