Page 1 of 4
JAMES J . SAMPLE
275 West 96th Street # 8-B ● New York, NY 10025 ● (516) 463-7236 (o); (406) 690-3947 (c)
jamesjsample@gmail.com
EDUCATION
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, New York, NY
Juris Doctorate, 2003
Ø Columbia Law Review, Editor (2001-02), Notes Editor (2002-03)
Ø James Kent Scholar (2003) Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (2001 and 2002)
BOSTON COLLEGE, Chestnut Hill, MA
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, English and Philosophy, 1995
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
HOFSTRA LAW SCHOOL, Hempstead, NY
Associate Professor of Law (August, 2009-Present)
• Associate Professor of Law; courses include Civil Procedure I, Civil Procedure II, Federal Courts,
Administrative Law
• Chosen by students in 2012 as the Law School’s Professor of the Year
• See Publications Listed Infra
BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE, New York University School of Law
Counsel, Democracy Program (2005 – 2009)
• Constitutional litigation in District Courts, Circuit Courts of Appeal, and Supreme Court.
• Author or co-author of law review, legal magazine, and op-ed articles as well as two nationally cited
reports, The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2006, and Fair Courts: Setting Recusal Standards.
• Frequently cited press source on legal matters, including by The New York Times, The Chicago
Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, BusinessWeek,
Bloomberg News, ABCNews, The National Law Journal and regional outlets.
COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL, New York, NY
Adjunct Instructor, Legal Practice Workshop (Spring 2009)
BRIAN SCHWEITZER AND JOHN BOHLINGER FOR GOVERNOR & LT. GOVERNOR, Billings, MT
Advisor (Fall 2004)
• Staffed and advised candidates in successful gubernatorial election. Planned and executed campaign
events. Participated in meetings with media and political and community leaders. Contributed to
campaign policy, strategy, and fundraising efforts.
THE HON. SIDNEY R. THOMAS, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT, Billings, MT
Law Clerk (2003 – 2004)
CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON LLP, New York, NY & Hong Kong
Summer Associate (Summer 2002)
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Southern District of New York, New York, NY
Legal Intern (Summer 2001)
NBC SPORTS, New York, NY
Associate Director/Feature Producer/Production Associate (1995 – 2000)
• 3-time Emmy Award winner. Produced and directed feature stories on athletes and events.
• Key role in production of telecasts of the NBA, NFL, PGA Tour, and Olympic Games.
Page 2 of 4
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Supreme Court Recusal: From Marbury to the Modern Day, 26 Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics 95
(Winter 2013) available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2236367.
Retention Elections 2.010 46 U. San. Fran. L.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2025966.
Rev.,
383
(2011)
available
at
*Invited symposium article in connection with Democracy, Inc? Citizens United, Corporate
Expenditures & the Future of Campaign Finance Law, San Francisco, CA, February 2011.
Lawyer, Candidate, Beneficiary AND Judge? Role Differentiation in Elected Judiciaries, 2011 Univ.
Chicago Legal Forum, 279 available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1935915.
*Upon publication in complete form in the University of Chicago Legal Forum, this article was, by
the invitation of judicial members of the Judges Journal editorial board, adapted and excerpted for
publication in Vol. 51 No. 1 (2012) of The Judges Journal of the American Bar Association.
Democracy at the Corner of First and Fourteenth: Judicial Campaign Spending and Equality, 66 NYU
Annual
Survey
of
American
Law
727
(2011)
available
at
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1662630.
*Corresponding public commentaries in connection with this scholarship include You Get the Judges
You Pay For, The New York Times, April 17, 2011, with co-author, Erwin Chemerinsky, and
Stanching the Cash Flow, The American Prospect, September 19, 2011, with co-author Erwin
Chemerinsky.
The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2000-2009: Decade of Change (James Sample, Adam Skaggs,
Jonathan Blitzer & Linda Casey); (Charles Hall, editor) (Foreword by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor) (Justice
at Stake 2010).
*Upon publication, this report was cited in numerous academic articles and several hundred media
reports; was featured at a National Press Club even keynoted by Justice O’Connor; and was
subsequently, and by invitation, adapted and excerpted for publication in Judicature, a refereed
journal of the American Judicature Association.
*In December, 2011, this report was cited twice by the majority opinion of the Montana Supreme
Court in Western Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Attorney General of Montana, 2011 MT 328, now
stayed pending review in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Court Reform Enters the Post-Caperton Era, 58 DRAKE L. REV. 787 (2010), available at
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1612899.
Caperton: Correct Today, Compelling Tomorrow, 60 SYRACUSE L. REV. 293 (2010) available at
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1557894.
Fair Courts: Setting Recusal Standards, (Brennan Center 2008) (with David Pozen and Michael Young)
available at http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/fair_courts_setting_recusal_standards/.
The Best Defense: Why Elected Courts Should Lead Recusal Reform, 46 Washburn Law Journal 503
(2007) (with Deborah Goldberg and David Pozen). available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=997320.
Page 3 of 4
Making Recusal More Rigorous, The Judges Journal of the American Bar Association (Winter 2007) (with
David Pozen), available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=997311.
The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2006 (Justice at Stake 2006) (with Lauren Jones & Rachel Weiss;
Jesse Rutledge, editor), available at
http://www.brennancenter.org/dynamic/subpages/download_file_48787.pdf.
Note, The Sentences That Bind (The States), 103 Colum. L Rev. 969 (2003).
SELECTED PUBLIC COMMENTARY
◊ Stanching the Cash Flow, The American Prospect, with co-author Erwin Chemerinsky September 19,
2011, ◊ You Get the Judges You Pay For, The New York Times, with co-author, Erwin Chemerinsky: April
17, 2011 ◊ Roberts: Corporate $peech Good: Presidential Speech, ‘Very Troubling,’ The HuffingtonPost
(2010) ◊ Contributions, Expenditures, and Caperton Contributions, The Election Law Blog, (2010) (invited
blog) ◊ “Justice for Sale,” The Wall Street Journal (2008) ◊ “Supreme Spotlight on a ‘Stupid’ System,”
(with Rich Samp) The New York Law Journal (2008) ◊ “It’s Not Fraud, It’s Alienated Voters,” Politico
(2007) ◊ “Restoring Voting Rights, A Progressive Goal Conservatives Can Share,” HuffingtonPost (2007)
◊ “Can $2 Million for a Judge Buy a $350 Million Tax Refund?” HuffingtonPost (2007) ◊ “The Campaign
Trial: The True Cost of Expensive Court Seats,” Slate.com (2006) ◊ “The Warrant’s Out on Judges,” (with
Aziz Huq) TomPaine.com (2006) ◊ “[New York’s] Convention System Harms Democracy,” (with Fritz
Schwarz) Albany Times Union (2006) ◊ “A Crossroads after Tammany Hall,” ACSBlog.org (2006).
SELECTED SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
◊ Presented draft of “The Last Rites of Public Campaign Financing?” at Hofstra Junior Faculty Workshop,
April, 2013 ◊ Panelist (with Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professor Rick Hasen), Citizens United’s Impact
on Judicial Elections, University of California-Irvine School of Law, February 6, 2012 ◊ Panelist, Judicial
Ethics, Political Activity and Beyond, ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility, Memphis,
TN, June 2, 2011 ◊ Symposium Panelist, Democracy, Inc? Citizens United, Corporate Expenditures & the
Future of Campaign Finance Law, San Francisco, CA, February 2011 ◊ Speaker & Panelist, “The New
Politics of Judicial Elections,” National Press Club, hosted by Committee on Economic Development and
Justice at Stake (2010) (Featuring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor) ◊ Speaker & Panelist, Options for an
Independent Judiciary in Michigan, Conference Featuring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and National
Leaders in Judicial Independence, Hosted by Wayne State University School of Law (2010) ◊ Keynote
Speaker, 2009 Ed Likover Memorial Lecture, Cleveland Ohio (2009) ◊ Speaker & Panelist, Robert Zicklin
Center for Public Integrity Symposium on American Justice for Sale, New York, NY (2009) ◊ “Recusal
Reform,” Judicial Independence conference hosted by Fordham Law School and Sandra Day O’Connor
Project on the Judiciary at Georgetown University Law Center, Fordham Law (2008) ◊ “Threats to Fair and
Impartial Courts,” Wisconsin State Bar Annual Convention (2008) ◊ “Judicial Elections and Free Speech”
Federalist Society Debate, Milwaukee, WI (2008) ◊ “The New Politics of Judicial Elections,” National Press
Club, Washington, DC (2007) ◊ The National Struggle to Maintain Fair and Impartial Courts, Summit of
Judicial Leaders, San Francisco, CA (2006)
SELECTED RECENT PRESS CITATIONS
◊ Summary Judgments, Carlyn Kolker, Thomson Reuters, January 9, 2012 ◊ Law firm gave advice on
elections law it is suing over, Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 27, 2011 ◊ Kagan
controversy good for the public, court watchers say, Neil Munro, The Daily Caller, November 15, 2011 ◊
Court Announcement Raises Recusal Questions for Kagan, Thomas, Stephen Dinan, The Washington Times,
November 14, 2011 ◊ 42 state Supreme Court judgeships on ballot Tuesday, Dan Wiessner and Joseph Ax,
Thomson Reuters, November 7, 2011 ◊ Cash in the Courtroom: Hugh Caperton’s Personal View, Charlie
Hall, February 4, 2011 ◊ Does the Health-Care Judge Have Conflicts?, Nathan Koppel, The Wall Street
Page 4 of 4
Journal, December 14, 2010 ◊ Evil Men in Black Robes: Slate's judicial election campaign ad spooktacular!,
Richard L. Hasen and Dahlia Lithwick, Slate, October 26, 2010 ◊ Hanging a ‘For Sale’ Sign Over the
Judiciary, Editorial by Dorothy Samuels, The New York Times, January 29, 2010 ◊ Calls for Judicial Reform
are Growing, Carol Lundberg, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, February 15, 2010 ◊ District Attorney’s Boycott
of a Judge Raises Issues, Michelle Quinn, The New York Times, March 19, 2010 ◊ NY Critics Say Judge
Selection Still Flawed, The Associated Press, May 4, 2010 ◊ Scholar: Caperton has Fueled Real Reforms,
GavelGrab, May 29, 2010 ◊ Permission to Encroach the Bench: Why bother with a congressman when you
can buy yourself a judge? Mother Jones Magazine, May/June, 2010 issue ◊ Elected Judges and Recusal in
the Wake of Caperton v. Massey, SCOTUSblog, June 10, 2010 ◊ With Supreme Court deadlocked,
commission drops Gableman ethics case, Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 8, 2010 ◊ A
Deep Bench of Substitute Justices Goes Unused, The Washington Post, August 9, 2010 ◊ CBS Radio News,
CBS Radio Network August 16, 2010 ◊ Report: Judicial Spending Doubles in Last Decade, The Associated
Press, August 16, 2010 (Reprinted in more than 150 news outlets across the U.S.) ◊ Editorial, State Judges
Should be Appointed, Not Elected, The Daily News, August 23, 2010. Similar Editorial mentions appear in
the Des Moines Register, the Huntsville Times and other regional papers. ◊ Bill Would Bar Judges From
Hearing Donors’ Cases, Law360, August 27, 2010 ◊ O’Connor Retired from Court, Not Discourse ,USA
Today, September 9, 2010 ◊ Illinois Court Race Turns Political, The Associated Press, September 29, 2010
(Reprinted across Illinois and Missouri, including in the Chicago Tribune) ◊ New Recusal Controversy in
West Virginia High Court, The National Law Journal, September 24, 2010 ◊ Judges, Others Want Court to
Weigh in on Judicial Campaign Speech, The National Law Journal, September 30, 2010 ◊ A deep bench of
substitute justices goes unused, Robert Barnes, The Washington Post. August 9, 2010 ◊ District Attorney’s
Boycott of a Judge Raises Issues, Michelle Quinn, The New York Times, March 19, 2010 ◊ Judicial
Campaign Speech Case May Be Destined for Supreme Court: Wisconsin justice faces sanctions for ad that
may have gone too far, Marcia Coyle, The National Law Journal, September 22, 2009 ◊ Congress Set to
Take Aim at Judicial Recusals, David Ingram, The National Law Journal, November 02, 2009 ◊ Case May
Define When a Judge Must Recuse Self, Robert Barnes, The Washington Post, March 2, 2009.
ADMISSIONS
New York
Montana (inactive)
United States Supreme Court
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit