Suja Thomas
Visiting Professor of Law - Spring 2008
296 Faculty Suite
Voice: 615-343-7144
Email: suja.thomas@vanderbilt.edu
Curriculum vitae
Education
J.D. New York University
B.A. Northwestern University
Research Interests
Civil procedure, employment discrimination, evidence, judicial decision-making and the role of the jury, sports and the law
Biography
Suja Thomas is visiting Vanderbilt Law School from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she joined the faculty in 2000. Professor Thomas's research interests include the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial and theories of constitutional interpretation. Professor Thomas's article on summary judgment is currently the basis of arguments in the federal courts, and was recently featured in a piece in the New York Times where her argument was referred to as "perfectly plausible." Professor Thomas's other work has also been influential. Her article on remittitur was the basis of a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court, and a federal judge has commented that "her caution [regarding the effective elimination of the jury trial right through remittitur] merits evaluation by the federal courts." In 2003, she received the Goldman Prize for teaching excellence. In 2007, she received the Harold C. Schott Law Review award for her article "Why Summary Judgment is Unconstitutional," published by the Virginia Law Review. More recently, she received the Harold C. Schott Scholarship Award, which recognizes outstanding research and scholarly achievement by a member of the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College of Law. As a part of this award, during the 2007-08 school-year, Professor Thomas will deliver a public lecture that highlights her scholarship. Professor Thomas served a federal clerkship after graduating from New York University School of Law, where she served as an Articles Editor on the Law Review and where she received several awards including the Leonard M. Henkin Prize for her note on equal rights under the 14th Amendment, the Mendes Hershman Prize for excellence in writing in the field of property law and the William Miller Memorial Award for outstanding scholarship in the field of municipal law. Before entering the academy, Professor Thomas also practiced law in New York City with Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard and Weil, Gotshal & Manges. During Fall 2007, Professor Thomas is a visiting scholar at Northwestern University School of Law.
Publications
"Why the Motion to Dismiss Is Now Unconstitutional," 92 Minnesota Law Review __ (forthcoming 2008)
"Why Summary Judgment is Unconstitutional," 93 Virginia Law Review 139 (2007)
"Judicial Modesty and the Jury," 76 University of Colorado Law Review 767 (2005).
"The Seventh Amendment, Modern Procedure and the English Common Law," 82 Washington University Law Quarterly 687 (2004)
"Re-Examining the Constitutionality of Remittitur Under the Seventh Amendment," 64 Ohio State Law Journal 731 (2003).
Note, "Efforts to Integrate Housing: The Legality of Mortgage-Incentive Programs," 66 New York University Law Review 940 (1991)
Working Papers
