JONATHAN TURLEY
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
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, Georgetown, Harvard, Northwestern, the University of Chicago, and other schools. He is a New York Times best-selling author of The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage (available here) and “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution” (#2 on NY Times Bestseller List).
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 2024, a G.W. alum endowed a fellowship after him, “The Professor Jonathan Turley Public Interest and Public Service Summer Fellowship.”
In addition to his extensive publications, Professor Turley has served as counsel in some of the most notable cases in the last two decades including the representation of whistleblowers, military personnel, judges, members of Congress, and a wide range of other clients. He is also one of the few attorneys to successfully challenge both a federal and a state law — leading to courts striking down the federal Elizabeth Morgan law as well as the state criminalization of cohabitation.
In 2010, Professor Turley represented Judge G. Thomas Porteous in his impeachment trial. After a trial before the Senate, Professor Turley (on December 7, 2010) argued both the motions and gave the final argument to all 100 U.S. Senators from the well of the Senate floor — only the 14th time in history of the country that such a trial of a judge has reached the Senate floor. Judge Porteous was convicted of four articles of impeachments, including the acceptance of $2000 from an attorney and using a false name on a bankruptcy filing.
In 2011, Professor Turley filed a challenge to the Libyan War on behalf of ten members of Congress, including Representatives Roscoe Bartlett (R., Md); Dan Burton (R., Ind.); Mike Capuano (D., Mass.); Howard Coble (R., N.C.); John Conyers (D., Mich.); John J. Duncan (R., Tenn.); Tim Johnson (R., Ill.); Walter Jones (R., N.C.); Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio); and Ron Paul (R., Tx). The lawsuit was before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
In November 2014, Turley agreed to serve as lead counsel to the United States House of Representatives in its constitutional challenge to changes ordered by President Obama to the Affordable Care Act. The litigation was approved by the House of Representatives to seek judicial review of the claims under the separation of powers. On May 12, 2016, the federal court handed down a historic victory for the House and ruled that the Obama Administration violated the separation of powers in ordering billions to be paid to insurance companies without an appropriation of Congress.
Other cases 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; Dr. Eric Foretich, the husband in the famous Elizabeth Morgan custody controversy; and four former United States Attorneys General during the Clinton impeachment litigation. In the Foretich case, Turley succeeded recently in reversing a trial court and striking down a federal statute through a rare “bill of attainder” challenge. Professor Turley has also served as counsel in a variety of national security cases, including espionage cases like that of Jim Nicholson, the highest ranking CIA officer ever accused of espionage. Turley also served as lead defense counsel in the successful defense of Petty Officer Daniel King, who faced the death penalty for alleged spying for Russia. Turley also served as defense counsel in the case of Dr. Tom Butler, who is faced criminal charges dealing with the importation and handling of thirty vials of plague in Texas. He also served as counsel to Larry Hanauer, the House Intelligence Committee staffer accused of leaking a classified Presidential National Intelligence Estimate to the New York Times. (Hanauer was cleared of all allegations).
Among his current cases, Professor Turley represents Dr. Ali Al-Timimi, who was convicted in Virginia in 2005 of violent speech against the United States. (He was ultimately cleared of all charges in 2026). In 2020, the federal court found that there was merit in the challenges raised by Professor Turley and his co-counsel Tom Huff. Accordingly, the judge ordered his release to protect him from Covit-19 while the Court prepared a decision on the challenges. Pursuant to a court order, Dr. Al-Timimi was released from the Supermax in Colorado and the two drove across the country so that he could be placed into home confinement. He also represented Dr. Sami Al-Arian, who was accused of being the American leader of a terrorist organization while he was a university professor in Florida. Turley represented Dr. Al-Arian for eight years, much of which was in a determined defense against an indictment for criminal contempt. The case centered on the alleged violation of a plea bargain by the Justice Department after Dr. Al-Arian was largely exonerated of terrorism charges in Tampa, Florida. On June 27, 2014, all charges were dropped against Dr. Al-Arian. He also represented pilots approaching or over the age of 60 in their challenge to the mandatory retirement age of the FAA. He also represented David Murphee Faulk, the whistleblower who disclosed abuses in the surveillance operations at NSA’s Fort Gordon facility in Georgia.
Professor Turley also served as an expert defense witness in the extradition proceedings of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in London. Turley was asked to testify on the likely pre-trial, trial, and appellate issues facing Mr. Assange as well as the prison conditions that he could expect upon extradition to Northern Virginia for trial.
Professor Turley also agreed to serve as lead counsel representing the Brown family from the TLC program “Sister Wives, a reality show on plural marriage or polygamy. On December 13, 2013, the federal court in Utah struck down the criminalization of polygamy — the first such decision in history — on free exercise and due process grounds. On September 26, 2014, the court also ruled in favor of the Browns under Section 1983 — giving them a clean sweep on all of the statutory and constitutional claims. In April 2015, a panel reversed the decision on standing grounds and that decision is now on appeal.
Professor Turley was also lead counsel in the World Bank protest case stemming from the mass arrest of people in 2002 by the federal and district governments during demonstrations of the IMF and World Bank. Turley and his co-lead counsel Dan Schwartz (and the law firm of Bryan Cave) were the first to file and represented student journalists arrested without probable cause. In April 2015, after 13 years of intense litigation, the case was settled for $2.8 million, including $115,000 for each arrestee — a record damage award in a case of this kind and over twice the amount of prior damages for individual protesters. The case also exposed government destruction and withholding of evidence as well as the admitted mass arrest of hundreds of people without probable cause.
Professor Turley also served as the legal expert in the review of polygamy laws in the British Columbia (Canada) Supreme Court. In the latter case, he argued for the decriminalization of plural union and conjugal unions. In 2012, Turley also represented the makers of “Five Wives Vodka” (Ogden’s Own Distillery) in challenging an effective ban on the product in Idaho after officials declared the product to be offensive to Mormons. After opposing the ban on free speech and other grounds, the state of Idaho issued a letter apologizing for public statements made by officials and lifting the ban on sale for “Five Wives Vodka.”
Turley has served as a consultant on homeland security and constitutional issues, including with the Florida House of Representatives. He also served as the consultant to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives on the impeachment of Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá.
Professor Turley is a frequent witness before the House and Senate on constitutional and statutory issues as well as tort reform legislation. He has testified over 100 times in the House and the Senate. That testimony includes the confirmation hearings of Attorney General nominees Loretta Lynch and William Barr as well as Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. 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 also found to be the second most cited law professor in the country. He has been ranked in the top five most popular law professors on Twitter and has been repeatedly ranked in the nation’s top 500 lawyers in annual surveys (including in the latest rankings by LawDragon) – one of only a handful of academics. In prior years, he was ranked as one of the nation’s top ten lawyers in military law cases as well as one of the top 40 lawyers under 40. He was also selected in the last five years as one of the 100 top Irish lawyers in the world. In 2016, he was ranked as one of the 100 most famous (past and present) law professors.
Professor Turley is one of only two academics to testify at both the Clinton and Trump impeachment hearings. In December 2019, Professor Turley was called as the one Republican witness in the House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearings. He appeared with three Democratic witnesses. Professor Turley disagreed with his fellow witnesses in opposing the proposed articles of impeachments on bribery, extortion, campaign finance violations or obstruction of justice. He argued that these alleged impeachable acts were at odds with controlling definitions of those crimes and that Congress has historically looked to the criminal code and cases for guidance on such allegations. The committee ultimately rejected those articles and adopted the only two articles that Professor Turley said could be legitimately advanced: abuse of power, obstruction of Congress. Chairman Jerrold Nadler even ended the hearing by quoting his position on abuse of power. However, Turley opposed impeachment on this record as incomplete and insufficient for submission to the Senate. He argued for the House to wait and complete the record by seeking to compel key witnesses like former National Security Adviser John Bolton. His testimony was later relied upon in the impeachment floor debate by various House members and he was cited by both the White House and House managers in their arguments before the United States Senate in the Trump impeachment trial, including videotaped remarks played at the trial.
Professor Turley’s articles on legal and policy issues appear regularly in national publications with hundreds of articles in such newspapers as the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal. He is a columnist for USA Today and writes regularly for the Washington Post. In 2005, Turley was given the Columnist of the Year award for Single-Issue Advocacy for his columns on civil liberties by The Aspen Institute and the Week Magazine. Professor Turley also appears regularly as a legal expert on all of the major television networks. Since the 1990s, he has worked under contract as the on-air Legal Analyst for NBC News, CBS News, BBC and Fox News. Professor Turley has been a repeated 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 has taught 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). His work with older prisoners has been honored in various states, including his selection as the 2011 recipient of the Dr. Mary Ann Quaranta Elder Justice Award at Fordham University.
In 2024, the Washingtonian recognized Turley as one of the most influential persons in shaping policy. His award-winning blog is routinely ranked as one of the most popular legal blogs by AVVO. His blog was selected as the top News/Analysis site in 2013, the top Legal Opinion Blog in 2011 as well as prior selections as the top Law Professor Blog and Legal Theory Blog. It was also ranked in the top 20 constitutional law blog in 2018. It has been regularly ranked by the ABA Journal in the top 100 blogs in the world. In 2012, Turley was selected as one of the top 20 legal experts on Twitter by Business Insider. In 2013, the ABA Journal inducted the Turley Blog into its Hall of Fame. In addition to teaching a course on the Supreme Court and the Constitution, he is on the board of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Professor Turley received his B.A. at the University of Chicago and his J.D. at Northwestern. In 2008, he was given an honorary Doctorate of Law from John Marshall Law School for his contributions to civil liberties and the public interest.
Twitter: @jonathanturley
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.” and “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
Icon made by DinosoftLabs from Flaticon
Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship
Jake Tapper, ABC News
December 09, 2008 3:37 PM
“Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney’s office today,” said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint against Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich for corruption. “But as this is a ongoing investigation involving the governor I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time.”
Asked what contact he’d had with the governor’s office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.”
But on November 23, 2008, his senior adviser David Axelrod appeared on Fox News Chicago and said something quite different.
While insisting that the President-elect had not expressed a favorite to replace him, and his inclination was to avoid being a “kingmaker,” Axelrod said, “I know he’s talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them.”
read more at blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/12/questions-arise.html
Mr. Turley,,
Thanks for standing up for the law at a time when its under attack at the highest levels, with consequences too hard to think about. Peace to you and yours,,
fee-
Prof. Turley.
Thank you.
You are making a difference.
An important difference.
A huge difference.
you simple minded hate monger stinking miserable neo-lib….you lick overbites boots and rachel mandows boots that creepy guy on mslsd….how do you live with yourself…..bet you got beat up on the playground a lot! have you come out yet? you and your sick demented liberal comrades teaching our children make me sick….you hate the usa, you hate the military, you hate family values….the 58,000,000 of us that are good decent God loving, (sorry to mention God you soulless creature, I know how you neo-libs hate God) family values, usa loving, military loving citizens will take back the usa from you and your sick ilk….we fight for your free speech but we hate you cowards, you stinking rats…go to hell
What would Professor Turley suggest I do about this problem? I had an individual profile page on facebook under my blogging name of SteadyCat. Facebook accused me of not being an individual but a business with more than one person and who is making money. In spite of the fact that I am just an individual whose friends call her Steadycat and who blogs – they refused to change their view. I was told that their decision is final. What would you advise me to do – other than just accept it and walk away? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
Change? Who said Change?
Obama is starting to feel a bit of pressure from members of the far left of his own party who are beginning to raise their eyebrows over the fact that he hasn’t shown any desire to institute any “change” thus far with his staff.
Obama went so far as to address the situation today as MSNBC reported on its FirstRead blog.
Obama explains away his lack of “change” and his picking of a plethora of out-of-work Clintonites by saying that who he puts on his staff and cabinet don’t matter. It’s because he is the change we seek, you see? But, wait, you might ask. If the press were paying attention, they might remember that during his acceptance speech he said this whole thing wasn’t about him, it was about us? Wasn’t it that we were the change we were waiting for… right?
Is the stupid press going to let him get away with dropping that hoary rhetoric only to say now it’s suddenly all about him?
NYT columnist needs to read the Constitution
posted at 11:20 am on November 23, 2008
Do the editors of the New York Times’ opinion pages ever exercise editorial control over their content? I missed Gail Collins’ ignorant and obtuse entry yesterday while traveling, but it’s worth highlighting for its sheer stupidity. She wants George Bush to resign now so that Barack Obama can start running the country before the inauguration:
“Thanksgiving is next week, and President Bush could make it a really special holiday by resigning.
Seriously. We have an economy that’s crashing and a vacuum at the top. Bush — who is currently on a trip to Peru to meet with Asian leaders who no longer care what he thinks — hasn’t got the clout, or possibly even the energy, to do anything useful. His most recent contribution to resolving the fiscal crisis was lecturing representatives of the world’s most important economies on the glories of free-market capitalism.
Putting Barack Obama in charge immediately isn’t impossible. Dick Cheney, obviously, would have to quit as well as Bush. In fact, just to be on the safe side, the vice president ought to turn in his resignation first. (We’re desperate, but not crazy.) Then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would become president until Jan. 20. Obviously, she’d defer to her party’s incoming chief executive, and Barack Obama could begin governing.
As a bonus, the Pelosi presidency would put a woman in the White House this year after all. On the downside, a few right-wing talk-show hosts might succumb to apoplexy. That would, of course, be terrible, but I’m afraid we might have to take the risk in the name of a greater good.”
Beyond her ignorance of the President’s schedule, Collins shows a remarkable ignorance of the Constitution and of American government.
Let’s focus first on the practical implications of her suggestion. The sudden resignation of the duly elected executive would bring government to a standstill. Obama hasn’t had enough time to transition between the Bush administration to his team, and Pelosi hasn’t even thought about it. What happens in the meantime? Congress hasn’t even received the nominations of the political appointees from Obama. The new White House staff hasn’t even been chosen.
And Pelosi will suddenly be able to run the executive branch? Uh, sure. Collins bases this on the fact that she has two X chromosomes and nothing else. In fact, while celebrating the idea of making a woman temporary President, she then says that Pelosi will simply do what another man will order her to do. That little bit of irony somehow escapes Collins, along with common sense and procedural issues.
More importantly, no one voted for Pelosi to be president. The succession act Collins references exists to ensure continuity in case of disaster, not on the whim of a constipated New York Times columnist whose need for instant gratification apparently outweighs the rest of her cerebral processes.
We have representative government with legal processes in place to protect against instability and abuse. Bush has the responsibility to fulfill the rest of his term and to assist Obama in transitioning smoothly between the two administrations in order to ensure the stability of the US government. Our constitutional form of government is strong enough to allow for this kind of transition, which it has for 220 years.
Obama will be President on January 20, 2009, and not before. If Gail Collins can’t wait for that date, then perhaps the New York Times should send her on an extended leave of absence so that she doesn’t further embarrass herself or her paper in the next two months.
In just over two weeks Barack Obama has reversed almost every campaign promise he made and he hasn’t even taken office yet.
The new star in our political canopy, Rahm Emanuel, is reported to have served in the Israeli Army while being a US citizen.
Did he violate any US laws???
Could you please clarify the legal scene in this regard?
Keep up the excellent work!
Welcome & Best Wishes to
President-Elect Obama & Our New Congress!
Barrack Obama says change comes from the people and I believe him. But it needs political leadership when the subject is THOUGHT READING TECHNOLOGY, and the people haven’t been told by their government that this technology even exists, let alone is in use by government agents on U.S. Citizens living in America .
I’ve been tortured for 15 years by government agents broadcasting (remotely) to me, reading my thoughts, threatening mock ‘heart attacks’, and dream manipulated without cause or warrant. 15 YEARS!
I watched in wonder as our nation debated FISA and warrantless wiretaps on calls between the U.S. and foreign nations, all the while knowing the pain of the intrusion of my government on my life. I watched our leaders start wars in the name of bring freedom to other countries while my freedoms are trampled on here at home.
Thanks to President-Elect Obama for promising that he will review the lawfulness of government activities in the first thirty days of his administration. Thank you to Vice President-Elect Joe Biden for promising that any unlawful activities discovered will be prosecuted.
And special thanks to Senator Russ Feingold for his willingness to share information with other members of Congress who have the proper security clearanc–information on this technology, and his hopeful comments that he believes information on thought reading technology will become public either by the new Executive Branch in January, or by leak, or by report of Congressional Oversight Officers. Senator Feingold – you give me hope every day that my ordeal will soon be ended.
We need to restore that we are governed by law and not by men. The crimes committed for fifteen years against me must be brought public, the perpetrators have no business working for the U.S. government; in fact they should be prosecuted when we have a new, reliable Attorney General. The DOJ must be restored to an entity that all Americans can believe in.
My name is Kathleen Teresa Heckman, I live at 2212 26th Street, #5 , Sacramento , CA 95818 . My phone is 916-712-3560 (I will shortly have a new Ph #). PLEASE DON’T FORGET ME.
Hey Prof. Turley,
I was doing some age discrimination research and I came across your blog while reading about the stripper… Pretty funny stuff! I have to say you’ve done an excellent job. You probably don’t remember me, but I was in your crim pro class in ’05. I hope that all is well with you.
Sincerely,
Dan Furlong
Dear Professor,
What do you think about Bird Flu Attack in US?
Yours
David
re: Obama
I think being 20 minutes late for your first Press Conference and then giving what amounted to a campaign speech was an extremely ridiculous start for Obama.
I think his approval rating, after just three days, has gone from 60% to 50%.
Three screw-ups in just three days:
Naming a man who lied about losing a finger defending Israel in the Israeli Defense Force when he lost it to a fast food machine, a man who sent a rotten fish in the mail to a detractor, and a man who was a Director of Freddie Mac for two years 2000 to 2001 and to date who voted to obstruct further regulation of them……yes I am talking about RAHM EMMANUAL, as your Chief of Staff is totally STUPID!
Not speaking up when Russia tested him on Wednesday by announcing they would be moving missiles to the Poland border.
Not renouncing immediately a letter from Achmadinajad asking Obama to eliminate the sanctions on his country.
I could go on, but hey, this is only his third day as President elect! I did notice he has his own “Office of the President Elect” seal already…..
In just two days Barack Obama has proven he isn’t up to the job.
After his first top secret Presidential Daily Briefing on threats we face in the world, Barack Obama emerged from the meeting visibly shaken and pale.
Wall Street has already seen right through Obama and we have suffered the worst two day loss since 1987 – the worst post election selloff in our history.
If President Obama continues the blind support for the Apartheid regime in Israel as did Bush, Clinton, every other President, the Middle East will continue to deteriorate and more countries will try to get nuclear weapons and WMD. Bush, Clinton etc all “tried” to bring a peace settlement to Palestine/Israel, by giving Israel billions in weapons and over $15 000 annually to every Israeli and less than $100 to every Palestinian. Pres. Obama chastised Bush for waiting until the “waning days of his Presidency” to help secure a peace deal and stated he would make it a priority for him. Unfortunately, by making his first appointment a Zionist Jew like Rahm Emanuel, it looks like we’ll be getting Clinton’s third term.
Joe Biden was wrong. The thugs of the world did not wait 6 months to test Barack Obama – they waited 6 hours. Today Russia announced they are moving missiles to the Poland Border. Additionally, Hamas launched more than 35 missiles at Israel.
It will be interesting to see what a President Obama does any different than President Bush, and I doubt it will be very little except to raise your & my taxes and tell us the country can’t afford the tax cut he promised during the election.
Interestingly, I haven’t seen any “Obama is not my President” screaming Republicans. I haven’t seen rants that the “election was stolen”, but I did see President Bush offer to make Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff HIS OWN CHIEF OF STAFF to facilitate the transition.
Tomorrow, Barack Obama will be a different person tomorrow, the day he reads his first “Presidential Daily Briefing” on the threats to this country. That person will either be one that says “we cannot prevail with these threats to us” or he will harden and understand that this great country will win over these threats. That will be the greatest test of his life.
Tonight Retired General Tommy Franks reminded us that the military of this country, including TWO SONS OF MINE, swear allegiance to the United States of America and to their Commander in Chief, the President of the United States, regardless of their political beliefs.
Parents of military are terrified but accepting of the fact our sons & daughters lives are entrusted with an untested inexperienced young man that has been elected President while you all still suffer from some form of irrational BDS based on what the media tells you the rest of the world thinks of us or Bush. I would guess in maybe no more than 6 months the media will be whining that Obama is the reincarnation of Bush. The election is behind Obama, now he was to govern and protect. The BS talk is over.
PS. Hours ago Iraq announced Obama had indicated to Iraqi leaders that there would be no change in policy towards Iraq that would lend to instability in Iraq, including troop withdrawals. Funny how the right decisions get repeated when the election is over and the rhetoric is behind us.
God Bless America. God Bless the US Marines. God Bless the US Air Force. God Bless President Elect Obama & President Bush!!!!
Most certainly, this election resoundly proved once again Republicans & conservatives are the party of civility.
The Right-Wing, Republican, Palin/McCain/Rove xenophobes didn’t realize what they were doing. Because of them, now a large part of the American population feel that President Barack Hussein Obama is the first Muslim President in US history – how’s that for irony?
CJ:
Thanks for the nomination, but I expect that President-elect Obama will have a rather long list for that particular position.
I’ve loved listening to your commentary these past many years. If I were Barack Obama, you’d be on my short list for Supreme Court. What do you think?
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