Robert M. Chesney
Distinguished Scholar
Bobby Chesney is the Charles I. Francis Professor in Law and a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. Professor Chesney’s scholarship focuses on the difficulty of calibrating a reasonable and effective legal response to the threat posed by terrorism, with reference both to international and domestic legal frameworks. He has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege (testifying in Congress last year regarding the latter topic). He has served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security).
Professor Chesney's upcoming projects include a book (under contract with Oxford University Press) concerning the evolving judicial role in national security affairs. He has published articles on an array of topics including the post-9/11 application of federal criminal laws relating to terrorism, the detention and repatriation of Guantanamo detainees, and the impact of the state secrets privilege on national security litigation. In addition to the legal aspects of counterterrorism and other national security issues, Professor Chesney’s work also examines questions relating to the history of terrorism (including but not limited to the jihad movement), as well as the technical and organizational challenges currently facing the Intelligence Community.
Professor Chesney is a member of the American Law Institute, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of the editorial board for the Journal of National Security Law and Policy, and a past chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools. Professor Chesney also serves as an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board and a member of the Board of Directors for the Center on Law, Ethics, and National Security at Duke University. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, and has testified before Congress on national security law issues. Professor Chesney is an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board.
Selected Research:
- "Terrorism and the Convergence of Criminal and Military Detention Models," Stanford Law Review, 2008
- "State Secrets and the Limits of National Security Litigation," George Washington Law Review, 2007
- "Beyond Conspiracy? Anticipatory Prosecution and the Challenge of Unaffiliated Terrorism," Southern California Law Review, 2007
- "Disaggregating Deference: The Judicial Power and Executive Treaty Interpretations," Iowa Law Review 2007
- "Federal Prosecution of Terrorism-Related Offenses: Conviction and Sentencing Data in Light of the 'Soft Sentence' and 'Data Reliability' Critiques," Lewis and Clark Law Review, 2007
Selected Commentary:
- "What Counts as Abetting Terrorists?" The New York Times, June 2010