David L. Faigman, John F. Digardi Distinguished Professor of Law, and Associate Dean, UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Law, Science & Health Policy

Professor David Faigman graduated from the State University of New York, College at Oswego, where he majored in Psychology and History. He then went to the University of Virginia where he received an M.A. in social psychology and a J.D. During law school, he served on the Virginia Law Review, was elected to the Order of the Coif, and received the Roger and Madeleine Traynor Prize, awarded to acknowledge the best written work by a graduating student. After law school, Professor Faigman clerked in the chambers of the Honorable Thomas M. Reavley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Professor Faigman writes in the areas of science and the law, and constitutional law. He has published numerous books and articles concerning the use, or failure to use, scientific research in legal decision-making. His most recent book was published in 2008, entitled Constitutional Fictions: A Unified Theory of Constitutional Facts (Oxford Univ. Press). He is also the author of Laboratory of Justice: The Supreme Court's 200-Year Struggle to Integrate Science and the Law (Henry Holt/Times Books 2004) and Legal Alchemy: The Use and Misuse of Science in the Law (W.H. Freeman 1999). In addition, he is a coauthor of the five-volume treatise, Modern Scientific Evidence: The Law and Science of Expert Testimony (2008) (with Michael Saks, Joseph Sanders, and Ed Cheng). The treatise has been cited widely by courts, including several times by the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Faigman also lectures widely to judges and lawyers, and served on a panel for the National Academies of Science investigating the scientific validity of the polygraph.

Professor Faigman enjoys a wide range of diversions, including racquetball, golf, reading, and landscaping. He is married to Lisa Faigman and has three wonderful daughters, Sarah, Amanda, and Hannah.

Courses Taught: Constitutional Law I, Constitutional Law II, and Scientific Methods for Lawyers

Expertise: Science Policy, Scientific Evidence, and Constitutional Law

UC Hastings offers you the following unique opportunities... although many law schools provide one or, possibly, a few of the advantages offered by Hastings, none is able to match the wide range of exciting opportunities that a Hastings education represents. UC Hastings is a top tier law school situated in possibly the most beautiful city in the world; it has a first-rate teaching faculty that is deeply committed to scholarship; at its core is a diverse and exciting student body that contributes every day to a rich intellectual environment. In sum, UC Hastings is rich in history, faculty, students, curriculum, extra-curricular activities, geography, and climate.