Rutgers Law School–Newark Faculty Available to Comment on Pending U.S. and NJ Supreme Court Decisions

Professor Frank Askin can comment on:

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which concerns the authority of the Federal Elections Commission to regulate the communication vehicles of advocacy groups during an election campaign; and Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District One v. Holder, which concerns changes to the Voting Rights Act’s Section 5, requiring Department of Justice approval for changes in voting procedures in certain states and regions with a history of racial discrimination.

Professor Askin is founding director of the Rutgers Constitutional Litigation Clinic. He teaches, among other courses, Election Law and writes and speaks frequently on the topic. Askin can be reached at

973-353-3239 (office) or faskin@kinoy.rutgers.edu.

Clinical Professor Laura Cohen can comment on:

Safford Unified School District v. Redding, which concerns whether a school district violated the    Fourth Amendment rights of a 13-year-old when she was strip-searched for prescription drugs; and State of New Jersey in the Interest of P.M.P., which concerns at what point in a juvenile delinquency case is a child’s right to counsel triggered.

Professor Cohen teaches Juvenile Justice and a criminal and juvenile justice clinic. She is co-team leader of the MacArthur Foundation-funded New Jersey Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network (NJ-JIDAN), co-director of the Northeast Regional Juvenile Defender Center, author of the book The Gault Case and Young People’s Rights and several articles on juvenile justice issues, and a frequent speaker on juvenile justice topics. Cohen can be reached at 973-896-3676 (cell).