The Branstetter Litigation & Dispute Resolution Program

Overview Curriculum Events Fellows Who We Are

Cultivating Litigation Scholarship

The Branstetter Program brings together leading academics to address evidence, class actions and other key litigation topics through such initiatives as the Excited Utterance podcast, founded and produced by evidence scholar Ed Cheng, and through frequent workshops and speakers. 

Schoolwide Initiatives

A podcast and workshop organized by Professor Ed Cheng, with the help of Alex Nunn of the University of Arkansas, Julia Simon-Kerr of the University of Connecticut, and Maggie Wittlin of the University of Nebraska. The show features presentations on evidence of wrongful convictions, forensic weapon identification, character impeachment, brain-based memory detection, legal proof, burden of proof, corroboration, and other topics.

Visit Excited Utterance

Judicial Speaker Series

The Branstetter Judicial Speaker Series is part of an ongoing effort to introduce students to a broad range of perspectives from judges who represent different types of courts. Justices and judges typically spend a day in residence at the Law School during which they serve as guest lecturers in classes, meet with student groups, and deliver a lecture that is open to the entire law community

  • Recent judicial visitors have included:
    • Judge Robert Bacharach, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
    • Judge Sheila Calloway '94 (BA'91), Metro Nashville Juvenile Court
    • Judge Christopher Cooper, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
    • Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw '81 (BA'78), U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee
    • Senior Judge Andre Davis, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
    • Judge Bernice Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
    • Justice Elena Duarte, California Court of Appeal
    • Judge Julia Gibbons, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
    • Chief Judge Robert Katzman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
    • Judge Richard Leon, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
      Associate Justice Goodwin Liu, California Supreme Court
    • Judge Raymond Lohier, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
    • Judge Jeffrey Meyer, U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut
    • Judge Brian Miller '95, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas
    • Judge Brian Morris, U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
    • Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
    • Judge Paul Oetken, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
    • Judge William Pryor, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
    • Judge John Rogers, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
    • Judge D. Brooks Smith, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
    • Judge Stephanie Thacker, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
    • Judge Amul Thapar, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
    • Judge Jon Tigar, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
    • Judge John Tinder, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (retired)
    • Chief Judge Tim Tymkovich , U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
    • Judge Robert L. Wilkins, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
    • Chief Judge Diane Wood, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
    • Judge Staci Michelle Yandle '87, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinios