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I appreciate that most people want to talk about this as Turley being hypocritical.
But we should also see this as a serious breach of academic ethics and professionalism. https://twitter.com/steve_vladeck/status/1351170067908722689
But we should also see this as a serious breach of academic ethics and professionalism. https://twitter.com/steve_vladeck/status/1351170067908722689
Turley’s prominence in public discourse relies, in part, on his position as a professor—that status carries with it a claim to expertise on legal matters.
Apparently his expertise led him to conclude the exact opposite of what he is claiming now on an issue of great importance.
Apparently his expertise led him to conclude the exact opposite of what he is claiming now on an issue of great importance.
When I say “great importance,” I’m not exaggerating. Some Senators have already signaled that their vote in the impeachment trial will turn on this issue. And we know because he was asked to testify at previous impeachments, that GOP leadership sees Turley as an authority.
Perhaps Turley has an explanation for why he has discarded his considered legal opinion.
If so, I would have hoped that he’d presented that explanation before or during the announcement of his new opinion.
At a bare minimum, he should offer it immediately.
If so, I would have hoped that he’d presented that explanation before or during the announcement of his new opinion.
At a bare minimum, he should offer it immediately.
But until and unless he does so, I think Turley has done something much worse than offering a poorly reasoned opinion on a pressing current event—something that many of us have done at some point. He has violated the very norms of academia.
FWIW, here’s something that @oldfatherc and a bunch of us worked on a few years ago about scholarly ethics. I’d be interested to hear from folks about what we suggested. https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol101/iss4/3/
