Arthur Eisenberg

Arthur Eisenberg is the executive counsel of the New York Civil Liberties Union.  Over a career at the NYCLU that has spanned more than 40 years, he has litigated extensively around issues of free speech, voting rights, race discrimination and education. He has been involved in more than 20 cases that were presented to the United States Supreme Court, representing either direct litigants or amici curiae.  The cases included those involving the questions of whether Wisconsin engaged in unconstitutional, political gerrymandering when it drew its legislative district lines.  (Gill v. Whitford (2017)); whether the Defense of Marriage Act was constitutional (United States v. Windsor (2013)); whether a state violated the fundamental right to vote when it denied voters the right to cast write-in ballots (Burdick v. Takushi (1992)); whether a school board violated the First Amendment in removing ten books from its high school library (Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982)). 

Eisenberg is the co-author, with Burt Neuborne, of the Rights of Candidates and Voters (2nd ed. 1980).  He published an essay on issues of faith and conscience, in the book, Engaging Cultural Differences (2002), on military tribunals in It’s a Free Country (2002); on school reform and the State Constitution in A Quality Education for Every Child (2009); and on free speech and Occupy Wall Street in Beyond Zuccotti Park (2012).  He has also published law review articles on a range of topics including essays on Lani Guinier (Review Essay: The Millian Thoughts of Lani Guinier, New York University Review of Law and Social Change (1995)); on Robert Bork (Repaid In The Coin Of A Controversialist: The Bork Nomination Process, University of Cincinnati Law Review (1990)); on campaign finance reform (Civic Discourse, Campaign Finance Reform, and the Virtues of Moderation, Cardozo Studies in Law and Literature (2000)); and on censorship of the arts (The Brooklyn Museum Controversy and the Issue of Government-Funded Expression, Brooklyn Law Review (2000)). 

Eisenberg earned his BA degree from The Johns Hopkins University and his J.D. from Cornell Law School.  He has taught courses in Constitutional Litigation, Civil Rights Law and Constitutional Law at Cardozo Law School and the University of Minnesota Law School and is currently teaching at Cardozo Law School.