Professor Randy E. Barnett is a well-known professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Among other things, he has argued before the United States Supreme Court, written a number of books and many law review articles, and taught Constitutional Law and Contracts for decades. Barnett’s academic accomplishments make it all the more interesting that his first job after law school was working as a prosecutor in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office in Chicago during the late 1970s and early 1980s.In Felony Review: Tales of True Crime and Corruption in Chicago, Barnett provides a fascinating account of his time in the State’s Attorney’s Office. In this podcast with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, Barnett discusses why he became a prosecutor, what he learned as a Harvard Law student to prepare for the job, and the many things he learned about professional ethics, charging defendants, and trying cases during his time in the office. As Barnett explains, the title of the book comes from his stint in the Felony Review Unit, a specialized office responsible for reviewing felony charges before they could proceed to court. The unit’s greatest contribution to law enforcement may have been its screening out cases that lacked sufficient evidence to go forward – as Barnett describes, the unit rejected approximately 40 percent of the requests for felony charges that it received.This podcast will be of great interest to attorneys practicing criminal law, students thinking of becoming prosecutors or defense attorneys, and the professors who teach them.

Few works of American literature have enjoyed the cultural longevity of Charles Portis's True Grit, which has been adapted into two successful films – the first, released in 1969, starred John Wayne while the second, made by the Coen brothers, appeared in 2010. This Touro Law Review podcast with Professor Robert Cochran, the author of Haunted Man's Report: Reading Charles Portis, explores the enduring appeal of the 1968 novel. In True Grit, Mattie Ross recounts the story of how, as a young Arkansas woman, she avenged the murder of her father with help of a fearsome U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn, and a vain Texas Ranger named La Boeuf. Mattie hires Cogburn because, she says, she needs help from a man with “true grit.”

In his discussion with Associate Dean Rodger Citron, Professor Cochran examines True Grit through the lens of law and literature, exploring the novel's depiction of justice at the border between Arkansas and what was known in the 19th century as the Indian Territory. Among other things, Cochran discusses the way in which Portis's research into Judge Isaac Parker informs the novel's depiction of the struggle to establish the rule of law in a violent frontier world. Cochran also describes Mattie's remarkable legal knowledge and negotiating skills. He concludes with thoughts on how True Grit reflects Portis's broader concerns about American culture, violence, and the thin line separating civilization from chaos.

On the last day of the 2025-26 term, the Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Barbara, the birthright citizenship case. As has been long settled, under the Fourteenth Amendment, with limited exceptions, any childborn in the United States is a citizen of the United States. Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion decisively upheld the district court’s judgment invalidating President Donald J. Trump’s executive order seeking to restrictthe scope of birthright citizenship.

Chief Justice Roberts’ opinion was joined by four other justices regarding the Fourteenth Amendment and five other justices regarding federal nationality law. Ultimately, six justices wrote opinions in the case. In this Touro Law Reviewpodcast, Professor Rachel Rosenbloom analyzes the Court’s decision and explains the significance of each justice’s opinion.