California Western Faculty Highlights - December 2025
Faculty at California Western School of Law (CWSL) continue to produce groundbreaking work and present it across the country and around the globe.
Here are some highlights of the faculty’s activities from the month of December:
Professor Emily Behzadi Cárdenas signed a contract with Aspen Publishing to co-author a casebook entitled The Law of Property: Impact on Structures & Institutions Throughout United States History with Professor Natasha Varyani (forthcoming 2027).
Professor James Cooper and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs Liam Vavasour are quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribune article, “Attorneys balance use of powerful AI tools with risks — including legal hallucinations.”
Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development and Professor of Law Shawn Fields
Professor Shawn Fields was interviewed by NPR’s San Diego affiliate, KPBS, about the
San Diego Police Department’s $30 million settlement in the police shooting death
of 16-year-old Konoa Wilson. Professor Fields provided context for this settlement,
which appears to be the largest of its kind in U.S. history, and situated it within
the larger police reform and accountability movement. The interview aired live on
radio on KPBS Midday Edition and was rebroadcast on television on KPBS Evening Edition.
Professor Fields participated in the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Academic
Committee’s 2025 Criminal Law Academic Workshop. Professor Fields will present his
work-in-progress, currently titled “The Anonymous Officer.”
Executive Director of the California Western Innocence and Justice Clinic and Associate
Professor of Law Amy Kimpel
Professor Amy Kimpel presented her work-in-progress, currently titled “Outsider Prosecutions,”
at the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Academic Committee’s 2025 Criminal
Law Academic Workshop.
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie’s orders dismissing the indictments against James Comey
and Letitia James both cite to an order in the case United States v. Garcia-Andrade, which was granted in response to a motion filed by Professor Kimpel in Mr. Garcia-Andrade's
case.
Associate Professor of Law Nancy Marcus
Associate Professor of Law Nancy Marcus’s forthcoming article, "Trump's War on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Unconstitutional Usurpation Through
Obfuscation," has received the honor of being a Top Ten download on the academic scholarship
SSRN database and website every week between October 12 and December 4, 2025. This
includes being a top download on a total of five different eJournals total, and four
different PSN specialty topics, on 48 separate days.
Professor Kristen van de Biezenbos
Professor Kristen van de Biezenbos was interviewed by Energi Media for “Why Trump Hates Canada” about the role of natural resources in the Trump administration’s recent National
Security Strategy, with a focus on the Western Hemisphere.
Professor Kristen van de Biezenbos, forthcoming article, “Antitrust and The Immoral Energy Economy,”will be published in the Texas A&M Law Review.
Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Legal Writing Professor Liam Vavasour
Vice Dean of Academic Affairs Liam Vavasour and Professor James Cooper are quoted
in the San Diego Union-Tribune article, “Attorneys balance use of powerful AI tools with risks — including legal hallucinations.”
