The ''Cornell Law Review'' is the flagship legal journal of
Cornell Law School
Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...
. Originally published in 1915 as the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'', the journal features scholarship in all fields of law. Notably, past issues of the ''Cornell Law Review'' have included articles by
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
justices
Robert H. Jackson
Robert Houghwout Jackson (February 13, 1892 – October 9, 1954) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Unit ...
,
John Marshall Harlan II
John Marshall Harlan (May 20, 1899 – December 29, 1971) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1955 to 1971. Harlan is usually called John Marshall Harlan II to distinguish him ...
,
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...
,
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judicia ...
, and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
.
History
Cornell Law School first published a law review in June 1894—the first and only issue of the ''Cornell Law Journal''—and again published a law review (the ''New York Law Review'') from January to July 1895. Following these initial efforts, the ''Cornell Law Review'' began its continuous publication in 1915. Until 1966, the ''Cornell Law Review'' published four issues annually and was known as the ''Cornell Law Quarterly''. Six Student Editors were joined by one Faculty Editor, a Business Manager, and an Assistant Business Manager. In the first issue of ''Cornell Law Quarterly'' in November 1915, Cornell professor (and soon-to-be
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
) Edwin Hamlin Woodruff defended the launch of this new journal from critics who decried the proliferation of legal periodicals at the time (one contemporary critic counted 20 journals total, including non-scholarly periodicals).
Woodruff argued that the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'' would "justify its existence if it can reach and be helpful to...lawyers who might otherwise give their attention exclusively to the routine of practice" and noted the "pedagogical value...within the college itself" for the students who worked on the journal. Woodruff wrote that the journal "would not fail of its purpose, if it substantially enhances the spirit of mutual service between the College of Law and Cornell Lawyers; if it aides in some degree to foster any needed reform in the law, or to give help by intelligent discussion and investigation toward the solution of legal problems; and if it satisfies within the college itself among the students and faculty a desire to advance...the cause of legal education in a larger sense."
The first article in the first issue of the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'' was authored by Cornell University President
Jacob Gould Schurman
Jacob Gould Schurman (May 2, 1854 – August 12, 1942) was a Canadian-born American educator and diplomat, who served as President of Cornell University and United States Ambassador to Germany.
Early life
Schurman was born at Freetown, Prince Ed ...
, who had recently completed his term as Vice-President of the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1915. Schurman, and other authors in that issue and later issues of the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'', chronicled the recent constitutional convention to illuminate the provisions of the state's new Constitution. The journal also realized Woodruff's vision by honing the legal skills of the student editors who served on the journal. One of the first Editors-in-Chief,
Elbert Tuttle
Elbert Parr Tuttle (July 17, 1897 – June 23, 1996) was the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1960 to 1967, when that court became known for a series of decisions crucial in advanc ...
, later rose to prominence as the Chief Judge on the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* Eastern District of Louisiana
* M ...
during a time when that court was called upon to be the primary enforcer of the Supreme Court's decision in ''
Brown v. Board of Education
''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
'' in the southern states in that circuit.
The journal grew steadily over the next fifty years, expanding to the point at which a staff of 34 students undertook a two-stage expansion of the journal's publishing schedule. In 1966, the ''Cornell Law Quarterly'' published six issues—Fall, Winter I, Winter II, Spring I, Spring II, and Summer. In 1967, it committed itself to a bi-monthly publishing schedule and changed its name to the ''Cornell Law Review''. Today, the ''Review'' is edited exclusively by upper class students in Cornell Law School's
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
(J.D.) program.
In 2019, the ''Cornell Law Review'' became the first of the Top-14 schools to elect an all-female executive board.
The ''Cornell Law Review'' publishes seven issues annually.
Alumni
Prominent alumni of the ''Cornell Law Review'' include:
*
Edward J. Bloustein, 17th President of
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
*
Arthur Hobson Dean, diplomat and corporate lawyer, Chairman of Cornell
Board of Trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
*
Mary H. Donlon
Mary Honor Donlon, later Mary Donlon Alger, (August 25, 1893 – March 5, 1977) was a judge of the United States Customs Court.
Education and career
Donlon was born on August 25, 1893, in Utica, New York, the daughter of Joseph M. Donlon and M ...
, first female editor-in-chief of Cornell Law Review, and of any US law review, and later Judge on the
United States Customs Court
The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Int'l Trade or Intl. Trade) is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in New York City, it exercises ...
*
Bob DuPuy
Robert A. DuPuy (born c. 1947) is a lawyer and former President and was Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball (MLB). He assumed both titles on March 7, 2002. Prior to joining Major League Baseball in 1998, he was a partner and managemen ...
, President and Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball
*
William vanden Heuvel
William Jacobus vanden Heuvel (April 14, 1930 – June 15, 2021) was an American attorney, businessman, author and diplomat of Belgian descent. He was known for advising Robert F. Kennedy during the latter's campaigns for Senate in 1964 and Presi ...
, former United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and former Ambassador to the European Office of the United Nations in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
* Robert Hillman, Edwin H. Woodruff Professor of Law at Cornell Law School
*
Sol Linowitz
Sol Myron Linowitz (December 7, 1913 – March 18, 2005) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and businessman.
Early life
Linowitz was born to a Jewish family in Trenton, New Jersey. He was a graduate of Trenton Central High School, Hamilton Colleg ...
,
, Chairman of
Xerox
Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...
*
William P. Rogers
William Pierce Rogers (June 23, 1913 – January 2, 2001) was an American diplomat and attorney. He served as United States Attorney General under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and United States Secretary of State under President Richard Nixo ...
, 63rd
United States Attorney General
The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
, 55th
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
* Faust Rossi, Samuel S. Leibowitz Professor of Trial Techniques at Cornell Law School
*
Elbert Tuttle
Elbert Parr Tuttle (July 17, 1897 – June 23, 1996) was the Chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from 1960 to 1967, when that court became known for a series of decisions crucial in advanc ...
, former Chief Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts:
* Eastern District of Louisiana
* M ...
*
Richard C. Wesley, Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate juri ...
References
External links
Cornell Law Review
{{authority control
American law journals
Cornell University academic journals
General law journals
Publications established in 1915
1915 establishments in New York (state)