Education

B.A., 1994, YALE UNIVERSITY
M.PHIL., 1996, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
D.PHIL., 1999, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
J.D., 2002, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Bio

Jeffrey Kahn is an assistant professor of law at the Dedman School of Law and a Colin Powell Fellow at the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies.  Professor Kahn teaches and writes on American constitutional law, Russian law, human rights, and counterterrorism.  In 2007-2008 he received the Maguire Teaching Fellow Award from the Cary M. Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility at SMU for his seminar, “Perspectives on Counterterrorism.”  He is also a member of the founding Advisory Board for the SMU Human Rights Education Program.

Professor Kahn’s doctoral dissertation was published by Oxford University Press while he was a law student as Federalism, Democratization, and the Rule of Law in Russia (2002).  During law school, he also served as a lecturer on European human rights law at summer training programs in Moscow for Russian lawyers sponsored by the Council of Europe.  Following graduation, he was a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas P. Griesa of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

Professor Kahn served as a trial attorney in the Civil Division, United States Department of Justice from October 2003 until April 2006. In 2005, he was briefly detailed to the Criminal Division to conduct research in Russia on Russian criminal procedure for the Justice Department's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training.

Primary Articles

Zoya's Standing Problem, or, When Should the Constitution Follow the Flag? 108 Michigan Law Review (March 2010).

International Travel and the U.S. Constitution, 56 UCLA Law Review 271, 271-350 (2008).

The Unification of Law in the Russian Federation (with A. Trochev & N. Balayan), 25 Post-Soviet Affairs 310, 310-46 (Oct.-Dec. 2009).

Vladimir Putin & the Rule of Law in Russia, 36 Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law 511, 511-58 (2008) (lead article).

Russia’s Criminal Procedure Code Five Years Out, (with William Burnham) in 33 Review of Central & East European Law 1, 1-93 (2008) (lead article).

The Search for the Rule of Law in Russia, 37 Georgetown Journal of International Law 353, 353-409 (2006).

Russia’s ‘Dictatorship of Law’ and the European Court of Human Rights, 29 Review of Central & East European Law 1, 1-14 (2004) (lead article).

Russian Compliance with Articles Five & Six of the European Convention of Human Rights as a Barometer of Legal Reform & Human Rights in Russia, 35 Michigan Journal of Law Reform 641, 641-94 (2002).

The Parade of Sovereignties: Establishing the Vocabulary of the New Russian Federalism, 16 Post-Soviet Affairs 58, 58-89 (2000).

Books

Federalism, Democratization and the Rule of Law in Russia Oxford University Press, 2002. (Read sample reviews of this book at the “Other” subheading, below)

Presentation of Jeffrey Kahn, in F. Joseph Dresen & Wm. E. Pomeranz, eds., The Russian Constitution at Fifteen: Assessments & Current Challenges to Russia’s Legal Development, Occasional Paper #304 (Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 2009).

«Комментарий,» Верховенство права и проблемы его обеспечения в правоприменительной практике   (Москва: Издательство «Статут», 2009) [(Invited) Commentary, The Supremacy of Law and Problems of its Guarantee in Practical Legal Application (Moscow: Publishing House “Statut,” 2009].

“Putin's Federal Reforms: A Legal-Institutional Perspective,” in Markku Kivinen & Katri Pynnöniemi eds., Beyond the Garden Ring: Dimensions of Russian Regionalism (Helsinki: Kikimora, 2002).

“What Is The New Russian Federalism?” in Archie Brown (ed.), Contemporary Russian Politics: A Reader Oxford University Press, 2001.

Speeches/Presentations

Invited Panelist, "From 9-11 Through Guantanamo, Iraq, and Afghanistan: Recent Developments in National Security Law," Appellate Judges Education Institute 2009 Summit, Orlando, Florida, November 20, 2009.

Invited Panelist, Roundtable on Law and Politics in Contemporary Russia, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, 41st National Convention, Boston, Massachusetts, November 14, 2009.

Presentation to Delegation of Jurists, Government Officials, Scholars and Private Citizens of the Republic of Indonesia, on "Federalism in American and Comparative Perspective,"  Rule-of-Law Forum at SMU Dedman School of Law, October 2, 2009.

Invited Participant, 3rd International Roundtable on the Supremacy of Law, Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2009.

Presentation at Willamette University College of Law entitled “Zoya’s Standing Problem, or, When Should the Constitution Follow the Flag?” Salem, Oregon, Apr. 14, 2009.

Presentation at SMU Dedman School of Law Faculty Forum, entitled “Zoya’s Standing Problem, or, When Should the Constitution Follow the Flag?” SMU Dedman School of Law, Apr. 1, 2009.

Presentation entitled “Russian Federalism at Fifteen,” as part of the conference “The Russian Constitution at Fifteen: Assessments and Current Challenges to Russia's Legal Development,” at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Mar. 19, 2009.

Presentation as Lead National Reporter, "The Unification of Law in the Russian Federation,” part of the general report “National Unification of Laws in Federal Systems," Thematic Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, Mexico City, Nov. 13, 2008.

Public Lecture at the University of Oklahoma for the Presidential Dream Course Program entitled "The Rule of Law in Russia," Norman, Oklahoma, Nov. 6, 2008.

Presentation at University of Minnesota Law School Works-in-Progress Forum entitled "International Travel, National Security, and the Constitution in War and Peace," Minneapolis, Minnesota, Oct. 16, 2008.

Presentation at Villanova School of Law entitled “International Travel and the Constitution,” Villanova, Pennsylvania, Oct. 3, 2008.

Radio interview on "NPR Morning Edition," KERA Public Radio, Sept. 23, 2008 ("Supporters Rally Outside Holy Land Foundation Courthouse").

Radio interview on "NPR Morning Edition," KERA Public Radio, Sept. 22, 2008 ("Opening Arguments Presented in Holy Land Foundation Retrial").

Television interview on Evening Edition of "Fox 4 News," KDFW-TV, June 12, 2008 ("Body Scanning Begins at D/FW Airport").

Presentation at the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association and the Canadian Law and Society Association, entitled “International Travel and the U.S. Constitution During the War on Terror,” Montreal, May 30, 2008.

Presentation to Delegation of Jurists, Government Officials, Scholars and Private Citizens of the Republic of Indonesia, on "The United States Department of Justice & American Efforts to Combat Transnational Crime, Organized Crime, & Terrorism," Rule-of-Law Forum at SMU Dedman School of Law, May 25, 2008.

Presentation at the National Security Law Junior Faculty Workshop, entitled "International Travel and the U.S. Constitution," Wake Forest University School of Law, May 23, 2008.

Lecture entitled "Vladimir Putin, Dmitrii Medvedev, and the Rule of Law in Russia," at the Dallas Bar Association, International Law Section, May 20, 2008.

Invited Participant, 3rd Annual Comparative Law Work-in-Progress Workshop, University of Michigan Law School, May 15-16, 2008.

Lecture entitled "The Rule of Law and its Implications for Russia," at the Society of International Business Fellows Dallas Briefing, SMU Dedman School of Law, May 5, 2008.

Public Lecture entitled "Vladimir Putin and the Rule of Law" at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Apr. 17, 2008.

Presentation at the 11th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, entitled “International Travel and the U.S. Constitution During the War on Terror,” Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley, California, Mar. 28, 2008.

Presentation at Texas Wesleyan School of Law Faculty Colloquium, entitled "International Travel and the U.S. Constitution during the War on Terror," Ft. Worth, Texas, Feb. 19, 2008.

Presentation at SMU Dedman School of Law Faculty Forum, entitled "International Travel and the U.S. Constitution during the War on Terror," SMU Dedman School of Law, Feb. 14, 2008.

Presentation at AALS National Conference, Section on International Human Rights Law, entitled "Thoughts Toward Protection of a Right to International Travel," New York, Jan. 6, 2008.

Other

Review of Federalism, Democratization and the Rule of Law in Russia by William E. Butler, 100 Michigan Law Review 1444-52 (2002) (“... I have not seen a better account, or a more perceptive one, in any language. ... Kahn’s study is the best and the most thoughtful account available of the early experience.”);

Review of Federalism, Democratization and the Rule of Law in Russia by Donald Hancock, 64 Slavic Review 208-09 (2005) ("Jeffrey Kahn brings an exemplary combination of academic expertise to this meticulously researched and comprehensive analysis of the three overarching themes of Russian political development encapsulated in the title of his book. ... The editors at Oxford University Press would be well advised to establish a web site linked to the book that would enable Kahn to extend his analysis to include continuing territorial challenges to Russian federalism, Putin’s reelection, and his assault on bureaucrats as his next reform initiative.").