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J. Alexander Tanford

Professor of Law

Office: 318
Phone: 812-855-4846
E-mail: tanford@indiana.edu

A.B., 1972, Princeton University; J.D., LL.M., Duke University.

Professor Tanford's specialty is litigation, and he is a leading authority on trial practice and procedure. He teaches trial practice, evidence, and pretrial civil litigation, and coaches the trial competition team.

He has written extensively on litigation. He is the author of The Trial Process: Law, Tactics, and Ethics; Indiana Trial Evidence Manual; and numerous law review articles on aspects of our trial system such as the litigation crisis, race-based jury selection, the use of scientific evidence in the Exxon Valdez case, rape shield laws, and the ethics of using unreliable witnesses and evidence. Much of his scholarly work has used empirical research by psychologists on jury behavior to critique the way we usually conduct trials.

Professor Tanford is also involved in civil liberties issues. He has taught constitutional litigation and written several books and articles on the Establishment Clause and civil liberties in cyberspace. He is a cooperating attorney with the ACLU, and has handled more than a dozen cases at the trial and appellate level. He is currently co-counsel in a series of constitutional cases challenging state laws that prohibit ordering wine over the Internet.

Professor Tanford is a frequent speaker on evidence, litigation, and civil liberties, and a participant in interdisciplinary conferences in law and psychology. He has received a number of awards and fellowships for his teaching, research and service.

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Current Teaching

Fall 2008 - 2009