Dean Chris Guthrie announced that Farhang Heydari has been appointed an Assistant Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School, effective summer 2023. Heydari joins Vanderbilt from New York University School of Law, where he was the founding Executive Director of The Policing Project, a multi-disciplinary center focused on improving police accountability.
At Vanderbilt, Heydari will teach Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and other courses focusing on policing. He also joins the Criminal Justice Program.
“Farhang Heydari’s teaching and research is more important than ever,” said Dean Guthrie. “He is a burgeoning leader in the field of criminal justice, and I am excited to welcome him to the Vanderbilt community.”
Heydari’s scholarship examines different aspects of the criminal justice system, including artificial intelligence, as well as the Federal Government’s impact on local policing. His work has been published or is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review, the University of Virginia Law Review, the George Washington Law Review, and the Berkeley Technology Law Journal.
After earning his J.D. from Columbia Law School, Heydari clerked for Judge Diana G. Motz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Kimba M. Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A James Kent Academic Scholar at Columbia, he served as Editor-in-Chief of Columbia Law Review and was named Outstanding Public Interest Student of the Year. He received his A.B. in Government Cum Laude from Harvard University, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
After his clerkships, Heydari spent several years at Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, representing victims of government misconduct in complex civil rights actions. He was named a New York Rising Star in Civil Rights by Super Lawyers in 2017 and 2018.
Heydari currently serves as an appointed member of the federal government’s National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, Subcommittee on AI and Law Enforcement.
He was named to Government Technology’s 2021 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers.