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UB Expert

James A. Gardner

Expertise:

• Election law
• Federal and state constitutional law
• Civil liberties

Gardner has taught courses on constitutional law (federal and state constitutional law, First Amendment rights and election law, including the intersection of law and and democratic institutions); civil litigation (civil procedure, litigation practice and federal litigation), and government regulation (administrative law, environmental law and environmental litigation).

His book "Interpreting State Constitutions: A Jurisprudence of Function in a Federal System" argues that states may become constitutional battlegrounds over civil liberties. He has published numerous articles, including "Madison's Hope: Virtue, Self-Interest and the Design of the Electoral System," "Liberty, Community and the Constitutional Structure of Political Influence: A Reconsideration of the Right to Vote" and "Shut Up and Vote: A Critique of Deliberative Democracy and the Life of Talk." Professional experience includes cooperating attorney for the New York Civil Liberties Union, triall attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Division, and economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce.