In the Press

Our law faculty are frequently contacted by local and national media outlets to comment on issues of global importance.

To learn more about our law faculty, please visit our online Faculty Directory.

Below are recent samples of our faculty in the news.

On this page:

April - May 2022

Abramovsky.

03/25/2022 - Dean Aviva Abramovsky was recognized by Buffalo Rising as a female trailblazer in Erie County.
 

mark bartholomew.

05/19/2022 – BBC News quoted Professor Mark Bartholomew in a story about a class action suit against Wendy’s and McDonald’s over allegations of false advertising. A similar story ran in Brooklyn Magazine and Inside Imaging.

boucai.

03/25/2022 - The Washington Post, quoted Professor Michael Boucai in its story on nearly 200 state bills that seek to erode protections for transgender and gay youth or restrict discussion of LGBTQ topics in public schools.

Dimicki.

03/16/2022 - WIVB quoted Professor Matthew Dimick in a report on the resurgence of labor unions.
 

Drew.

04/16/2022 - The New York Times quoted  Teaching Faculty Nellie Drew in its story on funding for the Buffalo Bills’ $1.4 billion stadium.

03/29/2022 - The Buffalo News quoted Drew in a story on the new Buffalo Bills stadium and its economic impact on the region.

03/28/2022  - Drew was interviewed by WKBW-TV in a story on the possible use of personal seat licenses, or PSLs, in the Buffalo Bills' new stadium. 

03/28/2022 - WBEN talked to Drew in a segment about the broader financial impact the Buffalo Bills' new stadium will have on the local economy.
 
03/25/2022 - Drew commented in a front page story in The Buffalo News on the reaction of some Bills fans to the cost of a new stadium.

finley.

05/03/2022 – WIVB interviewed Professor Lucinda Finley on the legal impact of the Supreme Court's draft opinion on abortion rights.
 

woman standing outside.

04/20/2022 - A New York Times op-ed discusses the Superpredator myth highlighting Associate Professor Ali Harrington's work to obtain justice for a 14-year old convicted to life in prison for non-homicide offenses. (Note: the op-ed is behind a paywall.)

January - February 2022

photo of barbas.

07/13/2021 - The HuffPost quoted Professor Samantha Barbas in an article on Sarah Palin's defamation case against The New York Times. Blooberglaw’s column, Opening Argument, was also quoted Barbas on the Palin case.

Dimicki.

02/22/2022 - The Buffalo News quoted Professor Matthew Dimick on privacy issues in the workplace for unionized employees in a case where a recorded conversation among New York Power Authority workers led to an employee’s termination.

Drew.

02/23/2022 - The Athletic quoted  Teaching Faculty Nellie Drew in an article on the agreement between the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) and U.S. Soccer that brings their equal pay dispute to a close. 

02/14/2022 - Drew appeared on NPR's Marketplace to discuss Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL.

02/02/2022 - WGRZ also interviewed Drew regarding Brian Flores' racial discrimination case.

01/16/2022 - A New York Times article on the Buffalo Bills defeating the New England Patriots quoted Drew, who compared the Bills’ performance to blowing up the Death Star, with Bills quarterback Josh Allen being the young Jedi who finally vanquished the evil emperor, Belichick.

01/14/2022 - Buffalo Business First quoted Drew in an article about the proposed relocation of the Buffalo Bills’ stadium.

finley.

01/16/2022 – Professor Lucinda Finley was interviewed by the San Diego Union-Tribune on the recent legal interpretation of California’s definition of murder to preclude charging pregnant people with a crime when they allegedly cause the miscarriage or stillbirth of a fetus. Several media outlets ran this discussion, including The Denver Gazette.

Gardner.

01/07/2022 - WGRZ interviewed Professor James Gardner in a report on the impact of the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol on democracy. Gardner was also interviewed by PolitiFact, Charleston Post & Courier (S.C.), and The American Independent about the January 6th event.

November – December 2021

Abraham.

11/12/2021 - Heather Abraham, Director of the Civil Rights & Transparency Clinic, was quoted in The Baltimore Sun in an article on the sealing of nearly all of the recent filings and motions in the federal racketeering and obstruction of justice case against two  Baltimore attorneys.  The article was carried by Yahoo! News and other publications.

Abramovsky.

11/12/2021 - The Buffalo News quoted Dean Aviva Abramovsky in a story about the appointment of Trini Ross ’92 as the first African American woman to serve as U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York.
 

Bernstein.

12/16/2021 – The New York Times published an op-ed co-authored by Professors Anya Bernstein and Glen Staszewski, of Michigan State University College of Law, on judicial populism and U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
 

Binder.

11/24/2021 – The New York Times quoted Professor Guyora Binder in an article on the three defendants convicted of murder in the Ahmaud Arbery case, two were convicted on counts under Georgia’s felony murder law.

11/21/2021 – The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Binder in a story about a Pennsylvania case where two teenagers are being charged with felony murder for starting a gunfight that led to the police shooting and killing an eight-year-old child.

11/04/2021 - USA Today reported on a Chicago criminal case involving a conviction of felony murder and quoted Binder.

Drew.

10/10/2021 - The Buffalo News quoted Teaching Faculty Nellie Drew in an article examining the economic impact a new Buffalo Bills stadium would have on the Buffalo Niagara region.
 

finley.

12/01/2021 - WBFO interviewed Professor Lucinda Finley about whether abortion rights in New York State would be affected by the latest challenge in U.S. Supreme Court to Roe v. Wade.

11/01/2021 – The Ohio Capital Journal interviewed Finley in an article on how Ohio's law capping noneconomic loss damages in all tort cases has a severe disparate impact on minors who are sexually assaulted and who seek to sue their abusers.

11/01/2021 – WTOL quoted Finley in a report on how tort reform in Ohio limits the amount of damages that victims of child rape can recover.

Gardner.

11/09/2021 – CBS New York quoted Professor James Gardner in an article on voters alleging the existence of corruption in the election of New York state judges. A similar story also ran in Newsday.

harrington.

11/05/2021 - The Buffalo News  published an op-ed by Associate Professor Alexandra Harrington commending the New York State Parole Board for granting David Gilbert parole. Gilbert served as the unarmed getaway driver in the Brink’s robbery, during which three people were killed. Gilbert was convicted of their murder under the felony murder doctrine.

photo of Micheal Higgins.

12/01/2021 –The Investigative Post quoted Michael Higgins, Assistant Director, Civil Rights & Transparency Clinic, in an article about  a lawsuit filed by the UB Law Civil Rights and Transparency Clinic on behalf of its client, iPost, against Empire State Development Corporation for studies commissioned by Pegula Sports and Entertainment related to the proposed new Buffalo Bills Stadium.

photo of athena mutua.

11/17/2021 –The Buffalo News quoted Professor Athena Mutua in an editorial about a recent report on Buffalo’s racial socio-economic disparities and how local communities are working to address this.
 

orourke.

11/10/2021 – USA Today quoted Professor Anthony O'Rourke in a story on how Minneapolis will find unity after voter data showed the city is divided on overhauling the city's policing structure.
 

photo of matthew pelkey.

11/17/2021 - Matthew Pelkey, Director of the Entrepreneurial Law Center, wrote a column in the Niagara Gazette about the top five legal mistakes startups often make.
 

Semet.

07/14/2021 – Bloomberg Law quoted Associate Professor Amy Semet in the article “Federal Circuit Short on Promised Patent Pleading Clarity.”

03/09/2021 – Bloomberg Law discussed research by Semet in an article on the Patent Pilot Program, created 10 years ago by Congress with an eye toward increasing expertise in patent cases among district court judges.

August - October 2021

Christine bartholomew.

10/07/2021 - Professor Christine Bartholomew's article on the Catholic Church's ability to conceal information was included on The Conversation's list of "4 Essential Reads" related to the Church's sex abuse crisis.

Binder.

08/24/2021 - Professor Guyora Binder was cited in BuzzFeed News in an article on the application of the felony murder rule in a case in Arizona.
 

photo of ewing.

09/17/2021 - USA Today interviewed Professor Emeritus Chuck Ewing in an article about President Biden’s proof of vaccine requirements for federal workers and companies with more than 100 employees.

Gardner.

09/28/2021 - Real Clear Policy published an op-ed by Professor James Gardner explaining why the American political left and center -- territory now occupied exclusively by Democrats -- cannot ignore the impact of the Trump presidency.

09/28/2021 - Gardner published an op-ed in The Regulatory Review on Congress' authority to regulate elections.

09/17/2021 - WIVB-TV interviewed Gardner in a report on how Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown will not be appearing on the general election ballot in November after appeals courts at both state and federal levels have issued their decisions.

08/16/2021 - The Daily Beast quoted Gardner in an article on tweets coming from inside an investigation regarding the “Stop the Steal” voting fraud campaign. The article also appeared in MSN.

08/09/2021 - A Washington Post article quoted Gardner on what to expect in the bid to impeach New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Bloomberg also provided coverage.

08/03/2021 - Gardner was a guest on WGRZ’s Town Hall segment to discuss possible impeachment proceedings against New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

08/03/2021 - Gardner spoke with WKBW-TV about state-level impeachments, saying, “There’s no definition in the New York Constitution on what constitutes a criminal offense, so the range is extremely broad.”

Mutua.

08/27/2021 - Jeune AfriqueThe Africa ReportNationThe East African, and other outlets report that Professor Makau Mutua is among a group of more than 50 African intellectuals who have added their voices to the call for dialogue and an end to the fighting in Ethiopia.

Judith Olin.

08/13/2021 - Clinical Professor Judith Olin was quoted by Reuters in an article providing an overview of the civil lawsuits and criminal investigations likely to face New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. The article was also carried by MSN and Yahoo! News.

08/12/2021 - Olin was interviewed by Reuters regarding the potential prosecution of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

orourke.

08/14/2021 - Professor Tony O’Rourke co-wrote an op-ed in The Buffalo News, recommending that the City of Buffalo not spend federal dollars on Shotspotter, a surveillance company that claims to detect the sound and location of gunfire.

Semet.

08/25/2021 - Associate Professor Amy Semet was quoted in The Guardian in an article on the cripplingly high bail bonds paid by immigrants seeking release from detention across the U.S.

 

June - July 2021

photo of barbas.

07/13/2021 - The Washington Post published an op-ed by Professor Samantha Barbas regarding the Supreme Court decision in New York Times vs. Sullivan, and how freedom of speech and the press could be drastically truncated if the decision were revisited and reversed.

Christine bartholomew.

07/05/2021 - Professor Christine Bartholomew was interviewed by WalletHub on credit cards that do not require a credit check as part of the application.
 

Dimicki.

06/30/2021 - Verywell Health quoted Professor Matthew Dimick in an article on the effectiveness of monthly Child Tax Credit payments to eligible families.

 

Drew.

07/07/2021 – Teaching faculty Nellie Drew was interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio regarding Olympic runner Sha’Carri Richardson who was suspended after a positive marijuana test.

06/30/2021 - Drew was quoted in article from the Dallas Morning News on college athletes now eligible to be compensated for commercial use of their likeness.

06/29/2021 - An article in The Athletic on an investigation into allegations of the sexual assault of two former Chicago Blackhawks hockey players by the team’s video coach quoted Drew.

06/22/2021 - Drew appeared on multiple CBS News television affiliates nationwide discussing the Supreme Court’s ruling that the NCAA cannot restrict certain forms of compensation for student athletes. She was also interviewed by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Gardner.

07/12/2021 - CBS News quoted Professor James Gardner in a story on the Supreme Court's decision upholding Arizona voting rules that ban third party collection of mail-in ballots and discard ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The story was also published on YahooNews.

lindsay gladney.

05/27/2021 - Lindsay Gladney, the law school’s vice dean for admissions, was interviewed by U.S. News & World Report on the advantages of the GRE in law school admissions.
 

Steilen.

06/17/2021 - WXXI-FM, the PBS affiliate of Rochester, interviewed Professor Matthew Steilen on teaching the U.S. Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sanford.

06/08/2021 - The New Yorker quoted Steilen in an article about a Twitter discussion he launched on how to teach the U.S. Supreme Court case, Dred Scott v. Sandford in law school.

March - May 2021

Christine bartholomew.

03/15/2021 - WIVB quoted Professor Christine Bartholomew in a story about a Buffalo man facing multiple federal charges after images connected him to the Capitol riot.
 

mark bartholomew.

03/04/2021 – The Latin American Herald Tribune quoted Professor Mark Bartholomew in an article about whether Google and Facebook should be required to pay news outlets for content.

Brown.

05/04/2021 - CBS News interviewed Professor Todd Brown in an article on the U.S. Justice Department's objections to the National Rifle Association's bankruptcy plan, stating the NRA's leaders mismanaged funds and failed to properly safeguard the organization's records. MSN also carried the article.

04/08/2021 - Yahoo Finance quoted Brown in a story on apparel companies that filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic. 

Drew.

04/02/2021 - The Dallas Morning News quoted teaching faculty Nellie Drew in a story reporting that the Texas Senate passed a bill allowing college athletes to benefit financially from the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

03/28/2021 - WGN Radio interviewed Drew about a pending U.S. Supreme Court case addressing whether the NCAA can cap educational benefits and player compensation. The article was also picked up by The Denver Channel.

03/12/2021 - The Dallas Morning News quoted Drew in a story on how Texas may join other states in letting college athletes benefit financially from their name, image and likeness (NIL).

finley.

05/13/2021 - Yahoo!News quoted Professor Lucinda Finley in a story about a proposed bill in Texas that would allow anyone in the state to sue over an abortion performed past six weeks.

05/11/2021 - WKBW News quoted Finley in an article on the many lawsuits being filed against distributors of opioids. The story was also published in Fox47 and ABCActionNews.

04/26/2021 - The Miami Herald quoted Finley in an article about a Florida mother accused of seeking to profit from her son’s disability.

Gardner.

03/12/2021 - Bloomberg interviewed Professor James Gardner in a story where he shared insights on how impeachment proceedings against a governor might work in New York State.

03/09/2021 - WIVB-TV interviewed Gardner about the process of impeaching a governor in New York State. The story also ran in Rochester First and News 10 in Albany.

Odunsi.

04/19/2021 - The New York Law Journal featured an article on the challenges aspiring minority lawyers face along the pipeline to law school and a legal career. The article highlighted a virtual panel presentation titled "Pathways to Equity in Legal Education and the Profession," moderated by Lecturer Tolulope Odunsi. The event was co-hosted by University at Buffalo School of Law, City University of New York School of Law, St. John’s University School of Law, Syracuse University College of Law, and the New York court system’s Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission. [Watch the Presentation]

Judith Olin.

05/07/2021 – WBFO interviewed Clinical Professor Judith Olin about a grant from New York State to support the work of the Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic.

04/28/2021 - Olin and the Family Violence and Women’s Rights Clinic received a check from Erie County Legislator Jeanne Vinal ’89 to support the development of a Domestic Violence Court Watch program in Erie County. Read more about the program by visiting our UBLawResponds Blog.

Steilen.

03/17/2021 – Professor Matthew Steilen was interviewed by The Buffalo News in an article about the legality of President Biden's order requiring all states to make the COVID-19 vaccine available to everyone over 18 by May 1st.

January – February 2021

bartholomew.

02/22/2021 - The Buffalo News quoted Bartholomew in an article on the recently closed Hotel Henry. Bartholomew was also interviewed by WVIB who ran a segment on this story.
 

Binder.

02/02/2021 - The New York Times quoted Professor Guyora Binder in an article on whether rioters should be held accountable for the deaths that occurred during the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

01/14/2021 - The legal blog Lawfare.com quoted Binder in a post about speculation that pro-Trump demonstrators could be charged with felony murder following the death of five individuals in the Capitol Building riot.

01/06/2021 - The Colorado Sun reported on the ethics of Colorado's felony murder law, including comments made by Binder on a proposal from Colorado State Sen. Pete Lee to reclassify the charge from first-degree murder to second-degree murder.

01/02/2021 - Binder was quoted in the New York Times regarding the question of who qualifies as a murder accomplice in the context of the deaths that occurred at the Capitol riot in January, and whether rioters can be charged with murder.

Drew.

02/07/2021 - WBFO interviewed teaching faculty Nellie Drew and law student Jake Cercone ’21 for a story on the lack of diversity among NFL head coaches.

01/28/2021 - The New York Times quoted Drew in an article reporting that the NFL’s Houston Texans are prepared to hire David Culley as head coach, making him the team’s first full-time head coach of color.

01/22/2021 - The Buffalo News quoted Drew in an article on expatriates bonding over the Buffalo Bills’ playoff run.

01/21/2021 - Drew discussed college athletes and brand sponsorships with VOX News.

Gardner.

02/23/2021 - WORT in Madison, Wisconsin, interviewed James Gardner for a story about a Republican state lawmaker’s proposed sweeping overhauls to how Wisconsin conducts elections.

02/03/2021 - WBFO interviewed Gardner for a story on the lack of fairness in redistricting in New York.

01/27/21 - WSKG quoted Gardner regarding reports on how Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry connected Trump with a Department of Justice staffer sympathetic to Trump’s false claims about the election.

01/13/2021 - Gardner was quoted in The Washington Times in a story about issues surrounding proxy voting during the House's impeachment vote.

01/12/2021 - Gardner was quoted by USA TodayYahoo! News and MSN in articles about the applicability of invoking the 25th amendment to remove President Trump from office.

01/05/2021 - Newsweek quoted Gardner in an article examining whether then-Vice President Richard Nixon rejected Hawaii’s election results in 1960.

01/05/2021 - Gardner was quoted by the New York Times in an article about law and social norms in a democracy.

01/05/2021 - Gardner was quoted by ABC News in an article about whether Vice President Mike Pence has any authority to change the election results during the Congressional electoral vote count.

01/04/2021 - An article in Forbes cited Gardner in a report on outgoing President Trump’s repeated attempts to pressure Georgia officials to overturn state election results.

harrington.

02/27/2021 -  The New York Times published an article detailing the treatment of medically vulnerable people at Danbury Federal Correctional Institution. Student attorneys from the Criminal Justice Advocacy Clinic (CJAC), under the supervision of Associate Professor Ali Harrington, have been documenting the conditions at the facility. The CJAC team, together with student attorneys from the COVID Law & Community Engagement Clinic and class counsel from Yale and Quinnipiac law schools, have been working to enforce a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit against the prison.