Robert M. "Bobby" Chesney (born June 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and the Dean of the University of Texas School of Law.[1] He is the Charles I. Francis Professor in Law and was the associate dean for academic affairs before becoming the dean. Chesney teaches courses relating to U.S. national security and constitutional law.[2] He is also the director of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law.[3] Chesney addresses issues involving national security and law, including matters relating to military detention, the use of force, terrorism-related prosecutions, the role of the courts in national security affairs and the relationship between military and intelligence community activities.[4] He is a co-founder and contributor along with Benjamin Wittes and Jack Goldsmith to the Lawfare Blog.[5] He also co-hosts The National Security Law Podcast with former Texas law professor, now at Georgetown Law, Stephen Vladeck.[6]
Career
In addition to his post at the University of Texas School of Law, Chesney is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy and director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law. He also holds a courtesy appointment at the LBJ School of Public Policy.[7] In 2009, he served on the Detention Policy Task Force created by President Barack Obama, which was tasked with developing long-term policy in relation to the capture, detention, trial or other disposition of persons in the context of combat and counterterrorism operations.[8]
Previously, he was a law professor at Wake Forest University School of Law. Before that he practiced law with Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City. He clerked on both the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Chesney is a magna cum laude graduate of both Harvard Law School and Texas Christian University.[9]
In May 2022, it was announced that Chesney had been selected to be the next dean of the University of Texas School of Law, succeeding Ward Farnsworth, who had held the position since 2012.[10]
Teaching
Chesney has taught a range of subjects, including constitutional law, national security law, evidence, the role of the judiciary in national security affairs, civil procedure, and U.S. counterterrorism policy in legal and historical perspective.[9] He was named Wake Forest University School of Law's Teacher of the Year for 2004 and 2007.[11]
Chesney has written or co-authored many articles relating to the legal aspects of U.S. national security policies and practices:
Robert M. Chesney (1997). "National Insecurity: Nuclear Material Availability and the Threat of Nuclear Terrorism". Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Journal.
Robert M. Chesney (2000). "Old Wine or New? The Shocks-the-Conscience Standard and the Distinction Between Legislative and Executive Action". Syracuse Law Review.
Robert M. Chesney (2003). "Civil Liberties and the Terrorism Prevention Paradigm: The Guilt by Association Critique (book review)". Michigan Law Review. SSRN396503.
Robert M. Chesney (2004). "Democratic-Republican Societies, Subversion, and the Limits of Legitimate Political Dissent in the Early Republic". North Carolina Law Review. SSRN465820.
Robert M. Chesney (2005). "The Sleeper Scenario: Terrorism-Support Laws and the Demands of Prevention". Harvard Journal on Legislation. SSRN587442.
Robert M. Chesney (2005). "Careful Thinking about Counterterrorism Policy (book review)". Journal of National Security Law and Policy. SSRN610585.
Robert M. Chesney (2006). "Leaving Guantánamo: The Law of International Detainee Transfers". University of Richmond Law Review. SSRN827604.
Robert M. Chesney (2007). "Federal Prosecution of Terrorism-Related Offenses: Conviction and Sentencing Data in Light of the 'Soft Sentence' and 'Data Reliability' Critiques". Lewis and Clark Law Review. SSRN1005478.
Robert M. Chesney (2007). "Beyond Conspiracy? Anticipatory Prosecution and the Challenge of Unaffiliated Terrorism". Southern California Law Review. SSRN932608.
Robert M. Chesney (2007). "State Secrets and the Limits of National Security Litigation". George Washington Law Review. SSRN946676.
Robert M. Chesney (2007). "Disaggregating Deference: The Judicial Power and Executive Treaty Interpretations". Iowa Law Review. SSRN931997.
Robert M. Chesney (2007). "Anticipatory Prosecution in Terrorism-Related Cases". The Changing Role of the American Prosecutor.
Robert M. Chesney (2007). "Panel Report: Beyond Article III Courts: Military Tribunals, Status Review Tribunals, and Immigration Courts". Cardozo Public Law, Policy, and Ethics Journal.
Robert M. Chesney co-authored with Jack Goldsmith (2008). "Terrorism and the Convergence of Criminal and Military Detention Models". Stanford Law Review. SSRN1055501.
Robert M. Chesney (2009). "International Decision: Boumediene v. Bush". American Journal of International Law. JSTOR20456685.
Robert M. Chesney (2009). "Supreme Court of the United States: The District Court Decision on Remand in Boumediene v. Bush". International Legal Materials.
Robert M. Chesney co-authored with Benjamin Wittes and Larkin Reynolds (2011). "The Emerging Law of Detention 2.0: The Guantanamo Habeas Cases as Lawmaking". Brooking Institution. SSRN1839793.
Robert M. Chesney (2011). "Who May Be Held? Military Detention Through the Habeas Lens". Boston College Law Review. SSRN1725533.
Robert M. Chesney (2011). "Iraq and the Military Detention Debate: Firsthand Perspectives from the Other War, 2003-2010". Virginia Journal of International Law. SSRN1690513.
Robert M. Chesney (2011). A Primer on the Libya/War Powers Resolution Compliance Debate. Brookings Institution.
Robert M. Chesney (2011). "Bad Advice or Bad Law: Considering Post-9/11 Legal Advice (book review)". Tulsa Law Review. SSRN1540601.
Robert M. Chesney (2011). "Who May Be Killed? Anwar al-Awlaki as a Case Study in the International Legal Regulation of Lethal Force". Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law. SSRN1754223.
Robert M. Chesney (2012). "Military-Intelligence Convergence and the Law of the Title 10/Title 50 Debate". Journal of National Security Law and Policy. SSRN1945392.
Robert M. Chesney (2013). "Beyond the Battlefield, Beyond Al Qaeda: The Destabilizing Legal Architecture of Counterterrorism" Michigan Law Review.2138623
Robert M. Chesney (2013). "Computer Network Operations and U.S. Domestic Law: An Overview" International Law Studies (Naval War College). 119080
Robert M. Chesney (2012). "Military-Intelligence Convergence and the Law of the Title 10/Title 50 Debate". Journal of National Security Law and Policy. SSRN1945392.
Robert M. Chesney (2015). "Postwar" Harvard National Security Journal.2332228
Podcast
Chesney co-hosts the National Security Law Podcast with fellow University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck.