معرفی
Aviva A. Orenstein is a Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, where she holds the Karen Lake Buttrey and Donald W. Buttrey Chair. She currently serves as Associate Dean of Students and is a Val Nolan Faculty Fellow. Orenstein teaches Evidence, Civil Procedure, Family Law, and Children and the Law, and has taught American evidence law in China.
Professor Orenstein earned her A.B. summa cum laude from Cornell University in 1981 and her J.D. magna cum laude from Cornell Law School in 1986, where she served as articles editor of the Cornell Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She clerked for the late Hon. Edward R. Becker, Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
- Cornell University, A.B., 1981 (summa cum laude)
- Cornell Law School, J.D., 1986 (magna cum laude)
Professor Orenstein's scholarly work focuses on evidence law, particularly the intersection of evidence law and culture. Her research explores how jurors' emotions, especially regret, can justify rules excluding character evidence. She has written extensively on confrontation rights in domestic violence cases, the admissibility of prior sex crimes evidence, and the application of evidence rules in culturally specific contexts such as Jewish law and tribal courts.
Her recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on evidence law with expanding applications to contemporary issues like digital evidence from social media, wrongful convictions based on "bad science," and religious accommodations in prison settings. Orenstein's work often bridges traditional legal analysis with insights from psychology, cultural studies, and gender theory.
Professor Orenstein has received several honors and awards:
- Karen Lake Buttrey and Donald W. Buttrey Chair
- Val Nolan Faculty Fellow
- Order of the Coif (elected)
- Fellow, Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions (2005-06)
Orenstein has been actively involved in mentoring law students through various programs. She founded and supervises Outreach for Legal Literacy, where law students teach constitutional law and civics to fifth-graders. She previously directed the Child Advocacy Clinic, supervising students who served as guardians ad litem for children in custody cases. Orenstein also serves as a court-appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children and performs pro bono work in juvenile court. Her administrative roles have included serving as associate dean for academic affairs (2017) and associate dean for students and academic affairs (2018-21).
Professor Orenstein has demonstrated commitment to interdisciplinary work, having studied Bible, Talmud, and Jewish law as a visiting student at Hebrew College Rabbinical School, which has informed her scholarship on the cultural aspects of legal interpretation.
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