Patricia J. Williams

Columnist

@madlawprofessor

Patricia J. Williams is University Professor of Law and Philosophy, and director of Law, Technology and Ethics at Northeastern University.

She-Lawyers and Other Improbable Creatures

She-Lawyers and Other Improbable Creatures She-Lawyers and Other Improbable Creatures

We're not anxious about whether Elena Kagan is gay. We're anxious about whether she's masculine.

May 20, 2010 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Not-Black by Default Not-Black by Default

Most people who appear phenotypically "black" don't play around when the government asks them to report their race.

Apr 22, 2010 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

The Hidden Cost of DNA Banking The Hidden Cost of DNA Banking

"Bio-prospecting" is unreflective--and unregulated.

Apr 16, 2010 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Convergences Convergences

The cost of failing to see our common fate.

Feb 25, 2010 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Corpus Ex Machina Corpus Ex Machina

Citizens United raises the questions: why is speech the functional equivalent of money, and why are corporations considered persons?

Jan 28, 2010 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Absolutely No Excuse Absolutely No Excuse

It is manifestly barbarous that children should be tossed into jail for life.

Nov 19, 2009 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Nobel Peace Sparks War Nobel Peace Sparks War

It's peculiar, the vocabulary that makes a liability out of the Nobel Prize.

Oct 21, 2009 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Voice of America? Voice of America?

When does a society tip from expressive speech into excessive fulmination and then into repression or violence?

Sep 23, 2009 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Reverse Nazism and the War on Universal Healthcare Reverse Nazism and the War on Universal Healthcare

What's at stake could very well be nothing less than America's own Weimar moment.

Aug 26, 2009 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

Mirror Man Mirror Man

Michael Jackson's fame and fortune ensured he had few barriers to the pursuit of whatever Mad Hatter fancy seized him--including his made-to-order kids.

Jul 1, 2009 / Column / Patricia J. Williams

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