Melissa Murray
Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law
Melissa Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. Before joining NYU, she spent twelve years on the faculty at UC Berkeley School of Law, where she served as Interim Dean from 2016 to 2017. She is a co-author of the New York Times number-one bestseller The Trump Indictments. She serves as a legal analyst for MSNBC and co-hosts Strict Scrutiny, a popular podcast about the Supreme Court and legal culture. Her scholarship on reproductive rights and the regulation of intimate life has been widely influential.
Teaching Style
Professor Murray is an electrifying and intellectually demanding teacher who uses the Socratic method to probe the intersections of constitutional law, family law, and criminal law. She cold-calls regularly and expects students to engage with the lived experiences of the people affected by the doctrines they study. Her teaching is infused with historical context and a keen awareness of how law shapes and is shaped by social movements. Students describe her classes as transformative.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Understand the doctrinal evolution of substantive due process and equal protection, especially as applied to family and reproductive rights
- 2Be prepared to discuss how cases like Dobbs, Obergefell, and Griswold connect to broader constitutional themes
- 3Read current developments in reproductive rights law across different states — Murray integrates live legal developments into class
- 4Think about the interplay between criminal law and family law, especially regarding domestic violence, reproductive autonomy, and marriage
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Yale Law School
- B.A., University of Virginia
Notable Publications
- The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary (2023, with Andrew Weissman)
- Reproductive Rights and Justice Stories (casebook)
Research Interests
More Professors at NYU School of Law
Constitutional Law, Antidiscrimination Law, Law and Literature
Criminal Law, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, Sentencing
Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Election Law, Employment Law
Constitutional Law, Election Law, Voting Rights, Separation of Powers
Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Federal Courts, Policing
Criminal Law, Racial Justice and the Law, Eighth Amendment, Capital Punishment