Norman Dorsen

Norman Dorsen
Dorsen in 2007
Born(1930-09-04)September 4, 1930
DiedJuly 1, 2017(2017-07-01) (aged 86)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Harvard University (LLB)
Scientific career
FieldsConstitutional law
InstitutionsNew York University School of Law

Norman Dorsen (September 4, 1930 – July 1, 2017) was the Frederick I. and Grace A. Stokes Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program at the New York University School of Law, where he specialized in Constitutional Law, Civil Liberties, and Comparative Constitutional Law. Previously, he was president of the American Civil Liberties Union, 1976–1991. He was also president of the Society of American Law Teachers, 1972–1973, and president of the U.S. Association of Constitutional Law in 2000.

Dorsen successfully argued the case of In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1 (1967), before the U.S. Supreme Court which held that juveniles accused of crimes in a delinquency proceeding must be afforded many of the same due process rights as adults.

He argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court, including Levy v. Louisiana (1968), ensuring equal protection for out-of-wedlock children, and United States v. Vuitch (1971), the first abortion case to reach the Court.

Dorsen sat on the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.