Jonathan Turley
Professor Jonathan Turley is a nationally recognized legal scholar who has written extensively in areas ranging from constitutional law to legal theory to tort law. He has written over three dozen academic articles that have appeared in a variety of leading law journals at Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Northwestern, and other schools. Professor Turley most recently completed a three-part study of the historical and constitutional evolution of military system. This study, entitled “The Military Pocket Republic,” will be published in three parts by Northwestern University Law Review and George Washington University Law Review.
After a stint at Tulane Law School , Professor Turley joined the George Washington faculty in 1990 and, in 1998, was given the prestigious Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law, the youngest chaired professor in the school’s history. In addition to his extensive publications, Professor Turley has served as counsel in some of the most notable cases in the last two decades. These include his representation of the Area 51 workers at a secret air base in Nevada ; the nuclear couriers at Oak Ridge , Tennessee ; the Rocky Flats grand jury in Colorado ; the husband in the famous Elizabeth Morgan custody controversy; and four former United States Attorneys General during the Clinton impeachment litigation. Professor Turley has also represented espionage defendants, including his recent victory in defense of Petty Officer Daniel King, who faced the death penalty for alleged spying for Russia. Turley has served as a consultant on homeland security issues for members of Congress and the American Legislative Exchange Counsel, the country’s largest organization of state legislators.
Professor Turley is a frequent witness before the House and Senate on constitutional and statutory issues as well as tort reform legislation. Professor Turley is also a nationally recognized legal commentator. Professor Turley was ranked as 38th in the top 100 most cited “public intellectuals” in the recent study by Judge Richard Posner. Turley was found to be the second most cited law professor in the country. Professor Turley’s articles on legal and policy issues appear regularly in national publications with over 400 articles in such newspapers as the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal. Professor Turley also appears regularly as a legal expert on all of the major television networks, including past work as the on-air Legal Analyst for NBC NEWS and CBS NEWS during the impeachment and election controversies. Professor Turley is often a guest on Sunday talk shows with over two dozen appearances on Meet the Press, ABC This Week, Face the Nation, and Fox Sunday.
Professor Turley teaches courses on constitutional law, constitutional criminal law, environmental law, litigation, and torts. He is the founder and executive director of the Project for Older Prisoners (POPS). Professor Turley is also the Executive Director of the George Washington Environmental Law Advocacy Center .