BEHIND THE HEADLINES Erwin Chemerinsky

Following his Sept. 4 hiring as the founding dean of UC Irvine’s law school and unexpected firing a week later, Duke University law professor Erwin Chemerinsky found himself at the center of a controversy.

Chemerinsky maintained throughout the past two weeks that UCI Chancellor Michael Drake rescinded the job offer because he felt Chemerinsky was too “politically controversial.” Chemerinsky has never shied away from expressing his liberal views, occasionally writing op-ed pieces for national newspapers and taking on high-profile cases against the federal government.

On Monday, Chemerinsky was rehired as the founding dean of the law school. Whatever differences he and Drake had, they maintain they’ve been smoothed out. Though what those differences were, or how they patched things up, neither educator will speak to in detail.

Question: How would you characterize your working relationship with Chancellor Drake?

Answer: I think that we will have a terrific working relationship. Ironically, it will be much better because of all we have been through together. We worked through so many issues in a few days that otherwise would have taken months or years. I have the highest regard for him.

Q: What do you anticipate your relationship with campus conservatives to be like?

A: I expect that I will have a warm and collegial relationship with everyone, liberals and conservatives alike. In 28 years of teaching, I never once have had an evaluation that accused me of bias in the classroom. I was the faculty advisor to the Federalist Society, the conservative law student group, at USC for a time when they were getting started. A university should be a place where all ideas are expressed and discussed.

Q: Will you make any special efforts to reach out to campus conservatives?

A: I want to reach out to everyone. I, of course, need to make a special effort to those who might be more skeptical about me.

Q: Tell us your vision of where you see the UCI law school in five years.

A: In five years, we will have our first graduating class (2012). We will have 200 in an entering class. We will have hired most of our faculty. We will be near the time of opening our new law school building. We will have created a law school that is unique in its emphasis on experiential learning and interdisciplinary studies.

Q: You’ve been involved in a lot of high-profile court battles. What is your most memorable one?

A: Representing a man, Leandro Andrade, who was sentenced to 50 years to life for stealing $153 worth of videotapes from K-Mart stores under California’s three-strikes law. I represented him in the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and won, but lost in the Supreme Court, 5-4. He is not eligible for parole until 2046, when he’ll be 87 years old. I’m still devastated when I think about it.

Q: What qualities are you looking for in faculty for the law school?

A: I want individuals who are terrific teachers, excellent scholars and really nice people.

Q: What’s your favorite place for downtime in Orange County?

A: I’ve never lived in Orange County. I lived in L.A. for 21 years. My guess is that I will have a special affection for Angels Stadium. I am a big baseball fan and am excited to be back where there is a major-league baseball team.