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Ofer Raban

Professor, Elmer Sahlstrom Senior Faculty Fellow

Law, Law-JD, Criminal Law
Phone: 541-346-1578
Office: 409E Knight Law Center

Biography

Professor Ofer Raban teaches Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence, Criminal Investigation, Criminal Law, and an LLM seminar. He received his B.A. from the City College of New York, his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and his doctorate in legal philosophy from Oxford University (where he was the recipient of the Oxford University Law Faculty Award). Professor Raban worked as a prosecutor in New York before joining academia. He taught law, inter alia, at the University of Oxford and the University of Utah before joining the University of Oregon. His principal research interests concern the relationship between constitutional doctrine and judicial philosophy. He is the author of two books on legal philosophy, and of numerous law review articles dealing with constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, and legal theory. He also writes regularly for the popular press, including for The Oregonian and The Conversation. Professor Raban lectures extensively both locally and internationally. Last year he gave a series of lectures in China and Israel. His work has been translated into Chinese, Polish, Korean, Turkish, and Hebrew.

Publications:

Selected Publications

2024 Trump’s arguments for immunity not as hopeless as some claim (The Conversation, January 8).

2023 Fired for political speech? Structuring the Pickering balancing test (60 Hous. L. Rev. 653 (2023).

2023 Missing the Forest for the Trees: Ronald Dworkin’s Excessive Morality (“Law’s Empire at 35” conference at Oxford University) (solicited) (peer reviewed) (forthcoming).

2023 Introduction to the U.S. Constitution, in Comparative Constitutional Law (Indonesia, 2023) (solicited book chapter).

2020 THE SILENT PROLOGUE: HOW JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHIES SHAPE OUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS (George Mason University Press, 2020) (Monograph).

2020 It’s still a conservative Supreme Court, even after recent liberal decisions – here’s why (The Conversation, September 20).

2020 The ethical case for allowing medical trials that deliberately infect humans with COVID-19 (with Professor Yuval Dor) (The Conversation, August 17).

2020 Human Challenge Trials for COVID-19 (with Professor Yuval Dor) (op-ed, Haaretz, August 4; TheMarker, August 8; Maariv August 1).

2020 A fraying of humanity amid the coronavirus pandemic (op-ed, The Oregonian, March 4).

2020    Against Interpretation as an Alternative to Invalidation: A Response (Federal Law Review, Australia) (peer-reviewed) (solicited).

2019    Assange’s new indictment: Espionage and the First Amendment (The Conversation, May 25).

2019    Is the Assange indictment a threat to the First Amendment? (The Conversation/ Salon.com, May 1).

2019 — The Wider Scandal Suggested by the Trump Investigations (The Conversation/Salon. com, January 24).  

2018 — Kavanaugh’s impact on the Supreme Court and the country may not be as profound as predicted (The Conversation/Salon.com, November 20).

2018 — Some Observations on the First Amendment and the War on Terror (53 Tulsa Law Review 141).

2017 — Constitutional but Legally Invalid (The Theory and Practice of Legislation Vol. 5, Iss. 2) (peer-reviewed) (solicited).

2017 — The Slants and the meaning of liberty (The Oregonian, July 7).

2017 — For constitutional decisions, does it matter who is president? (op-ed, The Oregonian, March 4).

2016 — Is Textualism Required by Constitutional Separation of Powers?, 49 Loyola L.A. Law Review 421.

2016 — Supreme Court Progress Report: More Harm than Good?, 7.2 Alabama Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Law Review 219.

2016 — A setback for free speech at University of Oregon (op-ed, The Oregonian, December 31)

2016 — A teachable moment on practicing what we preach (op-ed, The Oregonian, November 14).

2016 — The Supreme Court and Official Corruption (op-ed, The Oregonian, July 6).

2015 — The Rationalization of Policy: On the Relation Between Democracy and the Rule of Law, 18 N.YU. Journal of Legislation & Public Policy 45.

Translated into Polish and reprinted in the Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny (Journal of Law, Economics and Sociology) (peer-reviewed), Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and Poznan University of Economics (2015).

2015 — Supreme Court Gets It Right on Judicial Elections (op-ed, The Oregonian, May 9).

2014 — Between Formalism and Conservatism: On the Resurgent Legal Formalism of the Roberts Court, 8 N.Y.U. Journal of Law & Liberty 342.

2014 — The Supreme Court’s Endorsement of a Politicized Judiciary: A Philosophical Critique, (Translated into Korean and Reprinted) Soongsil Law Review, Vol. 31 (2014).

2014 — A frivolous challenge to the Affordable Care Act (op-ed, The Oregonian, December 20).

2014 — Supreme Court can’t control the consequences of its decisions (op-ed, The Oregonian,July 4).

2014 — Another Blow to Democracy (op-ed, The Oregonian, April 13).

2013 — Judicial Fundamentalism, the Fourth Amendment, and Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 1 Virginia. Journal of Criminal Law 446.

2013 — The Fallacy of Legal Certainty: Why Vague Legal Standards May Be Better for Capitalism and Liberalism (Translated into Polish and reprinted) Journal of Public Philosophy & Democratic Education (peer-reviewed) (Institute of Philosophy at AMU).

2013 — Unpacking the court’s decision on NSA surveillance (op-ed, The Oregonian, Dec. 21).

2013 — The dignity of the states v. the dignity of the people (op-ed, The Oregonian, June 30).

2013 — Let’s not rush to judgment on surveillance leaker (op-ed, The Register Guard, June 17).

2013 — Judicial oversight of targeted assassinations (op-ed, The Oregonian, Feb 12).

2012 — Capitalism, Liberalism, and the Right to Privacy, 86 Tulane Law Review 1243.

2012 — Conflicts of Rights: When the Federal Constitution Restricts Civil Liberties, 64 Rutgers Law Review 381.

2011 — Constitutionalizing Corruption: Citizens United, Its Conceptions of Political Corruption, and the Implications for Judicial Elections Campaigns, 46 University of San Francisco Law Review 359 (solicited).

2011 — The Benefits and Dangers of Dual Constitutional Systems of Civil Rights Protections, in Rethinking the Philosophy of Law (Maltepe University Press) (solicited).

2011 — The Fallacy of Legal Certainty: Why Vague Legal Standards May Be Better for Capitalism and Liberalism (Translated into Chinese and reprinted), Archives for Legal Philosophy and Sociology of Law (Peking University Press) (2011).

2011 — The Supreme Court Continues to dismantle campaign finance reform (op-ed, The Oregonian, July 8).

2011 — Supreme Court’s ruling in religion case makes little sense (op-ed, The Register Guard,April 12).

2011 — A modest decision about child pornography (op-ed, The Oregonian, January 14).

2010 — The Fallacy of Legal Certainty: Why Vague Legal Standards May Be Better for Capitalism and Liberalism, 19 Boston University Public Interest Law Journal 175.

2010 — On Necessary and Suggestive Identification Procedures, 37 American Journal of Criminal Law 53.

2010 — Cloak of national security obscures logic of ruling (op-ed, The Oregonian, September 12).

2010 — High court’s support of ‘free speech’ comes at a steep price (op-ed, Register Guard, May 3).

2010 — State’s high court uses hazy reasoning in medical pot ruling (op-ed, Register Guard, April 25).

2009 — A Ratchet That Can Get Stuck: On the Relationship Between the Federal and States’ Constitutions, in BETWEEN COMPLEXITY OF LAW AND LACK OF ORDER: PHILOSOPHY OF LAW IN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION (eds. M. Zirk-Sadowski, B. Wojciechowski, M. Golecki) (2009) (solicited book chapter).

2009 — The Relationship Between the Federal and States’ Constitutions, 3 Journal of Jurisprudence 177.

2009 — Court within its rights in ruling on mandatory sentencing (op-ed, Register Guard, Oct. 5).

2009 — Actual innocence’ as a constitutional right (op-ed, The Oregonian, August 28).

2009 — Dissecting the torture memos (op-ed, The Oregonian, April 28) (extended versionpublished on SSRN).

2009 — Nude dancers’ expression should be protected by state constitution (op-ed, RegisterGuard, March 30).

2009 — Weighing the rule of law (op-ed, The Oregonian, March 12).

2008 — Real and Imagined Threats to the Rule of Law, 15 Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law 478.

2008 — Law and the Common Good, 4 Socio-Legal Review 9 (solicited).

2008 — Gerrymandering, in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE SUPREME COURT (Macmillan Reference, USA) (solicited encyclopedia entry).

2008 — Free-speech ruling may add to friction (op-ed, The Oregonian, August 22).

2008 — Bring constitution into the 21st Century (op-ed, Register Guard, June 26).

2008 — Law and moral reasons (proceedings of The International Congress on the Philosophy of Law, Bar Association of Ankara and the Philosophical Society of Turkey).

2007 — Be They Fish Or Not Fish: The Fishy Registration of Nonsexual Offenders, 16 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 497.

2007 — The Supreme Court’s Endorsement of a Politicized Judiciary: A Philosophical Critique, 8 Journal of Law in Society 114.

2007 — An improper claim of executive privilege (Detroit Legal News, March).

2006 — The Embarrassing Saga of New York’s Derivative Right to Counsel, 80 St. John's Law Review 389.

2006 — Legislation, Adjudication, and Public Justification, Schriften zur Rechtstheorie, Volume 215/II (2006).

2005 — Why Harriet Miers should not be confirmed (Detroit Legal News, October).

2004 — Judicial Impartiality and the Regulation of Judicial Election Campaigns, 15 University of Florida Journal of Law and Public Policy 205.

2003 — MODERN LEGAL THEORY AND JUDICIAL IMPARTIALITY (Routledge-Cavendish, London) (book).

2003 — Dworkin’s ‘Best Light’ Requirement and the Proper Methodology of Legal Theory, 23 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 243.

2000 — Content-Based, Secondary Effects, and Expressive Conduct: What in the World Do They Mean (and What Do They Mean to the U.S. Supreme Court)?, 30 Seton Hall Law Review 551.

Appearances

Selected Presentations

2023    Rape Law Past and Present, International Studies University School of Law, Beijing, China.

2023    Rape Law Past and Present, Beijing Technology University School of Law, Beijing, China.

2023    Rape Law Past and Present, Weiheng Law Firm, Beijing, China.

2023    Rape Law Past and Present, Beijing Technology and Business University School of Law, Beijing, China.

2023    Rape Law Past and Present, Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China.

2023    Introduction to American Criminal Law, Agriculture University School of Law, Beijing, China.

2023    Introduction to American Criminal Law, Geely University, Chengdu, China.

2023    American Federalism, Brawijaya University Law School, Malang, Indonesia.

2023    The U.S. Constitution and Democracy, Brawijaya University Law School, Malang, Indonesia.

2022    Constitutional Law and Constitutional Philosophy, University of Portland (Constitution Day Speech).

2022    Introduction to American Constitutional Law, Brawijaya University Law School, Malang, Indonesia.

2022    Introduction to American Criminal Law, Airlangga University Law School, Surabaya, Indonesia.

2021    The Silent Prologue, Oregon Law Perspectives, University of Oregon School of Law.

2020    Presidential Nuclear War Powers: A Commentary (with Professor Jane Cramer), University of Oregon School of Law, American Constitution Society Event.

2020    The Judicial Confirmation Process: A Debate (with Professor Josh Blackman of South Texas College of Law), University of Oregon School of Law, Federalist Society event.

2019    The Constitutional Right Not to be Executed if Innocent, Beijing Institute of Technology, China.

2019    Constitutional Protections of suspects in custodial Interrogations, Agriculture University Law School, Beijing, China.

2019    Constitutional Protections of suspects in custodial Interrogations, Technology and Business University Law School, Beijing, China.

2019    How Judicial Philosophies Shape the Right to Free Speech, Beijing International Studies University School of Law.

2019    A Historical Assessment of the U.S. Supreme Court and Its Implications for Judicial Review, University of Oregon School of Law, Constitution Day lecture.

2019    Political Liberalism as a Paradigm of Substantive Due Process, University of Nevada in Las Vegas, Symposium: Substantive Due Process.

2019    Originalism: A Debate (with Professor Ilan Wurman of Arizona State University), University of Oregon School of Law, Federalist Society event.

2018    Police Interrogations and the Development of the Miranda Doctrine, Public Security University of China.

2018    The War on Terror and the Freedom of Speech, Beijing Technology and Business University Law School.

2018    The Right to Counsel in Police Interrogations, China University of Petroleum-Beijing Law School.

2018    The Fallacy of Legal Certainty, Beijing International Studies University School of Law.

2018    Judicial Review and the U.S. Supreme Court, Beijing International Studies University Diplomatic School.

2018    The War on Terror and the Freedom of the Press in the Trump Era, School of Journalism and Communication Research Seminar Series, University of Oregon.

2018    U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review, University of Oregon School of Law, American Constitution Society event.

2018    Free Speech on Campus, A debate, University of Oregon School of Law, Federalist Society event.

2018    More Harm than Good? On Erwin Chemerinsky’s Critical Review of the U.S. Supreme Court, University of Oregon School of Law, Lectures & Awards.

2018    The Freedom of Speech at the Dawn of the Trump Administration, Resistance in the Courts and in the Streets: Legal and Activist Responses to a Year of Living Dangerously, American Constitution Society CLE event, Portland, Oregon.

2017    Government Leakers, Secret Surveillance, and Terror-Related Speech, Lane County Bar Association CLE (guest lecture), Eugene Oregon.

2017    The First Amendment and the War on Terror, University of Oregon School of Law, Constitution Day lecture.

2017    Between Conservatism and Formalism, XXVIII World Congress of the International Association for the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, Lisbon, Portugal.

2016    Textualism and the Theory of Separation of Powers, Pacific North West Political Science Association, Portland, Oregon.

2016    Campaign Finance. A debate with William Maurer of the Institute for Justice, University of Oregon School of Law, Federalist Society Event.

2016    The War on Terror and the Freedom of Speech in the Internet Era, Legal and Policy Dimensions of Cybersecurity, George Washington University, Washington D.C.

2016   Some Observations Regarding the First Amendment and the War on Terror, Korean Constitutional Court (Guest Lecturer).

2016   Some Observations Regarding the First Amendment and the War on Terror, Freedom of Expression Conference, Chung‐Ang Law School, Seoul, Korea.

2016   U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (University of Oregon School of Law, ACS-sponsored event)

2016   Abortion: Past, Present, and Future. A debate with Mary Rice Hasson, Director, Catholic Women's Forum (Federalist Society Event).

2016    Is Textualism Required by Constitutional Separation of Powers? (Willamette University College of Law, Faculty Forum Guest Lecturer).

2016    Is Textualism Required by Constitutional Separation of Powers? (University of Oregon School of Law, Lectures & Awards)

2015    U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (University of Oregon School of Law, ACS event)

2015    Textualism and Separation of Powers, (Loyola Constitutional Law Colloquium, Chicago).

2015    When the Federal Constitution Limits Civil Rights and Liberties (University of Oregon School of Law, Constitution Day Event).

2014    U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (University of Oregon School of Law, ACS-sponsored event)

2014    The Rule of Law, Democracy, and Rationality (PNW Political Science Association, Bend, Oregon).

2014    The First Amendment in the 2014-15 Supreme Court docket (Lane County Bar Association).

2014    'Judicial Activism, Judicial Engagement, and Judicial Restraint: What They Are and What They Are not.' A debate with Clark Neily of the Institute of Justice (Federalist Society Event).

2014    The Rationalization of Policy: On the Relation Between Democracy and the Rule of Law (Guest Lecturer, University of Warsaw Faculty of Law, Faculty of Law and Administration, Adam Mickiewicz University).

2014    U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (University of Oregon School of Law, ACS event).

2013 Judicial Elections, Legal Positivism, and the U.S. Supreme Court (Seoul National University Foreign Lecturer Series, Seoul, South Korea).

2013 Capitalism, Liberalism, and the American Constitution (Kodang International Conference, Soongsil University, Seoul, South Korea).

2013 The Roberts Court’s Formalism (Loyola Constitutional Law Colloquium, Chicago).

2013 Political Liberalism and the Constitutional Right to Privacy (Pacific North-West Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Vancouver BC, Canada).

2013 The Constitution and Homelessness (Eugene City Club).

2013 National Security and the Constitution: Recent Developments (University of Oregon School of Law, Constitution Day Event).

On the Relation Between Democracy and the Rule of Law (26th World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, Belo Horizonte, Brazil) (2013 forthcoming).

U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (2013 University of Oregon School of Law, ACS event).

Conflict of Rights (2013 University of Oregon School of Law, Lectures & Awards).

2012    Supreme Court Review/Preview (a discussion with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor Paula Abrams) (Oregon Bar Association) (Constitution Law Section, Oregon Bar, Portland).

2012    Judicial Fundamentalism, the Fourth Amendment, and Ashcroft v. al-Kidd (Constitutional Law Colloquium, Loyola Univ. School of Law, Chicago).

2012    'Is Citizens United Good for Democracy?' (a debate with Professor Bradley Smith, former Chair of the Federal Elections Commission) (University of Oregon School of Law).

2012    The Constitution and the War on Terror (a debate with Professor Stephen F. Knott) (Linfield College, Oregon).

2012    Constitution Day Presentation (commentary on a lecture by David Frohnmayer) (University of Oregon School of Law).

2012    Citizens United’s Vision of Democracy (O’Connell Conference, “First Amendment Protections Now: 'Speech’ ‘Press’ and ‘Assembly’,” Portland OR).

2012    Constitutionalizing Corruption (University of Oregon School of Law, Lectures & Awards).

2012    U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (University of Oregon School of Law, ACS event)

2012    The Fallacy of Legal Certainty (University of Warsaw, University of Lodz, Polish Judges Association, Poland).

2012    Legal Positivism and Textualism (University of Warsaw).

2011    U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (Oregon Bar Association, Portland)

2011    U.S. Supreme Court Preview/Review (University of Oregon School of Law, ACS event

2011    Capitalism, Liberalism, and Substantive Due Process (Constitutional Law Colloquium, Loyola Univ. School of Law, Chicago).

2011    The Legal Principle of Public Justification (XXIII World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy) (Frankfurt, Germany).

2011    Political Liberalism and the Constitutional Right to Privacy (XXIII World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy) (Frankfurt, Germany).

2011    Citizens United and Judicial Elections (Democracy, Inc?, Law Review Symposium) (University of San Francisco).

2011    Capitalism, Liberalism, and the Right to Privacy (Lectures & Awards) (Univ. of Oregon).

The Federal Constitution As a Ceiling, Not Just a Floor (Constitutional Law Colloquium, Loyola Univ. School of Law, Chicago) (2010)

Federal Constitutional Limitations on State Constitutional Right (O’Connell Conference for Appellate Judges) (Portland, OR) (2010).

2010 The Gun Debate (A debate with Supreme Court litigator Alan Gura, The Federalist Society) (Univ. of Oregon)

2010 On Suggestive and Necessary Identification Procedures (CLE, Public Defenders Services of Lane County) (Eugene, OR).

2009 Supreme Court Review/Preview (American Constitution Society) (Univ. of Oregon)

2009 On Bright-Line Rules and Vague Standards (Wayne Morse Center Politics and Policy Colloquium) (Univ. of Oregon).

2009 Capitalism, Liberalism, Democracy, and Legal Certainty (24th IVR World Congress) (Beijing).

2009 Dual Systems of Civil rights Protection (Symposium: Rethinking the Philosophy of Law: Legal Theory, Human Rights and Constitutions) (Istanbul).

2009 Democracy and the Rule of Law (Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference) (Chicago).

2009 The Natural Law Foundations of the Constitution: Antiquated or More Needed than Ever? (A debate with Dr. Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute) (Univ. of Oregon).

2008 Who Cares About Legal Theory, and Why? (International Law Society) (Univ. of Oregon).

2008 On the Relation between Law and Politics (A debate with Professor Mark Graber, American Constitution Society) (Univ. of Oregon).

2008 Judicial elections and the Supreme Court's Misguided Legal Theory (O'Connell Conference) (Univ. of Oregon).

2008 Law and Moral Reasons (International Congress on the Philosophy of Law, Bar Association of Ankara and the Philosophical Society of Turkey) (Ankara, Turkey).

2007 Politicized Legal Interpretation, XXIII World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (Krakow. Poland).

2007 What is Legal Theory? (International Law Society) (Detroit).

2006 Is President Bush's Surveillance Program Constitutional? (Constitution Week Lecture) (Detroit).

2006 The U.S. Supreme Court and the Notion of Judicial Impartiality (Association for Legal and Social Philosophy, Annual Conference) (Dublin).

2006 Textualism and Judicial Independence (American Constitution Society, Symposium on Judicial Independence) (Detroit).

2003 Reason and Legislative Intent (Oxford Jurisprudence Colloquium) (Oxford, England).

2002 Law and Justification, (2nd Euroconference in Legal Philosophy: The Judiciary and the European Construction Process) (Gerona, Spain).