Prof. Nadine Strossen

John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, Emerita & Former President, American Civil Liberties Union, New York Law School

Nadine Strossen, the John Marshall Harlan II Professor Emerita at New York Law School and past national President of the American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2008), is a Senior Fellow with FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education) and a leading expert and frequent speaker/media commentator on constitutional law and civil liberties, who has testified before Congress on multiple occasions. She serves on the advisory boards of the ACLU, Academic Freedom Alliance, Heterodox Academy, National Coalition Against Censorship, and the University of Austin.

The National Law Journal has named Strossen one of America’s "100 Most Influential Lawyers"; several other publications have named her one of the country’s most influential women; and she has received many honorary degrees and awards.

When Strossen stepped down as ACLU President, three (ideologically diverse) Supreme Court Justices participated in her farewell/tribute luncheon: Justices Ginsburg, Scalia, and Souter.

She is the author of HATE: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship (2018) and Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (forthcoming 2023). She is also the Host and Project Consultant for Free To Speak (working title), a 3-hour documentary film series on free speech scheduled for release in autumn 2023.

Her book Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women’s Rights was named a New York Times “notable book” of 1995, and her book HATE was selected as the “Common Read” by Washington University and Washburn University.

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