Cynthia Lisa Nicoletti is an American legal historian. She is an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

of law at the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

Early life and education

Nicoletti earned her Bachelor of Arts degree, Master's degree, and PhD from the University of Virginia. Her dissertation, which examined the issue of whether secession could have been legally valid, earned the 2011

American Society for Legal History The American Society for Legal History is a learned society dedicated to promoting scholarship and teaching in the field of legal history. It was founded in 1956 and has an international scope, despite being based in the United States. It sponsors ...

's William Nelson Cromwell Prize.

Career

After serving as an instructor at the

, Nicoletti accepted an assistant professor of law position at the

Mississippi College School of Law Mississippi College School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school. MC Law is one of only two law schools in the state of Mississippi, and is the only law school in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi. The school is a prof ...

in 2010. She returned to the University of Virginia School of Law in 2014 upon accepting an

of law position. In this role, she earned a William Nelson Cromwell Foundation Research Fellowship for her work on the legal history of secession. In 2017, Nicoletti published her first book, ''Secession on Trial: The Treason Prosecution of Jefferson Davis'', which won the Cromwell Book Prize. The book explores why

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

was never tried for treason after the American Civil War. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in North America The first cases of the COVID-19 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 in North America were reported in the United States on 23 January 2020. Cases were reported in all North American countries after Saint Kitts and Nevis confirmed a case on 2 ...

, Nicoletti's work was further recognized with the Supreme Court Historical Society's Hughes-Gossett Award for Best Journal Article for "Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase and the Permanency of the Union." She also received the school's Student Council Distinguished Teaching Award for having "a positive and lasting impact on the University by developing relationships with students through the creation of an engaging and challenging classroom atmosphere."

Selected publications

*''Secession on Trial: The Treason Prosecution of Jefferson Davis'', New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017
Book review

"Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase and the Permanency of the Union," ''Journal of Supreme Court History'', vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 154-169 (2019).

"The Rise and Fall of Transcendent Constitutionalism in the Civil War Era," ''Virginia Law Review'', vol. 106, issue 8, pp. 1631-1702 (December 1, 2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicoletti, Cynthia Living people American legal scholars Legal historians University of Virginia alumni Harvard Law School alumni University of Virginia School of Law faculty Mississippi College School of Law faculty Year of birth missing (living people)