Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron discusses the civil rights history of New York Times v. Sullivan with legal historian Samantha Barbas in a podcast conversation regarding her book, Actual Malice. Professor Citron highlights Barbas’s findings that Alabama officials weaponized libel law to suppress coverage of the civil rights movement and emphasizes that this racial context remains essential to understanding the case’s legal legacy.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron —along with fellow civil procedure professors Laura Dooley, Deseriee Kennedy, and John Quinn—discusses the Supreme Court’s 2026 decision in Berk v. Choy, which addressed whether Delaware’s affidavit-of-merit requirement in medical malpractice cases yields to federal pleading rules under the Erie doctrine. The professors analyze the majority’s conclusion that Federal Rule 8 displaces the state requirement under the Hanna v. Plumer framework, while also exploring Justice Jackson’s alternative framing, potential critiques of the majority’s reasoning, and the decision’s implications for access to federal courts and the ongoing challenge of distinguishing substance from procedure.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger Citron reviews retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 2025 memoir Life, Law & Liberty, examining his life, career, and legacy as the pivotal “swing vote” on the Court from 1987 to 2018. While Professor Citron expresses admiration for Kennedy as a person and finds the memoir gracefully written, he argues that Kennedy fails to adequately account for his role in shaping the current political and legal landscape and erosion of democracy. Further, Professor Citron suggests that Kennedy’s moderate influence has become irrelevant as his successors have moved the Court sharply rightward, overturning precedents like Roe v. Wade that Kennedy himself helped preserve.

In a recent episode of the Touro Law Review podcast, Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron speaks with attorney and debut novelist Victor Suthammanont about his journey from drama student to legal professional, and how both fields inform his exploration of truth. Their conversation delves into the themes of Suthammanont’s novel Hollow Spaces, the limits and purpose of the trial system, and the ongoing role of law in serving the public good.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger Citron explores the current legal and political challenges surrounding partisan gerrymandering and the future of the Voting Rights Act in a podcast interview with Harvard Law Professor Ruth Greenwood. Professor Greenwood argues that while the courts have increasingly stepped back from addressing gerrymandering—most notably in Rucho v. Common Cause—lasting reform must come from a combination of legal advocacy and grassroots political action, such as the establishment of independent redistricting commissions.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger Citron discusses the evolving state of administrative law in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023–24 term, which significantly curtailed agency power by overturning Chevron deference and bolstering the Major Questions doctrine—referred to by scholars as the “Roberts Court Revolution” (RCR). Professor Citron, a co-author of a new administrative law textbook, reflects on the challenges of capturing these rapid legal changes in academic materials, ultimately presenting a critical stance toward the Court’s recent decisions and expressing concern about the ongoing weakening of the administrative state, especially under President Trump’s second term.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger Citron examines whether Americans should be concerned about the prospect of secession in today’s politically polarized climate, compiling perspectives from several law professors on the viability and implications of states or regions leaving the United States. While most experts agree that traditional state secession is practically impossible due to political divisions existing within rather than between states, the discussion of secession remains valuable for understanding political theory, and some forms of “soft secession” (like sanctuary cities and nullification movements) may already be occurring. Moreover, recent Supreme Court decisions have fundamentally altered the constitutional order in ways that could theoretically enable secession.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger Citron discusses the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Trump v. CASA, Inc., in which the Court limited federal district courts’ authority to issue universal injunctions that block enforcement of executive orders nationwide. Professor Citron describes the various opinions written by the justices and argues that the Court’s formalist approach, which restricts courts’ ability to check illegal executive actions while creating a two-track system where only active litigants receive constitutional protections, represents a dangerous refusal to consider the real-world consequences during a period of unprecedented assertions of executive power.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron examines the evolving relationship between President Donald Trump and the federal judiciary, particularly Chief Justice John Roberts, focusing on initial conflicts over executive orders and judicial authority followed by recent accommodation through Supreme Court emergency docket rulings. Professor Citron argues that while a temporary détente has emerged with the Supreme Court largely supporting Trump’s initiatives through emergency orders, this fragile peace masks an ongoing institutional challenge that could threaten the Court’s legitimacy if it fails to check executive overreach in future cases.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron examines the judicial legacy of Justice David Souter, focusing on how his intellectually rigorous and nuanced approach in key Supreme Court cases—particularly Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and United States v. Mead Corp.—has had lasting but complex effects. Professor Citron argues that while Souter’s brilliance and detailed reasoning reflected a high-minded commitment to the common law tradition, his tendency to write narrowly yet extensively may have unintentionally undermined the clarity and durability of his rulings.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron examines Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson’s recent Fourth Circuit ruling in the deportation case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, situating it within Bruce Ackerman’s theory of dualist democracy and the concept of “higher lawmaking” in times of constitutional transformation. Professor Citron argues that Judge Wilkinson’s unusually candid and philosophically grounded opinion reflects a judiciary consciously responding to President Trump’s far-reaching efforts to reshape the constitutional balance of powers, signaling that we may be living through another transformative moment in American constitutional law.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron reviews Scott Turow’s latest legal thriller, Presumed Guilty, focusing on the evolution of Turow’s writing and the transformation of his protagonist, Rusty Sabich, from prosecutor to defense attorney in a rural setting. Professor Citron argues that Turow continues to craft compelling courtroom dramas with thoughtful legal realism, highlighting how Presumed Guilty expands on themes of justice, race, and personal growth, making Rusty not only an older character but a more mature one.

Touro Law professor Rodger D. Citron examines five different aspects of presidential pardon power in the context of recent actions by Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump, including traditional uses (family pardons, crony pardons, and criminal justice policy) as well as two novel developments: Trump’s campaign-related pardons for January 6 defendants and Biden’s preemptive pardons to protect individuals from potential political retribution. Professor Citron argues that Trump’s use of pardons as campaign promises and Biden’s responsive use of preemptive pardons represent significant departures from historical norms, highlighting how the pardon power has become increasingly weaponized in contemporary politics.

In this two-part series of columns, Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron examines Chief Justice John Roberts’s leadership of the Supreme Court over multiple terms, focusing on his apparent dual objectives of balancing political attunement and advancing conservative ideology. In this second part, Professor Citron argues that Roberts re-established his control over the Court by successfully weakening the administrative state and expanding presidential immunity while simultaneously avoiding controversial decisions on gun rights and reproductive issues, ultimately demonstrating his ability to push a conservative agenda without incurring significant political backlash.

In this two-part series of columns, Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center professor Rodger D. Citron examines Chief Justice John Roberts’s leadership of the Supreme Court over multiple terms, focusing on his apparent dual objectives of balancing political attunement and advancing conservative ideology. In this first part, Professor Citron highlights Roberts’s judicial statesmanship in the 2019-20 term, particularly in cases involving Trump administration subpoenas, and contrasts this with the 2021-22 term, where the Court’s conservative shift raised questions about Roberts' control, especially following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, professor Rodger D. Citron compares Judge Aileen Cannon’s handling of Donald Trump's classified documents case to Judge Irving Kaufman’s controversial management of the Rosenberg espionage trial in the 1950s. Professor Citron argues that Cannon should learn from Kaufman’s mistakes and prioritize impartiality in her management of the high-profile case, warning that her current approach of favoring the defense and delaying proceedings could negatively affect her professional legacy.

Laura Dooley and Rodger Citron, both professors of law at Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, discuss the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Abbott, a mass tort case involving the application of nonmutual offensive collateral estoppel in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) context. Professors Dooley and Citron argue that while Justice Thomas’s dissent raises concerns about fairness and due process for the defendant Du Pont, the Court’s denial of certiorari appropriately defers to the lower courts’ fact-specific analysis and recognizes that plaintiffs in mass tort cases have the same right to efficient procedures as corporate defendants, so long as their use is fair.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, professor Rodger D. Citron reviews Gary Stein’s biography “Justice for Sale: Graft, Greed, and a Crooked Federal Judge in 1930s Gotham,” which tells the story of Martin Manton, a once-prominent federal judge who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit but resigned in disgrace in 1939 after being indicted on corruption charges for selling his office. Professor Citron explains that while Manton was a product of the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine era in New York, his misconduct was exceptional in extending to the federal judiciary, and his story serves as an important reminder that federal judges are human and not immune to temptations, underscoring the need for appropriate financial disclosures and oversight to maintain the integrity and authority of the courts.

Touro University, Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, professors Rodger D. Citron and Laura A. Dooley discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s unexpectedly divided decision in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. case, which addressed whether a corporation can be sued in a state where it has registered to do business but is not a citizen. Professors Citron and Dooley argue that the case is notable for the alignment of ideologically diverse justices and its potential to significantly alter the landscape regarding where plaintiffs can sue corporations, shedding light on the current Court’s approach to originalism and federalism in the context of personal jurisdiction.

Touro Law professors Laura Dooley and Rodger Citron discuss a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of a state statute authorizing the exercise of general personal jurisdiction over corporations registered to do business in the state. Professors Dooley and Citron argue that the Court will almost certainly declare the state statute violates the due process rights of the defendant corporation, and they explore why that outcome is such a foregone conclusion.