View source for Alan Dershowitz

{{Short description|American lawyer and author (born 1938)}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Alan Dershowitz
| image              = Alan dershowitz 2009 retouched cropped.jpg
| caption            = Dershowitz in 2009
| alt                = A photograph of Alan Dershowitz in October 2009
| birth_name         = Alan Morton Dershowitz
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1938|9|1}}
| birth_place        = New York City, U.S.
| education          = {{ublist|[[Brooklyn College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])}}
| occupation         = {{hlist|Attorney|law professor}}
| party              = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]  (before 2024)<br>[[Independent politician|Independent]] (2024–present)
| spouse             = {{ublist|{{marriage|Sue Barlach|1959|1976|reason=div}}|{{marriage|Carolyn Cohen|1986}}}}
| children           = 3
| website            = {{Official URL}}
}}
'''Alan Morton Dershowitz''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɜr|ʃ|ə|w|ɪ|t|s}} {{respell|DURR|shə|wits}}; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and law professor known for his work in [[U.S. constitutional law|U.S. constitutional]] and [[American criminal law|criminal law]].<ref name=Leonnig>{{cite news | last=Leonnig | first=Carol D. | title=Dozen Top Legal Scholars Line Up for Libby Appeal | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=June 11, 2007 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/10/AR2007061000990.html | access-date=July 12, 2019 | df=mdy-all | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816154422/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/10/AR2007061000990.html | archive-date=August 16, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Dolan | first=Maura | title=Critics Dissect Wilson Anti-Crime Plan : Justice: Legal experts say harsh sentencing as urged by the governor could backfire and increase leniency in courts. Judges would lack flexibility and jurors might balk at severe penalties, they contend. | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=January 7, 1994 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-07-mn-9336-story.html | access-date=July 12, 2019 | df=mdy-all | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713123551/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-07-mn-9336-story.html | archive-date=July 13, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> From 1964 to 2013, he taught at [[Harvard Law School]], where he was appointed as the [[Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law]] in 1993.<ref name="bio" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=December 16, 2013|title=Alan Dershowitz retiring from Harvard Law School|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/dershowitz-retiring-from-harvard-1.5300779|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=Haaretz|publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]|language=en|archive-date=September 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929181430/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/dershowitz-retiring-from-harvard-1.5300779|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz is a regular media contributor, political commentator, and legal analyst.

Dershowitz has taken on high-profile and often unpopular causes and clients.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=January 24, 2020|title=Now on Trump's team, Dershowitz says, 'I haven't changed'|url=https://apnews.com/56af92498f9a5f96433f36370a5dff56|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=[[Associated Press]]|archive-date=April 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420135409/https://apnews.com/56af92498f9a5f96433f36370a5dff56|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last1=Mindock|first1=Clark|last2=Gray|first2=Lucy Anna|date=January 17, 2020|title=Who is Alan Dershowitz, the controversial lawyer defending Trump?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/alan-dershowitz-who-epstein-oj-simpson-trump-impeachment-weinstein-a9289051.html|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=[[The Independent]]|language=en|archive-date=November 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127135633/https://www.independent.co.uk//news/world/americas/us-politics/alan-dershowitz-who-epstein-oj-simpson-trump-impeachment-weinstein-a9289051.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2009, he had won 13 of the 15 murder and attempted murder cases he handled as a [[Criminal law|criminal]] appellate lawyer.<ref>{{cite web | last=Pollak | first=Joel | title=Dershowitz wins 13th murder case | website=The Harvard Law Record | date=January 22, 2009 | url=http://hlrecord.org/dershowitz-wins-13th-murder-case/ | access-date=July 12, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012044037/http://www.hlrecord.org/2.4463/dershowitz-wins-13th-murder-case-1.577347 | archive-date=October 12, 2010 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref> Dershowitz has represented such celebrity clients as [[Mike Tyson]], [[Patty Hearst]], [[Leona Helmsley]], [[Julian Assange]], and [[Jim Bakker]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|last=Zurcher|first=Anthony|date=January 7, 2015|title=Alan Dershowitz: A high-flying lawyer's unwanted publicity|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30705703|access-date=August 3, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128192804/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30705703|url-status=live}}</ref> Major legal victories have included two successful appeals that overturned convictions, first for [[Harry Reems]] in 1976, then in 1984 for [[Claus von Bülow]], who had been convicted of the attempted murder of his wife, [[Sunny von Bülow|Sunny]].<ref name=":8" /> In 1995, Dershowitz served as the appellate adviser on the [[murder trial of O. J. Simpson]] as part of the legal "[[Dream Team (law)|Dream Team]]" alongside [[Johnnie Cochran]] and [[F. Lee Bailey]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|date=June 12, 2014|title=O.J. Simpson Trial: Where Are They Now?|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/oj-simpson-trial-now/story?id=17377772|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|language=en|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806025335/https://abcnews.go.com/US/oj-simpson-trial-now/story?id=17377772|url-status=live}}</ref> He was a member of [[Harvey Weinstein]]'s defense team in 2018<ref name=":8" /> and of President [[Donald Trump]]'s defense team in his [[First impeachment trial of Donald Trump|first impeachment trial]] in 2020.<ref name=":7" /> He was a member of [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s defense team and helped to negotiate a 2006 [[Jeffrey Epstein#Non-prosecution agreement (NPA) (2006–2008)|non-prosecution agreement]] on Epstein's behalf.<ref name=":02">{{cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/alan-dershowitz-devils-advocate|title=Alan Dershowitz, Devil's Advocate|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|date=July 29, 2019|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=July 31, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731015528/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/alan-dershowitz-devils-advocate|archive-date=July 31, 2019}}</ref>

Dershowitz is the author of several books about politics and the law, including ''Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case'' (1985), the basis of [[Reversal of Fortune|the 1990 film]]; ''Chutzpah'' (1991); ''Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O. J. Simpson Case'' (1996); ''[[The Case for Israel]]'' (2003); and ''[[The Case for Peace]]'' (2005). His two most recent works are ''The Case Against Impeaching Trump'' (2018) and ''Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo'' (2019).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/books/alan-dershowitz-case-against-impeaching-trump.html|title=Yet Another Book Takes on Impeachment: This Time, the Case Against|last1=Alter|first1=Alexandra|date=July 8, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 21, 2018|last2=Ember|first2=Sydney|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922022844/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/books/alan-dershowitz-case-against-impeaching-trump.html|archive-date=September 22, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> An ardent supporter of Israel,<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|last1=Vogel|first1=Kenneth P.|last2=Confessore|first2=Nicholas|date=February 8, 2021|title=Using Connections to Trump, Dershowitz Became Force in Clemency Grants|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/politics/dershowitz-trump-pardons-clemency.html|access-date=May 16, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> he has written several books on the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]].

== Early life and education ==
Dershowitz was born in [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn]], on September 1, 1938, the son of Claire (née Ringel) and Harry Dershowitz,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3jjNW-_TnusC&q=Claire+Ringel+Dershowitz&pg=PA370|title=Chutzpah|first=Alan M.|last=Dershowitz|date=May 18, 1992|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|via=Google Books|isbn=9780671760892}}</ref> an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] couple.<ref name=":10" /> He was raised in [[Borough Park, Brooklyn|Borough Park]].<ref name=Chutzpah>Dershowitz, Alan M. ''Chutzpah''. Touchstone Books, 1992, pp. 35, 41.</ref> His father was a founder and president of the [[National Council of Young Israel|Young Israel]] of Boro Park Synagogue in the 1960s, served on the board of directors of the [[Hebrew Institute of Boro Park|Etz Chaim School]] in Borough Park, and in retirement was co-owner of the Manhattan-based Merit Sales Company.<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news |title=Harry Dershowitz |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 26, 1984 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/26/obituaries/harry-dershowitz.html |access-date=July 12, 2019 | df=mdy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027185749/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/26/obituaries/harry-dershowitz.html |archive-date=October 27, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Smith, Dinitia. [https://books.google.com/books?id=DM0aTJaUrLIC&pg=PA28 "Trying to save Leona"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617162208/https://books.google.com/books?id=DM0aTJaUrLIC&pg=PA28 |date=June 17, 2016 }}, ''New York'' magazine, March 12, 1990, pp. 28–35.</ref> Dershowitz's first job was at a deli factory on [[Manhattan]]'s [[Lower East Side]] in 1952, at age 14.<ref name="Riper">{{cite news |author=Van Riper |first=Tom |date=May 23, 2006 |title=First Job: Alan Dershowitz |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/2006/05/20/alan-dershowitz-jobs_cx_tr_06work_0523dershowitz.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603225405/http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/20/alan-dershowitz-jobs_cx_tr_06work_0523dershowitz.html |archive-date=June 3, 2008 }}</ref>

Dershowitz attended [[Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy|Yeshiva University High School]], an independent boys' [[University-preparatory school|prep school]] in Manhattan owned by [[Yeshiva University]], where he played on the basketball team. He was a rebellious student, often criticized by his teachers. He later said his teachers told him to do something that "requires a big mouth and no brain ... so I became a lawyer".<ref>{{cite web | last=Stull | first=Elizabeth | title=Son of Brooklyn Brings Home Legacy of High-Profile Trials | website=Brooklyn Daily Eagle | date=September 25, 2003 | url=http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/spotlite/news/092903.htm | access-date=November 20, 2010 | df=mdy-all | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605135954/http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/spotlite/news/092903.htm | archive-date=June 5, 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> After graduating from high school, he studied [[political science]] at [[Brooklyn College]], graduating in 1959 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]], [[Latin honors#United States|''magna cum laude'']]. He then attended [[Yale Law School]], where he was editor-in-chief of ''[[The Yale Law Journal]]''.<ref name="Chutzpah" /> He graduated in 1962 ranked first in his class with a [[Bachelor of Laws]].<ref name="bio">Dershowitz, Alan. [http://www.alandershowitz.com/detailed.php "Biographical Statement"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707102942/http://www.alandershowitz.com/detailed.php |date=July 7, 2011 }}. ''AlanDershowitz.com'', accessed November 20, 2010.
* Also see [http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=12 "Alan M. Dershowitz"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202071528/http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=12 |date=December 2, 2010 }}, Harvard Law School, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref> He was a member of a [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] [[minyan]] at Harvard Hillel but is a secular Jew.<ref name="NYTBook">{{cite news | last=Rosen | first=Jonathan | title=Abraham's Drifting Children | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=March 30, 1997 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/30/reviews/970330.30rosent.html | access-date=July 12, 2019 | df=mdy-all | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131041242/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/30/reviews/970330.30rosent.html | archive-date=January 31, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Legal and teaching career ==
[[File:Davidlbazelon.jpg|thumb|After law school, Dershowitz clerked for Judge [[David L. Bazelon]] (pictured), whom he has described as one of his most influential mentors.]]
After graduating from law school, Dershowitz was a [[law clerk]] for Chief Judge [[David L. Bazelon]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit]] from 1962 to 1963.<ref name=":10" /> Dershowitz described Bazelon as an influential mentor. He has said, "Bazelon was my best and worst boss at once.... He worked me to the bone; he didn't hesitate to call at 2 a.m. He taught me everything—how to be a civil libertarian, a Jewish activist, a mensch. He was halfway between a slave master and a father figure." From 1963 to 1964 Dershowitz clerked for the Justice [[Arthur Goldberg]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref name=":10" />

He told Tom Van Riper of ''[[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]]'' that getting a Supreme Court clerkship was probably his second big break. His first was at age 14 or 15, when a camp counselor told him he was smart but that his mind operated a little differently.<ref name="Riper" /> He joined the Harvard Law School faculty as an assistant professor in 1964, and was made a full professor in 1967 at age 28, at that time the youngest full professor of law in the school's history.<ref name="Spero">Spero, Josh. [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article741055.ece "No stranger to controversy, Dershowitz remains unapologetic"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611225711/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article741055.ece |date=June 11, 2011 }}, ''[[The Times]]'', March 14, 2006.</ref> He was appointed as the [[Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law]] in 1993.<ref name="bio" /> Dershowitz retired from teaching at Harvard Law in 2013.<ref name=":6" /> He is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the [[Gatestone Institute]].<ref name="jv190403">{{cite news|last=Dershowitz|first=Alan M.|url=http://thejewishvoice.com/2019/04/03/trump-is-right-about-the-golan-heights/|title=Trump Is Right about the Golan Heights|date=April 3, 2019|work=Jewish Voice|access-date=June 14, 2019|archive-date=February 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221014639/https://thejewishvoice.com/2019/04/trump-is-right-about-the-golan-heights/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/emeritus-retiring-but-not-shy/|title=Retiring but Not Shy|last=Dahl|first=Dick|date=January 1, 2014|website=Harvard Law Today|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712161606/https://today.law.harvard.edu/emeritus-retiring-but-not-shy/|archive-date=July 12, 2019|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Rocheleau|first=Matt|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/14/alan-dershowitz-stepping-down-from-harvard-law-school-next-week-but-retiring-unlikely/bByTjnGhNYcNb23R8uLTDI/story.html|title=Alan Dershowitz stepping down at Harvard Law|date=December 14, 2013|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=July 12, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713030805/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/12/14/alan-dershowitz-stepping-down-from-harvard-law-school-next-week-but-retiring-unlikely/bByTjnGhNYcNb23R8uLTDI/story.html|archive-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref>

Throughout his tenure at Harvard, Dershowitz maintained his legal practice in both criminal and civil law. His clients have included such high-profile figures as [[Patty Hearst]], Harry Reems, [[Leona Helmsley]], [[Jim Bakker]], [[Mike Tyson]], [[Michael Milken]], O. J. Simpson and [[Kirtanananda Swami]]. Dershowitz reportedly was one of [[Nelson Mandela]]'s lawyers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXzMz1iXypQ#t=375s |title=Alan Dershowitz speaking at the 2012 StandWithUs Festival of Lights |work=[[StandWithUs]] |publisher=[[YouTube]] |date=December 4, 2012 |access-date=August 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724205021/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXzMz1iXypQ#t=375s |archive-date=July 24, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Vile" />

=== Notable clients ===
==== Harry Reems (1976) ====
In 1976, Dershowitz handled the successful appeal of [[Harry Reems]], who had been convicted of distribution of obscenity resulting from acting in the [[pornographic movie]] ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]''.<ref name=":8" /> Dershowitz argued against [[anti-pornography movement in the United States|censorship of pornography]] on [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] grounds and maintained that consumption of pornography was not harmful.<ref>{{cite news | last=McGrath | first=Charles | title=An X-Rated Phenomenon Revisited | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=February 9, 2005 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/09/arts/movies/an-xrated-phenomenon-revisited.html | access-date=July 12, 2019 | df=mdy-all | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713060552/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/09/arts/movies/an-xrated-phenomenon-revisited.html | archive-date=July 13, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Dershowitz | first = Alan | url = http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/14328-saluting-the-enemy/ | title = Saluting the Enemy | work = [[The Boston Phoenix]] | date = June 7, 2006 | access-date = November 20, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081207023649/http://thephoenix.com/Boston/news/14328-saluting-the-enemy/ | archive-date = December 7, 2008 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref><!-- the source used for this is not an RS - For several years, Dershowitz has written the monthly column "Justice" and related articles in the pages of ''[[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]'' magazine and testified before Congress in January 1986 on legal issues pertaining to pornography.<ref>See photograph caption in "Photographs", [[Edwin Meese]], ''[http://www.porn-report.com/601-photographs.htm Attorney General's Commission on Pornography Final Report]'' (Meese Report), U.S. Department of Justice, July 1986, accessed April 12, 2006.</ref> -->

==== Claus von Bülow (1984) ====
{{Further|Reversal of Fortune}}
In one of his first high-profile cases, Dershowitz represented [[Claus von Bülow]], a British socialite, at his appeal for the attempted murder of his wife, [[Sunny von Bülow]], who went into a coma in [[Newport, Rhode Island]], in 1980 (and later died in 2008).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/30/alan-dershowitz-recalls-former-client-claus-von-bulow/xqT0bA0jvwb76sJUvvjxhP/story.html|title=Alan Dershowitz recalls former client Claus von Bülow|first=Brian|last=MacQuarrie|date=May 30, 2019|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|language=en-US|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=May 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514071103/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/30/alan-dershowitz-recalls-former-client-claus-von-bulow/xqT0bA0jvwb76sJUvvjxhP/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He succeeded in having the conviction overturned, and von Bülow was acquitted in a retrial.<ref>''State v. von Bulow'', 475 A.2d 995 (R.I. 1984).</ref> Dershowitz told the story of the case in his book ''Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow case'' (1985),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dershowitz, Alan M.|title=Reversal of fortune : inside the von Bulow case|date=1991|publisher=Penguin|isbn=0-14-013862-5|location=London|oclc=22707638}}</ref> which was adapted into a movie in 1990. Dershowitz was played by actor [[Ron Silver]], and Dershowitz himself had a cameo as a judge.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Canby|first=Vincent|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/17/movies/review-film-exploring-the-underside-of-the-upper-class.html|title=Review/Film; Exploring the Underside of the Upper Class|date=October 17, 1990|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 21, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527105946/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/17/movies/review-film-exploring-the-underside-of-the-upper-class.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his book ''Taking the Stand'', Dershowitz recounts that von Bülow had a dinner party after he was found not guilty at his retrial. Dershowitz told him that he would not attend if it was a "victory party," and von Bülow assured him that it was only a dinner for "several interesting friends." [[Norman Mailer]] attended the dinner where, among other things, Dershowitz explained why the evidence pointed to von Bülow's innocence. Dershowitz described Mailer grabbing his wife's arm and saying: "Let's get out of here. I think this guy is innocent. I thought we were going to be having dinner with a man who actually tried to kill his wife. This is boring."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Taking the Stand|last=Dershowitz|first=Alan|publisher=Crown Publishers|year=2013|isbn=978-0-307-71927-0|location=New York|pages=240–41, 473}}</ref>

==== Avi Weiss (1989) ====
In 1989, Dershowitz filed a defamation suit against Cardinal [[Józef Glemp]], then [[Archbishop of Warsaw]], on behalf of Rabbi [[Avi Weiss]]. That summer, Weiss and six other members of the Jewish community in New York had staged a protest at the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] over the presence of a controversial convent of [[Carmelites|Carmelite]] nuns.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Hirsley|first=Michael|date=September 5, 1989|title=Rabbi to sue Glemp for defamation|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-09-05-8901100429-story.html|access-date=April 21, 2020|website=Chicago Tribune|language=en-US|archive-date=February 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221022611/https://www.chicagotribune.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> Weiss and the protesters were ejected after attempting to scale a wall surrounding the convent.<ref name=":3" /> In an August 1989 speech, Glemp referenced the incident and ascribed a violent intent to the protesters, saying, "Recently, a squad of seven Jews from New York launched an attack on the convent at Oswiecim [Auschwitz]. They did not kill the nuns or destroy the convent only because they were stopped." In the same speech, Glemp made antisemitic remarks suggesting that Jews control the news media.<ref name=":3" /> Dershowitz's suit centered on these statements.<ref name=":3" /> His account of the lawsuit appears in his 1991 book ''Chutzpah''.<ref>Dershowitz, Alan. ''Chutzpah''. Simon & Schuster, 1992, pp. 152ff</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Cohen | first=Roger | title=Jewish Group Attacks Author of 'Chutzpah' | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=July 17, 1991 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/17/books/jewish-group-attacks-author-of-chutzpah.html | access-date=July 12, 2019 | df=mdy-all | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713060600/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/17/books/jewish-group-attacks-author-of-chutzpah.html | archive-date=July 13, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==== O. J. Simpson (1995) ====
{{Main|Murder trial of O. J. Simpson}}

During the [[murder trial of O. J. Simpson]], Dershowitz acted as an appellate adviser to Simpson's defense team,<ref name=":9" /> and later wrote a book about it, ''Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O. J. Simpson Case'' (1996). Dershowitz wrote: "the Simpson case will not be remembered in the next century. It will not rank as one of the trials of the century. It will not rank with the [[Nuremberg trials]], the [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg|Rosenberg trial]], [[Sacco and Vanzetti]]. It is on par with [[Leopold and Loeb]] and the [[Lindbergh kidnapping|Lindbergh]] case, all involving celebrities. It is also not one of the most important cases of my own career. I would rank it somewhere in the middle in terms of interest and importance."<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/community/transcripts/1999/060999dershowitz.html Alan Dershowitz: Looking back at the OJ trial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812213717/http://www.time.com/time/community/transcripts/1999/060999dershowitz.html|date=August 12, 2006}}, ''Time'', Court TV transcript. June 9, 1999.</ref> The case has been described as the most publicized criminal trial in American history.<ref name="usa today2">{{cite news |title=Confusion for Simpson kids 'far from over' |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=February 12, 1997 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/index/nns224.htm |access-date=December 5, 2008 |first1=Richard |last1=Price |first2=Jonathan T. |last2=Lovitt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207045410/http://www.usatoday.com/news/index/nns224.htm |archive-date=December 7, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Jeffrey Epstein (2008) ====
Dershowitz was a member of the legal defense team for the first criminal case against [[Jeffrey Epstein]], who was investigated after accusations that he had repeatedly solicited sex from minors.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Megerian|first=Chris|date=January 17, 2020|title=Alan Dershowitz, marred by ties to Jeffrey Epstein, will defend Trump at impeachment trial|url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-01-17/alan-dershowitz-named-to-trumps-impeachment-legal-team|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|language=en-US|archive-date=July 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731154237/https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-01-17/alan-dershowitz-named-to-trumps-impeachment-legal-team|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz had previously befriended Epstein through their mutual acquaintance [[Lynn Forester de Rothschild]].<ref name=":02"/>

The first investigation into Epstein concluded with a controversial [[Jeffrey Epstein#Non-prosecution agreement (NPA) (2006–2008)|non-prosecution agreement]] that Dershowitz helped negotiate on Epstein's behalf.<ref name=":02"/> On June 30, 2008, after Epstein pleaded guilty to a state charge (one of two) of procuring for prostitution a girl below age 18, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.<ref name="JonSwaine">{{cite web |url = https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/13/jeffrey-epstein-donations-us-virgin-islands-review |title = Jeffrey Epstein's donations to young pupils prompts US Virgin Islands review |first = Jon |last = Swaine |work = [[The Guardian]] |location=London, England|date=January 13, 2015|url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161110194357/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jan/13/jeffrey-epstein-donations-us-virgin-islands-review |archive-date = November 10, 2016 |df = mdy-all }}</ref>

==== Julian Assange (2011) ====
In 2011, Dershowitz served as a consultant for [[Julian Assange]]'s legal team while Assange was facing the prospect of charges from the U.S. government for distributing classified documents through [[WikiLeaks]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/1.5123392|title=Alan Dershowitz to join WikiLeaks founder Assange's legal team|last=Mozgovaya|first=Natasha|date=February 16, 2011|work=[[Haaretz]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713062101/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/1.5123392|archive-date=July 13, 2019|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref> Of his decision to engage with Assange's team, Dershowitz said that Assange should be considered a journalist, adding, "I believe that to protect the First Amendment we need to protect new electronic media vigorously."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0211/Alan_Dershowitz_joins_Julian_Assange_defense_team.html|title=Alan Dershowitz joins Julian Assange defense team|last=Gerstein|first=Josh|website=[[Politico]]|date=February 14, 2011|language=en|access-date=April 26, 2020|archive-date=May 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514125344/http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/0211/Alan_Dershowitz_joins_Julian_Assange_defense_team.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Harvey Weinstein (2018) ====
{{Main|Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases}}

In May 2018, Dershowitz joined [[Harvey Weinstein]]'s legal team as a consultant for Weinstein's lawyer [[Benjamin Brafman]]. Dershowitz advised the team on obtaining documents from [[The Weinstein Company]] related to the [[Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases|sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Gardner |first=Eriq |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/alan-dershowitz-has-been-hired-by-harvey-weinsteins-lawyer-as-consultant-1108452 |title=Alan Dershowitz Hired as Harvey Weinstein Consultant |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=May 3, 2018 |access-date=August 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804050139/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/alan-dershowitz-has-been-hired-by-harvey-weinsteins-lawyer-as-consultant-1108452 |archive-date=August 4, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Donald Trump (2020) ====
{{Main|First impeachment of Donald Trump}}
[[File:Alan Dershowitz.png|thumb|right|Dershowitz arguing on the Senate floor during the impeachment of Donald Trump]]
In January 2020, Dershowitz joined President [[Donald Trump]]'s legal team as Trump was being tried on [[First impeachment of Donald Trump|impeachment charges]] in the Senate.<ref name="Haberman">{{Cite news|last1=Haberman|first1=Maggie|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/us/politics/trump-impeachment-lawyers-starr-dershowitz.html|title=Trump Legal Team Adds Starr and Dershowitz for Senate Trial|date=January 17, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 26, 2020|last2=Baker|first2=Peter|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423125438/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/us/politics/trump-impeachment-lawyers-starr-dershowitz.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz's addition to the team was notable, as commentators pointed out that he was a [[Hillary Clinton]] supporter and had offered occasionally controversial television defenses of Trump in the preceding two years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/480779-dershowitz-trump-trial-is-my-worst-controversy|title=Dershowitz: Trump trial is my 'worst controversy'|last=Swanson|first=Ian|date=January 31, 2020|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|language=en|access-date=April 26, 2020|archive-date=April 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421074648/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/480779-dershowitz-trump-trial-is-my-worst-controversy|url-status=live}}</ref> The statement announcing Dershowitz's joining the team said that Dershowitz was "nonpartisan when it comes to the Constitution."<ref name="Haberman"/> Dershowitz said he would not accept any compensation, and if he was paid anything, he would donate it to charity.<ref name=":5" /><ref name="TheHill20200118nomoney">{{cite news|last1=Folley|first1=Aris|date=January 18, 2020|title=Dershowitz says he's not taking money for work on Trump legal team|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/478908-dershowitz-says-hes-not-taking-money-for-work-on-trump-legal-team|access-date=January 19, 2020|archive-date=January 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118185618/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/478908-dershowitz-says-hes-not-taking-money-for-work-on-trump-legal-team|url-status=live}}</ref> He defended his representation of Trump, which was controversial among Trump critics, saying, "I'm there to try to defend the integrity of the constitution. That benefits President Trump in this case."<ref name="TheHill20200118nomoney" /> Dershowitz said that his role would be limited to presenting oral arguments before the Senate opposing impeachment.<ref name="NPRImpeachDer">{{cite news|last1=Rampton|first1=Roberta|title=Lawyer Alan Dershowitz Draws Line On His Role In Trump Impeachment Defense|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/01/17/797475291/lawyer-alan-dershowitz-draws-line-on-his-role-in-trump-impeachment-defense|access-date=January 19, 2020|work=[[NPR]]|date=January 17, 2020|archive-date=January 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119134539/https://www.npr.org/2020/01/17/797475291/lawyer-alan-dershowitz-draws-line-on-his-role-in-trump-impeachment-defense|url-status=live}}</ref>

In his oral arguments, Dershowitz said that proof of a crime is required to impeach a president. Some commentators suggested that his position contradicted his statements during the [[impeachment of Bill Clinton]], when he said no proof of a crime was required.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vazquez |first=Maegan |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/20/politics/alan-dershowitz-trump-defense-criminal-like-conduct/index.html |title=Alan Dershowitz once said you can be impeached without committing a crime |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=January 20, 2020 |access-date=January 23, 2020 |archive-date=January 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122165939/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/20/politics/alan-dershowitz-trump-defense-criminal-like-conduct/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Dershowitz later retracted his statements made during the Clinton era, saying, "To the extent there are inconsistencies between my current position and what I said 22 years ago, I am correct today{{nbsp}}.... During the Clinton impeachment, the issue was not whether a technical crime was required, because he was charged with perjury."<ref>{{cite web|last=Givas|first=Nick|date=January 20, 2020|title=Alan Dershowitz: 'I retract' 1998 claim no 'technical crime' required for impeachment|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alan-dershowitz-trump-senate-impeachment-legal|access-date=January 23, 2020|publisher=[[Fox News]]|archive-date=January 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122163206/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/alan-dershowitz-trump-senate-impeachment-legal|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some of his comments were considered to represent an overly expansive view of executive power. He argued, "If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment." Dershowitz later said his comment was mischaracterized: "a president seeking reelection cannot do anything he wants. He is not above the law. He cannot commit crimes."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cummings|first=William|date=January 30, 2020|title=Trump lawyer Dershowitz argues president can't be impeached for an act he thinks will help his reelection|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/30/alan-dershowitz-controversial-trump-impeachment-argument/4618461002/|access-date=January 31, 2020|website=[[USA Today]]|language=en-US|archive-date=January 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131062603/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/30/alan-dershowitz-controversial-trump-impeachment-argument/4618461002/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith|first=Allan|date=January 29, 2020|title=Dershowitz: Trump pursuing quid pro quo to help re-election is not impeachable|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/dershowitz-trump-pursuing-quid-pro-quo-get-re-elected-not-n1125816|access-date=January 31, 2020|website=[[NBC News]]|language=en|archive-date=January 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131041537/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/dershowitz-trump-pursuing-quid-pro-quo-get-re-elected-not-n1125816|url-status=live}}</ref>

After the trial, Dershowitz used his ties with the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] to lobby it to give clemency to his various other clients. He played a role in at least 12 clemency grants, as well as unsuccessfully lobbying the administration to commute the 10-year sentence of [[George Nader (businessman)|George Nader]], who had pleaded guilty to [[child pornography]] and [[sex trafficking]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Vogel|first1=Kenneth P.|last2=Confessore|first2=Nicholas|date=February 8, 2021|title=Using Connections to Trump, Dershowitz Became Force in Clemency Grants|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/politics/dershowitz-trump-pardons-clemency.html|access-date=February 13, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212123901/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/08/us/politics/dershowitz-trump-pardons-clemency.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Political views, writings, and commentary ==

=== Politics ===
Dershowitz was a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] until September 2024, when he renounced the party and became an [[Independent politician|Independent]], citing several "anti-Jewish" lawmakers in the party and the 2024 [[2024 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]], at which Vice President [[Kamala Harris]] became the [[Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign|party's presidential nominee]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bickerton |first=James |date=2024-09-07 |title=Alan Dershowitz quits Democratic Party, slams 'anti-Zionist' DNC |url=https://www.newsweek.com/alan-dershowitz-quits-democratic-party-slams-anti-zionist-dnc-1950247 |access-date=2024-09-07 |work=[[Newsweek]] }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=September 2024}} In 2016, he said that if [[Keith Ellison]] were appointed party chair, he would leave the party;<ref>{{cite news |last=Wisner |first=Matthew |date=December 30, 2016 |title=Alan Dershowitz: If Keith Ellison is Appointed DNC Chair, I Will Resign My Membership |work=[[Fox Business]] |access-date=August 12, 2017 |url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/12/30/alan-dershowitz-if-keith-ellison-is-appointed-dnc-chair-will-resign-my-membership.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805180903/http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/12/30/alan-dershowitz-if-keith-ellison-is-appointed-dnc-chair-will-resign-my-membership.html |archive-date=August 5, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Tom Perez]] was appointed instead. Dershowitz endorsed [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], and later endorsed the nominee, [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite news| last=Dershowitz|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Dershowitz|date=November 17, 2014|title=Why I Support Israel and Obama|work=[[HuffPost]] Blog|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/why-i-support-israel-and_b_135660.html|access-date=October 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107191746/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-dershowitz/why-i-support-israel-and_b_135660.html|archive-date=November 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> He opposed the [[impeachment of Bill Clinton]] and said he voted for Hillary Clinton in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Chalfant|first=Morgan|date=January 17, 2020|title=Trump to add Dershowitz, Ken Starr to impeachment defense team|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/478745-trump-to-add-dershowitz-ken-starr-to-impeachment-defense-team|access-date=January 17, 2020|archive-date=January 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200117153005/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/478745-trump-to-add-dershowitz-ken-starr-to-impeachment-defense-team|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz campaigned against Trump during the 2016 election and has been critical of many of his actions, including [[Trump travel ban|his travel ban]], his rescission of protections for "[[DREAM Act|Dreamers]]", and his failure to single out [[white nationalists]] for their provocations during [[Unite the Right rally|protests in Charlottesville]].<ref name="DershowitzNYT2017">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/opinion/politics-investigations-trump-russia.html|title=When Politics Is Criminalized|last1=Dershowitz|first1=Alan|date=November 28, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203014027/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/opinion/politics-investigations-trump-russia.html|archive-date=December 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DershowitzTBG2017">{{cite news|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/24/dershowitz-defending-donald-trump-not-quite-says/JXhTmSoeUdtxWtuxC1NiNL/story.html|title=Is Alan Dershowitz defending Trump? Not quite, he says|last1=Ramos|first1=Nestor|date=May 25, 2017|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905002130/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/24/dershowitz-defending-donald-trump-not-quite-says/JXhTmSoeUdtxWtuxC1NiNL/story.html|archive-date=September 5, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Comparing Trump unfavorably to Hillary Clinton in October 2016, Dershowitz said, "I think there's no comparison between who has engaged in more corruption and who is more likely to continue that if elected President of the United States."<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Kaczynski|first1=Andrew|last2=Steck|first2=Em|date=January 28, 2020|title=Alan Dershowitz called Trump corrupt in 2016 and said he could be corrupt as President|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/politics/dershowitz-2016-trump-corruption-kfile/index.html|access-date=August 3, 2020|website=[[CNN]]|archive-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128233043/https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/politics/dershowitz-2016-trump-corruption-kfile/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Harvard Law School Library in Langdell Hall at night.jpg|thumb|Dershowitz taught at [[Harvard Law School]] for nearly five decades, where he became the youngest tenured professor in the school's history.]]

=== Israel and the Middle East ===
Dershowitz is a strong supporter of [[Israel]].<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14" /> He self-identifies as both "pro-Israel and pro-Palestine," writing, "I want to see a vibrant, democratic, economically viable, peaceful Palestinian state existing side by side with Israel."<ref>{{cite book |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |url=https://archive.org/details/caseagainstisrae0000ders/page/15 |title=The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace |publisher=Wiley |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-470-37992-9 |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |page=[https://archive.org/details/caseagainstisrae0000ders/page/15 15] |author-link=Alan Dershowitz}}</ref> He has said, "were I an Israeli, I'd be a person of the [[Jewish left|left]] and voting the left".<ref name="cuny-video">{{cite web |date=May 16, 2013 |title=Is Zionism in Crisis? A Follow-Up Debate with Peter Beinart and Alan Dershowitz |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ffa6qMUX6U |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027163516/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ffa6qMUX6U |archive-date=October 27, 2013 |access-date=September 26, 2013 |work=The Graduate Center [[CUNY]] |publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> He also criticized President Obama's foreign policy stance toward Israel after the U.S. abstained from voting on [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334]], which condemned Israel for building [[Israeli settlements]] in the occupied [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian territory]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Ian |title=Dershowitz: Obama "Angry And Is Trying To Get Even" With Israel; "It Is Revenge" |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/12/27/dershowitz_obama_angry_and_is_trying_to_get_even_with_israel_it_is_revenge.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228195128/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/12/27/dershowitz_obama_angry_and_is_trying_to_get_even_with_israel_it_is_revenge.html |archive-date=December 28, 2016 |access-date=December 28, 2016 |website=www.realclearpolitics.com |publisher=Real Clear Politics}}</ref> He has said, "I will not be a member of a party that represents itself through a chairman like Keith Ellison and through policies like that espoused by John Kerry and Barack Obama."<ref>{{cite web |last=Wisner |first=Matthew |date=December 30, 2016 |title=Alan Dershowitz: If Keith Ellison is Appointed DNC Chair, I Will Resign My Membership |url=http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/12/30/alan-dershowitz-if-keith-ellison-is-appointed-dnc-chair-will-resign-my-membership.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231075318/http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/12/30/alan-dershowitz-if-keith-ellison-is-appointed-dnc-chair-will-resign-my-membership.html |archive-date=December 31, 2016 |access-date=December 30, 2016 |website=[[Fox Business]]}}</ref>

Dershowitz had a contract to provide advice to [[Joey Allaham]], a [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbyist]] working for the [[Qatar]]i government. In January 2018, Dershowitz questioned claims that [[Qatar and state-sponsored terrorism|Qatar funds terrorist groups]], including [[Hamas]], which is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including Israel, the U.S., and the European Union.<ref>{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Dan |date=November 8, 2018 |title=Court Case Reveals Alan Dershowitz Had a Contract With a Lobbyist for Qatar |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/court-case-reveals-alan-dershowitz-had-a-contract-with-a-lobbyist-for-qatar/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216042911/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/11/court-case-reveals-alan-dershowitz-had-a-contract-with-a-lobbyist-for-qatar/ |archive-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref> Dershowitz wrote, "Qatar is quickly becoming the Israel of the Gulf States, surrounded by enemies, subject to boycotts and unrealistic demands, and struggling for its survival."<ref>{{cite news |last=Boteach |first=Shmuley |date=January 22, 2018 |title=Why is Alan Dershowitz defending Qatar? |work=The Jerusalem Post |url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/why-is-alan-dershowitz-defending-qatar-539504 |url-status=live |access-date=July 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212071939/https://www.jpost.com/opinion/why-is-alan-dershowitz-defending-qatar-539504 |archive-date=February 12, 2021}}</ref>

Dershowitz has engaged in public debates with several other commentators, including [[Meir Kahane]],<ref>{{cite web |date=April 14, 2015 |title=Rabbi Meir Kahane debates Alan Dershowitz |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOombIV7EbQ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221030013/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOombIV7EbQ |archive-date=February 21, 2021 |access-date=August 12, 2017 |work=Or Haraayon אור הרעיון Jewish Idea הרעיון היהודי |publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> [[Noam Chomsky]], and [[Norman Finkelstein]]. When former U.S. President [[Jimmy Carter]] published his book ''[[Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid]]'' (2006) – in which he argues that Israel's control of Palestinian land is the primary obstacle to peace – Dershowitz challenged Carter to a debate at [[Brandeis University]]. Carter declined, saying, "I don't want to have a conversation even indirectly with Dershowitz. There is no need to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine."<ref>Dershowitz, Alan. ''The Case Against Israel's Enemies''. John Wiley and Sons, 2009, p. 20.</ref> Carter did address Brandeis in January 2007, but only Brandeis students and staff were allowed to attend. Dershowitz was invited to respond on the same stage only after Carter had left.<ref>{{cite news |last=Belluck |first=Pam |date=January 24, 2007 |title=At Brandeis, Carter Responds to Critics |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/us/24carter.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207085341/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/us/24carter.html |archive-date=December 7, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |date=December 21, 2006 |title=Why won't Carter debate his book? |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/12/21/why_wont_carter_debate_his_book/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713060552/http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/12/21/why_wont_carter_debate_his_book/ |archive-date=July 13, 2019 }}</ref> He authored an editorial in the Israeli newspaper ''The Jerusalem Post'' accusing [[Alice Walker]] of bigotry for refusing to have her novel ''[[The Color Purple#Boycotting Israel|The Color Purple]]'' published by an Israeli firm.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |date=June 21, 2012 |title=Alice Walker's bigotry |work=The Jerusalem Post |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=274763 |url-status=live |access-date=July 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624064150/http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=274763 |archive-date=June 24, 2012}}</ref>

In April 2009, Dershowitz took part in the [[Doha Debates]] at [[Georgetown University]], where he spoke against the motion "this House believes it's time for the US to get tough on Israel" with [[Dore Gold]], President of the [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs]]. Speakers for the motion were [[Avraham Burg]], former chair of the [[Jewish Agency for Israel]] and former [[Speaker of the Knesset]]; and [[Michael Scheuer]], former chief of the [[CIA]] [[Bin Laden Issue Station]]. Dershowitz's side lost the debate, with 63% of the audience voting for the motion.<ref>[http://www.thedohadebates.com/debates/item/?d=48&mode=transcript "This House believes it's time for the US to get tough on Israel"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723073532/http://www.thedohadebates.com/debates/item/?d=48&mode=transcript|date=July 23, 2012}}, The Doha Debates, March 25, 2009, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref>

In 2006, Dershowitz argued for the prosecution of Iranian president [[Mahmoud Ahmedinejad]] for [[incitement to genocide]] based on his threat of "[[wiping Israel off the map]]".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gordon |first1=Gregory |date=January 1, 2008 |title=From Incitement to Indictment – Prosecuting Iran's President for Advocating Israel's Destruction and Piecing Together Incitement Law's Emerging Analytical Framework |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol98/iss3/4/ |url-status=live |journal=Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology |volume=98 |issue=3 |page=855 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205181754/https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol98/iss3/4/ |archive-date=February 5, 2021 |access-date=May 9, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=December 15, 2006 |title=Jewish Leaders Threaten to Indict Ahmadinejad for Inciting Genocide |work=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |url=https://www.jta.org/2006/12/15/archive/jewish-leaders-threaten-to-indict-ahmadinejad-for-inciting-genocide |url-status=live |access-date=May 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725014717/https://www.jta.org/2006/12/15/archive/jewish-leaders-threaten-to-indict-ahmadinejad-for-inciting-genocide |archive-date=July 25, 2020}}</ref> His 2015 book ''The Case Against the Iran Deal'' argues that the Supreme Leader of Iran, [[Ali Khamenei]], had urged the Iranian military "to have two nuclear bombs ready to go off in January 2005 or you're not Muslims".<ref>Dershowitz, Alan. ''The Case Against the Iran Deal: How Can We Now Stop Iran from Getting Nukes?'', RosettaBooks, 2015, p. 37</ref> On February 29, 2012, Dershowitz filed an amicus brief in support of delisting the [[People's Mujahedin of Iran]] (MEK) from the [[United States State Department|State Department]] list of [[US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations|foreign terrorist organizations]].<ref>[http://www.standupamericaus.org/breaking-news/dershowitz-files-amicus-brief-to-de-list-mek/ "Dershowitz files Amicus Brief to de-list MeK"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513012324/http://www.standupamericaus.org/breaking-news/dershowitz-files-amicus-brief-to-de-list-mek/|date=May 13, 2014}}, ''Stand Up America'' February 29, 2012, accessed April 11, 2012.</ref><ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm "U.S. State Department List of Foreign Terrorist Organizations"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127131842/https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/123085.htm|date=January 27, 2017}}, ''U.S. State Department'' January 27, 2012, accessed April 11, 2012.</ref>

Of civilian casualties, Dershowitz has said, "In the age of terrorism, when militants don't wear uniforms, don't belong to regular armies, and easily blend into civilian populations," civilian casualties should be reexamined in terms of a "continuum of civilianality." In one example, he writes: "There is a vast difference – both moral and legal – between a 2-year-old who is killed by an enemy rocket and a 30-year-old civilian who has allowed his house to be used to store [[Katyusha rocket launcher|Katyusha rockets]]."<ref>{{cite news |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |date=July 22, 2006 |title='Civilian casualty'? That's a gray area |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-22-oe-dershowitz22-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018073154/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jul/22/opinion/oe-dershowitz22 |archive-date=October 18, 2017}}</ref>

After Hamas's [[7 October attacks]] in Israel, Dershowitz praised the [[Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present)|country's military response]]. He often writes essays about the war in his newsletter.<ref name=":16">{{Cite news |last=Beery |first=Zoë |date=July 8, 2024 |title=The Untold Saga of the Guy Who Defaced Alan Dershowitz's Honorary Stone at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden |url=https://hellgatenyc.com/alan-dershowitz-stone-defaced-brooklyn-botanic-garden/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 8, 2024 |work=[[Hell Gate (website)|Hell Gate]]}}</ref>

==== Harvard–MIT divestment petition ====
[[File:Alan Dershowitz in 2018.png|thumb|right|Dershowitz in 2018]]

Randall Adams of ''[[The Harvard Crimson]]'' wrote that, in the spring of 2002, a petition calling for Harvard and MIT to divest from Israeli and American companies that sell arms to Israel gathered over 600 signatures, including 74 from Harvard faculty and 56 from MIT faculty. Among the signatories was Harvard's Winthrop House Master Paul D. Hanson, in response to which Dershowitz staged a debate for 200 students in the Winthrop Junior Common Room. He called the petition's signatories antisemitic bigots and said they knew nothing about the Middle East. "Your House master is a bigot", he told the students, "and you ought to know that." Adams wrote that Dershowitz cited examples of human rights violations in countries that the U.S. supports, such as the execution of homosexuals in Egypt and the repression of women in Saudi Arabia, and said he would sue any professor who voted against the tenure of another academic because of the candidate's position on Israel, calling them "ignoramuses with PhDs".<ref name="Adams">Adams, Randall T. [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=254491 "Dershowitz: Divestment Petitioners Are 'Bigots,'"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060217083922/http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=254491|date=February 17, 2006}} ''The Harvard Crimson'' October 8, 2002, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref>

==== New response to Palestinian terrorism (2002) suggestion ====
In March 2002, Dershowitz published an article in ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'' titled "New Response to Palestinian Terrorism". In it, he wrote that Israel should announce a unilateral cessation in retaliation, at the end of which it would "announce precisely what it will do in response to the next act of terrorism. For example, it could announce the first act of terrorism following the moratorium will result in the destruction of a small village which has been used as a base for terrorist operations. The residents would be given 24 hours to leave, and then, troops will come in and bulldoze all of the buildings." The list of targets would be made public in advance.<ref>Dershowitz, Alan M. [https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/110385358.html?dids=110385358:110385358&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+11%2C+2002&author=ALAN+M.+DERSHOWITZ&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=06&desc=New+response+to+Palestinian+terrorism "New Response to Palestinian Terrorism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115114716/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/110385358.html?dids=110385358:110385358&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Mar+11%2C+2002&author=ALAN+M.+DERSHOWITZ&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=06&desc=New+response+to+Palestinian+terrorism|date=January 15, 2013}}, March 11, 2002.</ref> The proposal attracted criticism from within Harvard University and beyond.<ref>Villarreal, David. [http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=180648 "Dershowitz Editorial Draws Fire,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711230236/http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=180648|date=July 11, 2007}} ''The Harvard Crimson'', March 18, 2002, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref> [[James Bamford]] argued in ''The Washington Post'' that it would violate international law.<ref name="Bamford">Bamford, James. "Strategic Thinking", ''The Washington Post'', September 8, 2002.</ref> Norman Finkelstein wrote, "It is hard to make out any difference between the policy Dershowitz advocates and the Nazi destruction of [[Lidice]], for which he expresses abhorrence – except that Jews, not Germans, would be implementing it."<ref>Finkelstein, Norman. ''Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History''. University of California Press, 2005, p. 176.</ref>

==== 2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict ====
In July 2006, Dershowitz wrote a series of articles defending the [[Israel Defense Forces]]' conduct during the [[2006 Lebanon War|2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict]]. There was an international outcry at the time over escalating Lebanese civilian deaths and the destruction of civilian infrastructure resulting from Israel's stated attempt to weaken or destroy [[Hezbollah]]. After [[UN High Commissioner for Human Rights]] [[Louise Arbour]] indicated that Israeli officials might be investigated and indicted for [[war crimes]], Dershowitz called her statement "bizarre," called for her dismissal, and wrote about what he called the "absurdity and counterproductive nature of current international law."<ref>Dershowitz, Alan M. [http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.html?id=0371eede-b802-4a7e-adad-c0dafe419125 "Arbour Must Go,"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206015809/http://canada.com/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.html?id=0371eede-b802-4a7e-adad-c0dafe419125|date=December 6, 2007}} ''National Post'' July 21, 2006, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref> In an [[op-ed]] several days later in ''The Boston Globe'', he argued that Israel was not to blame for civilian deaths: "Israel has every self-interest in minimizing civilian casualties, whereas the terrorists have every self-interest in maximizing them – on both sides. Israel should not be condemned for doing what every democracy would and should do: taking every reasonable military step to stop the killing of their own civilians."<ref>{{cite news |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan M. |date=July 24, 2006 |title=Blame the terrorists, not Israel |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/07/24/blame_the_terrorists_not_israel/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203001845/http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/07/24/blame_the_terrorists_not_israel/ |archive-date=December 3, 2017}}</ref>

=== 2nd Amendment and gun control ===
Dershowitz is a strong supporter of gun control. He has criticized the [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution]], saying that it has "no place in modern society".<ref>{{cite web |date=April 9, 2003 |title=Expert Panel Debates Gun Control |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/4/9/expert-panel-debates-gun-control-the/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316194935/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/4/9/expert-panel-debates-gun-control-the/ |archive-date=March 16, 2014 |access-date=March 16, 2014 |work=The Harvard Crimson}}</ref> Dershowitz supports repealing the amendment, but vigorously opposes using the judicial system to read it out of the Constitution because that would open the way for further revisions to the Bill of Rights and Constitution by the courts. "Foolish liberals who are trying to read the Second Amendment out of the Constitution by claiming it's not an individual right or that it's too much of a public safety hazard don't see the danger in the big picture. They're courting disaster by encouraging others to use the same means to eliminate portions of the Constitution they don't like."<ref>Gifford, Dan. [http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Gifford1.htm "The Conceptual Foundations of Anglo-American Jurisprudence in Religion and Reason"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184702/http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Gifford1.htm|date=September 27, 2007}}, ''Tennessee Law Review''. Vol. 62, No. 3, 1995, p. 759.</ref>

=== Takings Clause, 5th and 14th Amendments (business law) ===
Dershowitz took on a case of a 1% shareholder of the [[TransPerfect]] company and argued that the [[Takings Clause|Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment]] and [[Due Process Clause|Due Process]] under both the 5th and 14th Amendments apply to individuals even in a corporate issue.<ref name="Chiappardi TransPerfect">{{cite news |last1=Chiappardi |first1=Matt |date=January 18, 2017 |title=Dershowitz Scraps With Justice Strine Over TransPerfect Sale |publisher=LexisNexis |agency=Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/881932/dershowitz-scraps-with-justice-strine-over-transperfect-sale |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820162837/https://www.law360.com/articles/881932/dershowitz-scraps-with-justice-strine-over-transperfect-sale |archive-date=August 20, 2017}}</ref><ref name="McParland TransPerfect">{{cite news |last1=McParland |first1=Thomas |date=January 18, 2017 |title=Tempers Fray as Dershowitz Argues Forced Sale of TransPerfect Is Unconstitutional Taking |publisher=ALM Media Properties |agency=Law.com |url=http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2017/01/18/tempers-fray-as-dershowitz-argues-forced-sale-of-transperfect-is-unconstitutional-taking/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170820160835/http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2017/01/18/tempers-fray-as-dershowitz-argues-forced-sale-of-transperfect-is-unconstitutional-taking/ |archive-date=August 20, 2017}}</ref> He is an attorney for defendant Shirley Shawe and is looking to take the case of the Delaware Chancery's forced sale of TransPerfect away from its shareholders to the Supreme Court.<ref name="Mordock TransPerfect">{{cite news |last1=Mordock |first1=Jeffrey |date=January 18, 2017 |title=Alan Dershowitz, Justice Strine spar over TransPerfect |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |agency=Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2017/01/18/sparks-fly-heated-transperfect-case/96719902/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204101903/https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2017/01/18/sparks-fly-heated-transperfect-case/96719902/ |archive-date=December 4, 2018}}</ref> Dershowitz has argued that the [[Chancery Court of Delaware|Delaware Chancery]] court violated the personal rights of an individual shareholder when it ordered the public auction on the company.<ref name="Pappas TransPerfect">{{cite news |last1=Pappas |first1=Leslie |date=January 17, 2017 |title=Did Del. Court Violate Shareholder Rights in TransPerfect Case? |publisher=The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. |agency=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]] BNA |url=https://bol.bna.com/did-del-court-violate-shareholder-rights-in-transperfect-case/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701100658/https://bol.bna.com/did-del-court-violate-shareholder-rights-in-transperfect-case/ |archive-date=July 1, 2017}}</ref>

=== Capital punishment ===
Dershowitz staunchly opposes the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mandery |first1=Evan |title='What Happened to Alan Dershowitz?' |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/11/alan-dershowitz-donald-trump-what-happened-218359/ |access-date=March 25, 2024 |date=May 11, 2018}}</ref> In 1963, as a law clerk to Justice [[Arthur Goldberg]], he wrote a memo at Goldberg's behest that was never published as an opinion, arguing that the death penalty violated the [[Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Eighth Amendment]]'s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments. Dershowitz sent the memo to the [[NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund|NAACP LDF]] and the [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]], which then waged a campaign against the death penalty that resulted in a ''de facto'' moratorium on executions beginning in 1967 and the landmark 1972 Supreme Court case [[Furman v. Georgia]], which found the death penalty as currently applied unconstitutional. The 1976 case [[Gregg v. Georgia]] upheld numerous states' revised death penalty statutes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mandery |first1=Evan |title=A Wild Justice: The Death And Resurrection of Capital Punishment in America |date=August 19, 2013 |publisher=W.W. Norton |isbn=9780393348965 |pages=3–400 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWQV5jG5rz0C |access-date=March 25, 2024}}</ref> Dershowitz has continued to criticize capital punishment.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Jenna |title=Dershowitz talks life, death, and organs in Chilmark return |url=https://www.mvtimes.com/2023/06/22/dershowitz-talks-life-death-organs-chilmark-return/ |access-date=March 25, 2024 |publisher=Martha's Vineyard Times |date=June 22, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Timothy |title=Doubting the Death Penalty |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1995/4/8/doubting-the-death-penalty-pbtbhere-was/ |access-date=March 25, 2024 |publisher=Harvard Crimson |date=April 8, 1995}}</ref>

=== Torture ===
After the [[September 11 attacks]], Dershowitz published an article in the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' titled "Want to Torture? Get a Warrant", in which he advocated the issuance of warrants permitting the [[torture]] of terrorism suspects if there were an "absolute need to obtain immediate information in order to save lives coupled with probable cause that the suspect had such information and is unwilling to reveal it."<ref>Dershowitz, Alan M. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/01/22/ED5329.DTL "Want to torture? Get a warrant,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304222501/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=%2Fchronicle%2Farchive%2F2002%2F01%2F22%2FED5329.DTL|date=March 4, 2012}} ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' January 22, 2002.</ref> He argued that authorities should be permitted to use non-lethal torture in a [[ticking time bomb scenario]] and that it would be less destructive to the rule of law to regulate the process than to leave it to individual law-enforcement agents' discretion. He favors preventing the government from prosecuting the subject of torture based on information revealed during such an interrogation.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/03/cnna.Dershowitz/ "Dershowitz: Torture could be justified"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051210044738/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/03/cnna.Dershowitz/|date=December 10, 2005}}, ''CNN'' March 4, 2003, accessed November 20, 2010.

* Also see Hansen, Suzy. [https://www.salon.com/books/int/2002/09/12/dershowitz/index.html "Why Terrorism Works"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317180205/http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/10.04/13-hls.html|date=March 17, 2008}}, ''Salon.com'', September 12, 2002, accessed November 20, 2010.
* For more information, see Walsh, Colleen, ''Harvard University Gazette'', October 4, 2007, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref> A play based on the scenario by Robert Fothergill was named after Dershowitz.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rosen |first=Jo Ann |date=August 14, 2008 |title=The Dershowitz Protocol |url=http://nytheatre.com/Content/2008-the-dershowitz-protocol |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813104053/http://nytheatre.com/Content/2008-the-dershowitz-protocol |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |access-date=August 12, 2017 |work=[[nytheatre.com|nytheater]] indie archive}} <!--
 [https://web.archive.org/web/20210221145003/http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/fnyc08_rev.php?0=S&1=507 "The Dershowitz Protocol"], NYtheatre.com, accessed November 20, 2010. --></ref>

[[William F. Schulz]], executive director of the U.S. section of [[Amnesty International]], found Dershowitz's ticking-bomb scenario unrealistic because, he argued, it would require that "the authorities know that a bomb has been planted somewhere; know it is about to go off; know that the suspect in their custody has the information they need to stop it; know that the suspect will yield that information accurately in a matter of minutes if subjected to torture; and know that there is no other way to obtain it."<ref>Schulz, William. [http://www.amnestyusa.org/about/dershowitzreview.html "The Torturer's apprentice: Civil liberties in a turbulent age"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051105060221/http://www.amnestyusa.org/about/dershowitzreview.html|date=November 5, 2005}}, ''The Nation'', May 13, 2002.</ref> James Bamford of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' described one of the practices mentioned by Dershowitz – the "sterilized needle being shoved under the fingernails" – as "chillingly [[Nazi]]-like."<ref name="Bamford" />

=== Animal rights ===
Dershowitz is one of several scholars at Harvard Law School who have expressed their support for limited [[animal rights]]<ref>{{cite newsletter |date=Winter 2002 |title=Darwin, Meet Dershowitz: Courting Legal Evolution at Harvard Law |url=https://aldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Animals-Advocate-Winter-2002.pdf |url-status=live |work=The Animals' Advocate |publisher=[[Animal Legal Defense Fund]] |volume=21 |pages=1, 4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306111404/https://aldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Animals-Advocate-Winter-2002.pdf |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref> In his ''Rights from Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights'' (2004), he writes that, in order to prevent human beings from treating each other the way we treat animals, we have made what he calls the "somewhat arbitrary decision" to single out our own species for different and better treatment. "Does this subject us to the charge of [[speciesism]]? Of course it does, and we cannot justify it, except by the fact that in the world in which we live, humans make the rules. That reality imposes on us a special responsibility to be fair and compassionate to those on whom we impose our rules. Hence the argument for animal rights."<ref>{{cite book |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |title=Rights from Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights |date=2004 |publisher=Basic Books |pages=198–199}}

* Also see his {{cite book |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |title=Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age |date=2002 |publisher=Little, Brown |pages=84–85 |chapter=Do (Should) Animals Have Rights? |display-authors=0}}</ref>

=== Criticism of the American Civil Liberties Union ===
In June 2018, Dershowitz wrote an [[op-ed]] criticizing the [[American Civil Liberties Union]], alleging that it had become a hyper-partisan organization and was no longer the nonpartisan group of politically diverse individuals sharing a commitment to core civil liberties it once was. He wrote, "The move of the ACLU to the hard-left reflects an even more dangerous and more general trend in the United States: the right is moving further right; the left is moving farther left, and the center is shrinking... The ACLU's move from the neutral protector of civil liberties to a partisan advocate of hard-left politics is both a symptom and consequence of this change." He also criticized Trump, writing that by denying fundamental civil liberties, he was also to blame for pushing the ACLU further into partisan politics.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dershowitz |first1=Alan |date=June 14, 2018 |title=The Final Nail in the ACLU's Coffin |url=https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/alan-dershowitz-the-final-nail-in-the-aclus-coffin |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614214742/http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/06/14/alan-dershowitz-final-nail-in-aclus-coffin.html |archive-date=June 14, 2018 |access-date=June 15, 2018 |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]}}</ref>
[[File:Gary Ackerman, Alan Dershowitz, and Larry David.jpg|thumb|right|Dershowitz with [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[Gary Ackerman]] and [[Larry David]] in October 2004]]

=== Presidential candidates ===
During the [[Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2008|2008 Democratic Party primaries]], Dershowitz endorsed [[Hillary Clinton]], calling her "a progressive on social issues, a realist on foreign policy, a pragmatist on the economy."<ref>Alan Dershowitz, [https://newrepublic.com/article/the-tnr-primary-part-fourteen The TNR Primary: Part Fourteen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913042903/http://www.newrepublic.com/article/the-tnr-primary-part-fourteen|date=September 13, 2015}}, The New Republic, January 25, 2008</ref> In 2012, he strongly supported Barack Obama's reelection, writing, "President Obama has earned my vote on the basis of his excellent judicial appointments, his consensus-building foreign policy, and the improvements he has brought about in the disastrous economy he inherited."<ref>{{cite news |author=Alan M. Dershowitz |date=October 30, 2012 |title=The case for President Obama's reelection |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-case-for-President-Obamas-reelection |url-status=live |access-date=February 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227212118/http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-case-for-President-Obamas-reelection |archive-date=February 27, 2015}}</ref> In 2018, after a photo with Obama and [[Nation of Islam]] leader [[Louis Farrakhan]] at a 2005 meeting of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]] emerged, Dershowitz said he would never have campaigned for Obama had the photo been publicized soon after it was taken.<ref>{{cite web |date=January 27, 2018 |title=Dershowitz: I Wouldn't Have Campaigned for Obama If I Knew About Farrakhan Pic |url=http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/01/27/obama-farrakhan-photo-dershowitz-says-he-would-not-support-him-if-he-knew-about-picture |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319171003/http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/01/27/obama-farrakhan-photo-dershowitz-says-he-would-not-support-him-if-he-knew-about-picture |archive-date=March 19, 2018 |access-date=March 19, 2018 |website=[[Fox News]] Insider}}</ref>

In the [[2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries|2020 Democratic Party primaries]], Dershowitz endorsed [[Joe Biden]]. He said: "I'm a strong supporter of Joe Biden. I like Joe Biden. I've liked him for a long time, and I could enthusiastically support Joe Biden." He criticized [[Bernie Sanders]], saying: "I don't think under any circumstances I could vote for a man who went to England and campaigned for a bigot and anti-Semite like [[Jeremy Corbyn]]."<ref>{{cite news |date=June 13, 2019 |title=Alan Dershowitz Says He Would 'Enthusiastically' Vote For Biden Over Trump in 2020 matchup |work=[[Newsweek]] |url=https://www.newsweek.com/alan-dershowitz-says-he-would-enthusiastically-vote-biden-over-trump-2020-matchup-1443945 |url-status=live |access-date=August 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830105701/https://www.newsweek.com/alan-dershowitz-says-he-would-enthusiastically-vote-biden-over-trump-2020-matchup-1443945 |archive-date=August 30, 2019}}</ref>

=== Donald Trump ===
Dershowitz has offered commentary on [[Legal affairs of Donald Trump as president (disambiguation)|Trump's legal issues]] that has been polarizing among liberals and Democrats, as he has often been perceived as offering defenses of Trump's more controversial actions.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Bidgood|first1=Jess|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/marthas-vineyard-trump.html|title=On Martha's Vineyard, a Frosty Summer for Alan Dershowitz|date=July 3, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 21, 2020|last2=Bosman|first2=Julie|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=March 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311191238/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/marthas-vineyard-trump.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz has maintained that his weighing in is apolitical, saying, "I am a liberal Democrat in politics, but a neutral civil libertarian when it comes to the Constitution."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/394346-maxine-waters-does-not-speak-for-democrats-or-liberals|title=Maxine Waters does not speak for Democrats or liberals|last=Tan|first=Anjelica|date=June 27, 2018|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|language=en|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=May 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515131827/https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/394346-maxine-waters-does-not-speak-for-democrats-or-liberals|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2018, Dershowitz said that attacking Trump's [[mental fitness]] was a "very dangerous" line of attack<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dcstatesman.com/watch-clinton-supporter-alan-dershowitz-loses-calls-attacks-dems-trump-dangerous/|title=WATCH: Clinton Supporter Alan Dershowitz Loses It, Calls Attacks By Dems On Trump 'Very Dangerous'|date=January 9, 2018|work=DC Statesman|access-date=January 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112214635/https://www.dcstatesman.com/watch-clinton-supporter-alan-dershowitz-loses-calls-attacks-dems-trump-dangerous/|archive-date=January 12, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> and that there was "no case" that Trump committed [[obstruction of justice]] by firing former [[FBI]] Director [[James Comey]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/12/04/dershowitz_no_case_for_obstruction_of_justice_against_trump_would_be_constitutional_crisis.html|title=Dershowitz: No Case For Obstruction Of Justice Against Trump, Would Be "Constitutional Crisis"|website=www.realclearpolitics.com|access-date=January 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206062154/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/12/04/dershowitz_no_case_for_obstruction_of_justice_against_trump_would_be_constitutional_crisis.html|archive-date=December 6, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> He called the indictment of [[Michael Flynn]] the strangest he had ever seen because Flynn lied about something that was not illegal, and claimed that "collusion" in reference to [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections|Russian meddling in the 2016 election]] is not a crime.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://radio.foxnews.com/2017/12/01/video-whats-so-criminal-about-colluding-with-russia-anyway-dershowitz-says-flynn-indictment-strangest-hes-ever-seen/|title=(VIDEO) What's So Criminal About "Colluding" With Russia Anyway? Dershowitz Says Flynn Indictment "Strangest" He's Ever Seen|date=December 1, 2017|work=[[Fox News]] Radio|access-date=January 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113150228/https://radio.foxnews.com/2017/12/01/video-whats-so-criminal-about-colluding-with-russia-anyway-dershowitz-says-flynn-indictment-strangest-hes-ever-seen/|archive-date=January 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> But Dershowitz said that Trump's alleged disclosure of classified information to Russia is "the most serious charge ever made against a sitting president."<ref name="DershowitzNYT2017" /><ref name="DershowitzTBG2017" /> His 2018 book ''The Case Against Impeaching Trump'' argues against impeachment.<ref>{{cite news | first = Quinta | last = Jurecic | date = August 3, 2018 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-book-about-impeachment-that-donald-trump-likes-so-much-he-tweeted-about-it/2018/08/02/83550bac-919e-11e8-bcd5-9d911c784c38_story.html | title = A book about impeachment that Donald Trump likes so much, he tweeted about it | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | access-date = August 9, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180809050724/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/a-book-about-impeachment-that-donald-trump-likes-so-much-he-tweeted-about-it/2018/08/02/83550bac-919e-11e8-bcd5-9d911c784c38_story.html | archive-date = August 9, 2018 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Dershowitz has received some criticism from liberals and praise from conservatives for his comments on these issues.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/alan-dershowitz-marthas-vineyard.html|title=Alan Dershowitz Says Martha's Vineyard Is 'Shunning' Him Over Trump|last=Chokshi|first=Niraj|date=July 3, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181021070002/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/us/alan-dershowitz-marthas-vineyard.html|archive-date=October 21, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/11/alan-dershowitz-donald-trump-what-happened-218359/|title=What Happened to Alan Dershowitz?|last=Mandery|first=Evan|date=May 11, 2018|work=[[Politico]] Magazine|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923124704/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/11/alan-dershowitz-donald-trump-what-happened-218359|archive-date=September 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He defended Supreme Court nominee [[Brett Kavanaugh]] against accusations by [[Julie Swetnick]] that Kavanaugh and [[Mark Judge (writer)|Mark Judge]] were at a party where she was gang-raped. Dershowitz said on [[Fox News]], "that affidavit is so deeply flawed and so open-ended that any good lawyer, any good defense attorney would be able to tear that apart in 30 seconds".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/alan-dershowitz-any-good-attorney-could-tear-apart-julie-swetnicks-affidavit-in-30-seconds |title=Alan Dershowitz: Any good attorney could tear apart Julie Swetnick's affidavit in 30 seconds |date=September 26, 2018 |work=Washington Examiner |last=Chaitin |first=Daniel |access-date=October 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007223242/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/alan-dershowitz-any-good-attorney-could-tear-apart-julie-swetnicks-affidavit-in-30-seconds |archive-date=October 7, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Dershowitz called on Swetnick's lawyer Michael Avenatti, who was also representing [[Stormy Daniels]], to withdraw the affidavit because of inconsistencies.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kavanaugh-accuser-michael-avenatti-reveals-julie-swetnick-today-2018-09-26/|title=Avenatti client says Brett Kavanaugh was present while she was "gang raped" during high school|date=September 26, 2018|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006201336/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kavanaugh-accuser-michael-avenatti-reveals-julie-swetnick-today-2018-09-26/|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/409665-dershowitz-avenatti-may-have-ethical-obligation-to-withdraw-swetnick|title=Dershowitz: Avenatti may have 'ethical obligation' to withdraw Swetnick affidavit|last=Keller|first=Megan|date=October 3, 2018|work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007071411/https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/409665-dershowitz-avenatti-may-have-ethical-obligation-to-withdraw-swetnick|archive-date=October 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dershowitz and others recommended that Trump commute [[Sholom Rubashkin]]'s sentence for bank fraud in the [[Agriprocessors]] case.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-sholom-rubashkins-supporters-got-trump-to-commute-his-sentence/|title=How Sholom Rubashkin's supporters got Trump to commute his sentence|last=Kampeas|first=Ron|date=December 23, 2017|work=The Times of Israel|access-date=October 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007185001/https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-sholom-rubashkins-supporters-got-trump-to-commute-his-sentence/|archive-date=October 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2019, Dershowitz said he would "enthusiastically support [[Joe Biden]]" for president.<ref name="vanityfair">{{cite news|author=Bess Levin|date=June 14, 2019|title=Trump's favorite lawyer: Hell yeah I'll vote for Biden|newspaper=Vanity Fair|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/06/alan-dershowitz-donald-trump-joe-biden|url-status=live|access-date=December 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108000445/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/06/alan-dershowitz-donald-trump-joe-biden|archive-date=November 8, 2020}}</ref>

In 2021, Dershowitz said that Trump's rally preceding the [[2021 storming of the United States Capitol]] was "constitutionally protected" speech. He said it would be his "honor and privilege" to defend Trump in a trial.<ref name="politico2020">{{cite news |title=Trump legal vets torn over new impeachment defense |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/08/alan-dershowitz-trump-impeachment-456674 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |work=[[Politico]] |archive-date=January 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108222540/https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/08/alan-dershowitz-trump-impeachment-456674 |url-status=live }}</ref> Trump reportedly considered him for his defense team.<ref name="trump-defense">{{cite web |title=Trump considering Giuliani and Dershowitz for impeachment defense team |date=January 9, 2021 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/09/politics/donald-trump-impeachment-lawyers-dershowitz-giuliani/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-date=January 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109233545/https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/09/politics/donald-trump-impeachment-lawyers-dershowitz-giuliani/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Academic and other disputes ==
=== Norman Finkelstein ===
{{Further|Dershowitz–Finkelstein affair}}
Shortly after the publication of Dershowitz's ''[[The Case for Israel]]'' (2003), [[Norman Finkelstein]] of [[DePaul University]] said the book contained material [[plagiarism|plagiarized]] from [[Joan Peters]]'s book ''[[From Time Immemorial]]''.<ref name=Goodman>[[Amy Goodman]], [http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/09/24/1730205 "Scholar Norman Finkelstein Calls Professor Alan Dershowitz's New Book On Israel a 'Hoax',"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114124931/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03%2F09%2F24%2F1730205 |date=November 14, 2007 }} ''[[Democracy Now!]]''September 24, 2003, accessed February 10, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://normanfinkelstein.com/2003/02/08/alan-dershowitz-exposed-what-if-a-harvard-student-did-this/ Dershowitz Exposed: What if a Harvard Student Did This?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221145010/http://normanfinkelstein.com/2012/09/16/an-accurate-assessment-of-where-things-now-stand/ |date=February 21, 2021 }} February 8, 2003. Finkelstein, Norman.</ref><ref name=":10" /> Dershowitz denied the allegation. Harvard's president, [[Derek Bok]], investigated the allegation and determined that no plagiarism had occurred.<ref>Finkelstein, Norman. ''Beyond Chutzpah''. University of California Press, 2008, p. 298.</ref><ref name=globe2005>{{cite news | last=Bombardieri | first=Marcella | title=Academic fight heads to print | work=The Boston Globe | date=July 9, 2005 | url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/09/academic_fight_heads_to_print/ | access-date=July 12, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224230011/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/07/09/academic_fight_heads_to_print/ | archive-date=December 24, 2018 | url-status=live }}</ref> Los Angeles attorney Frank Menetrez wrote an article analyzing the dispute's details that supported Finkelstein's charges, concluding: "I don't see how Dershowitz could, purely by coincidence, have precisely reproduced all of Peters' errors [in quoting [[The Innocents Abroad]]] if he was working from the original Twain." [[CounterPunch]] published Dershowitz's response and Menetrez's reply. Dershowitz dismissed the charges as verifiably false and politically motivated by hostility to his support for Israel, and Menetrez reaffirmed his view that the evidence pointed to Dershowitz having plagiarized his sources.<ref name=Menetrez>{{cite book | editor = Norman Finkelstein | title = Beyond Chutzpah | chapter = Dershowitz & Finkelstein—who's right and who's wrong? | author = Frank J. Menetrez | pages = 363–394 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PjYoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA374| publisher = University of California Press | year = 2008 |isbn =978-0-520-93345-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author1=Alan Dershowitz|author2=Frank J. Menetrez|url=https://www.counterpunch.org/2008/02/26/menetrez-s-false-allegations/|title=Menetrez's False Allegations. Reply to Dershowitz|date=February 26, 2008|website=CounterPunch.org|language=en-US|access-date=April 21, 2020|archive-date=May 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518155349/https://www.counterpunch.org/2008/02/26/menetrez-s-false-allegations/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Matthew Abraham, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NYbFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 ''Out of Bounds: Academic Freedom and the Question of Palestine,''] [[Bloomsbury Publishing | Bloomsbury Publishing USA]], 2014 {{isbn | 978-1-441-13823-1}} pp.86,256</ref>

In October 2006, Dershowitz wrote to DePaul University faculty members to lobby against Finkelstein's application for tenure, accusing Finkelstein of academic dishonesty.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Cohen|first=Patricia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/arts/12tenu.html|title=A Bitter Spat Over Ideas, Israel and Tenure|date=April 12, 2007|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=April 21, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228193300/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/12/arts/12tenu.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The university's Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty voted to send a letter of complaint to Harvard University.<ref name="The Chronicle of Higher Education 2007">{{cite web | title=Harvard Law Professor Works to Disrupt Tenure Bid of Longtime Nemesis at DePaul U. | website=The Chronicle of Higher Education | date=April 5, 2007 | url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/harvard-law-professor-works-to-disrupt-tenure-bid-of-longtime-nemesis-at-depaul-u/ | access-date=January 20, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":10" /> In June 2007, DePaul University denied Finkelstein tenure.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna19158376 "DePaul denies tenure to controversial professor"], The Associated Press, June 10, 2007.</ref>

=== Mearsheimer and Walt ===
{{Further|The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy}}

In March 2006, [[John Mearsheimer]], professor of political science at the [[University of Chicago]], and [[Stephen Walt]], professor of international affairs at [[Harvard Kennedy School]], co-wrote a paper titled "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy", published in ''[[The London Review of Books]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby|title=The Israel Lobby|last1=Mearsheimer|first1=John|last2=Walt|first2=Stephen|journal=London Review of Books|date=March 23, 2006|volume=28|issue=6|access-date=November 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115161401/http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby|archive-date=January 15, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Mearsheimer and Walt criticized what they called "the Israel lobby" for influencing U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East in a direction away from U.S. interests and toward Israel's. They referred to Dershowitz specifically as an "apologist" for the Israel lobby. In a March 2006 interview with ''The Harvard Crimson'', Dershowitz called the article "one-sided" and its authors "liars" and "bigots".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bhayani|first1=Paras D.|last2=Friedman|first2=Rebecca R.|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512280|title=Dean Attacks 'Israel Lobby'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719234940/http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512280|archive-date=July 19, 2006|website=The Harvard Crimson|date=March 21, 2006|access-date=September 1, 2019}}</ref> The next day, on MSNBC's ''[[Scarborough Country]]'', he suggested the paper had been derived from multiple hate sites: "Every paragraph virtually is copied from a [[neo-Nazi]] Web site, from a radical Islamic Web site, from [[David Duke]]'s Web site."<ref>{{cite web|last=Dershowitz|first=Alan|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11959495|title='Scarborough Country' for March 21|website=[[NBC News]]|date=March 22, 2006|access-date=November 20, 2010|archive-date=October 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002162626/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/11959495/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz subsequently wrote a report challenging the paper, arguing that it contained "three types of major errors: Quotations are wrenched out of context, important facts are misstated or omitted, and embarrassingly weak logic is employed."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/research/working_papers/dershowitzreply.pdf|last=Dershowitz|first=Alan|title=Debunking the Newest – and Oldest – Jewish Conspiracy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627055451/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/research/working_papers/dershowitzreply.pdf|archive-date=June 27, 2008|url-status=live|access-date=March 26, 2017}}, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard Law School, April 6, 2006, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref> In a letter in the ''London Review of Books'' in May 2006, Mearsheimer and Walt denied that they had used any racist sources for their article, writing that Dershowitz had failed to offer any evidence to support his claim.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n09/letters|title=The Israel Lobby|last1=Mearsheimer|first1=John|last2=Walt|first2=Stephen|journal=London Review of Books|date=May 11, 2006|volume=28|issue=9|access-date=November 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810213939/http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n09/letters|archive-date=August 10, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Personal life and family ==
Dershowitz's first wife was Sue Barlach.<ref name=Chutzpah2>Dershowitz, Alan M. ''Chutzpah''. Touchstone Books, 1992, pp. 48, 370.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Barney Frank: The Story of America's Only Left-handed, Gay, Jewish Congressman|last=Weisberg|first=Stuart E.|publisher=Univ of Massachusetts Press|year=2009|isbn=9781558497214|location=United States|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/barneyfrankstory00weis}}</ref> In his book ''Chutzpah'', he described Barlach as an "Orthodox Jewish girl."<ref name="Chutzpah2"/> The two met during high school at a [[Jewish summer camp]] in the Catskills.<ref name=":02"/> They married in 1959, when Dershowitz was 20 and Barlach was 18.<ref name="Chutzpah2"/> Barlach and Dershowitz had two sons together: Elon Dershowitz (born 1961), a film producer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220642/bio|title=Elon Dershowitz|website=IMDb|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107134103/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220642/bio|url-status=live}}</ref> and Jamin Dershowitz (born 1963),<ref name=":02"/> an attorney.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2015/02/18/united-states/as-david-cohen-becomes-cias-no-2-jews-appear-to-have-smoother-sailing-at-security-agencies|title=As David Cohen becomes CIA's No. 2, Jews appear to have smoother sailing at security agencies|last=Kampeas|first=Ron|date=February 18, 2015|website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|language=en-US|access-date=January 28, 2020|quote=Cohen is from Boston and in high school became friends with Jamin Dershowitz, the son of Harvard professor and well-known Israel advocate Alan Dershowitz. Cohen and the younger Dershowitz, who is general counsel to the WNBA, are still close.|archive-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128183741/https://www.jta.org/2015/02/18/united-states/as-david-cohen-becomes-cias-no-2-jews-appear-to-have-smoother-sailing-at-security-agencies|url-status=live}}</ref> Barlach and Dershowitz separated in 1973 and divorced in 1976.<ref name=":02"/> Although Barlach was initially given custody, Dershowitz fought for and was later awarded full custody of their children.<ref name=":02"/> During the divorce proceedings, Barlach alleged that Dershowitz physically abused her, resulting in the need for medical treatment and therapy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2019/07/30/5-surprising-details-from-that-new-yorker-alan-dershowitz-profile/|title=5 Surprising Details From That 'New Yorker' Alan Dershowitz Profile|website=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> ''The New Yorker'' reported that Barlach later worked as a research librarian and "drowned in the East River, in an apparent suicide" on December 31, 1983.<ref name=":02"/>

In 1986, Dershowitz married Carolyn Cohen, a retired neuropsychologist.<ref name=Vile>Vile, John R. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XR1NPiqp5aQC&pg=PA198 ''Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia'' (Volume 1)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617222909/https://books.google.com/books?id=XR1NPiqp5aQC&pg=PA198 |date=June 17, 2016 }}, ABC-CLIO, 2001, pp. 198–207.</ref> Together they had one child, Ella (born 1990), an actress.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://heavy.com/news/2018/08/carolyn-cohen-alan-derschowitz-wife/|title=Carolyn Cohen, Alan Dershowitz's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know|last=Laviola|first=Erin|date=August 28, 2018|website=Heavy.com|language=en|access-date=January 28, 2020|archive-date=January 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128052310/https://heavy.com/news/2018/08/carolyn-cohen-alan-derschowitz-wife/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz and Cohen divide their time between homes in Martha's Vineyard, Miami Beach and Manhattan.<ref name=":2"/>

Jamin Dershowitz married Barbara, a Roman Catholic, which helped prompt Alan Dershowitz to write ''The Vanishing American Jew'', dedicated to them and their children, whom Dershowitz regards as Jewish.<ref name="NYTBook"/> He has two grandchildren by Jamin: Lori and Lyle.<ref name=":1"/>

Dershowitz was related to Los Angeles [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] rabbi [[Zvi Dershowitz]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/Local-Israel/The-Dershowitz-dynasty|title=The Dershowitz dynasty|author=Greer Fay Cashman|date=December 25, 2009|access-date=September 7, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818094059/http://www.jpost.com/Local-Israel/The-Dershowitz-dynasty|archive-date=August 18, 2016}}</ref>

In February 2024, Dershowitz signed the [[Jewish Future Promise]].<ref name="Namechange">{{cite news |title=The Jewish Future Pledge becomes The Jewish Future Promise |url=https://www.jns.org/wire/a-pledge-renewed-for-generations-the-jewish-future-pledge-becomes-the-jewish-future-promise/ |access-date=February 28, 2024 |work=[[Jewish News Syndicate]] |date=February 8, 2024}}</ref>

=== Retracted sexual abuse allegations ===
Beginning in 2015, Dershowitz was involved in a series of defamation lawsuits and countersuits over allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct. The suits were settled in 2022 with his accuser, [[Virginia Roberts Giuffre|Virginia Giuffre]], saying, "I now recognize I may have made a mistake in identifying Mr. Dershowitz".<ref name=settled2022 /> In a December 30, 2014, Florida court filing, Giuffre alleged she was sexually trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein, who lent her to people for sex, including Dershowitz and [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Prince Andrew]].<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite news|date=January 7, 2015|title=US lawyer in Andrew sex case sued|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30708795|access-date=August 4, 2020|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801110423/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30708795|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Gibson|first1=Megan|date=January 6, 2015|title=U.S. Lawyer Sues in Prince Andrew Sex Claims Case|magazine=Time|url=https://time.com/3655417/alan-dershowitz-prince-andrew-virginia-roberts/|access-date=January 9, 2015|archive-date=May 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503172314/https://time.com/3655417/alan-dershowitz-prince-andrew-virginia-roberts/|url-status=live}}</ref> The motion claimed that Dershowitz was also an eyewitness to the [[sexual abuse]] of other minors.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/us/alan-dershowitz-denies-allegations-of-sex-with-minor.html|title=Alan Dershowitz Denies Suit's Allegations of Sex With a Minor|last1=Williams|first1=Timothy|date=January 6, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 7, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107214335/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/07/us/alan-dershowitz-denies-allegations-of-sex-with-minor.html|archive-date=January 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 24, 2019|title=Harvard law professor: Throw out lawsuit by Epstein accuser|url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190924/harvard-law-professor-throw-out-lawsuit-by-epstein-accuser|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=The Palm Beach Post|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|language=en|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918074722/https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20190924/harvard-law-professor-throw-out-lawsuit-by-epstein-accuser|url-status=live}}</ref> Giuffre's affidavit was included in a 2008 lawsuit filed on behalf of women who say they were sexually abused by Epstein; the lawsuit accused the Justice Department of violating the [[Crime Victims' Rights Act|Crime Victims Rights Act]] by entering into a plea agreement with Epstein that allowed him to serve jail time on state charges but avoid federal prosecution.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|last=Pierson|first=Brendan|date=January 6, 2015|title=A Top Criminal Defense Lawyer Is Trying To Disbar Lawyers Representing A Woman Who Accused Him Of Sex Abuse|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/r-top-us-lawyer-dershowitz-can-his-accusers-in-sex-abuse-case-be-disbarred-2015-1|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=[[Business Insider]]|publisher=[[Reuters]]|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205184333/https://www.businessinsider.com/r-top-us-lawyer-dershowitz-can-his-accusers-in-sex-abuse-case-be-disbarred-2015-1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/business/alan-dershowitz-on-the-defense-his-own.html|title=Alan Dershowitz on the Defense (His Own)|last=Meier|first=Barry|date=December 12, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201012405/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/13/business/alan-dershowitz-on-the-defense-his-own.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the week after the release of Giuffre's affidavit, Dershowitz denied the allegations and sought disbarment of the lawyers filing the suit.<ref name="VoxDershowitzNPA2">{{cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/7/30/20746983/alan-dershowitz-jeffrey-epstein-sarah-ransome-giuffre|title=Alan Dershowitz helped sex offender Jeffrey Epstein get a plea deal. Now he's tweeting about age of consent laws.|last1=North|first1=Anna|date=July 30, 2019|website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821205948/https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/7/30/20746983/alan-dershowitz-jeffrey-epstein-sarah-ransome-giuffre|archive-date=August 21, 2019|access-date=August 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/us/prince-andrew-and-alan-dershowitz-are-named-in-suit-alleging-sex-with-minor.html|title=Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz Are Mentioned in Suit Alleging Sex With Minor|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Emma G.|date=January 4, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 12, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713060555/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/04/us/prince-andrew-and-alan-dershowitz-are-named-in-suit-alleging-sex-with-minor.html|archive-date=July 13, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> That same week of January 2015, Giuffre's lawyers, Bradley Edwards and [[Paul G. Cassell]], sued Dershowitz for defamation.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Fuchs|first=Erin|date=January 7, 2015|title=Harvard Professor Is 'Thrilled' To Have A Chance To Prove He Wasn't Part Of A Financier's Underage Prostitution Ring|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/alan-dershowitz-is-thrilled-he-got-sued-for-defamation-2015-1|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=[[Business Insider]]|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205184335/https://www.businessinsider.com/alan-dershowitz-is-thrilled-he-got-sued-for-defamation-2015-1|url-status=live}}</ref> By early April 2015, U.S. District Court Judge [[Kenneth Marra]] had the allegations against Dershowitz and Andrew removed from the record as having no bearing on the 2008 lawsuit seeking to reopen Epstein's case.<ref name="above">{{cite web|author=Lat, David|date=April 7, 2015|title=Allegations Against Alan Dershowitz, Removed From The Record|url=http://abovethelaw.com/2015/04/allegations-against-alan-dershowitz-removed-from-the-record/|access-date=June 2, 2015|publisher=Above The Law}}</ref> Dershowitz countersued Edwards and Cassell in 2015,<ref name=":02" /> and the two parties settled for an undisclosed sum by April 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/business/alan-dershowitz-and-2-other-lawyers-settle-suit-and-counter-claim.html|title=Alan Dershowitz and 2 Other Lawyers Settle Suit and Counter Claim|last=Meier|first=Barry|date=April 12, 2016|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 8, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908155420/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/12/business/alan-dershowitz-and-2-other-lawyers-settle-suit-and-counter-claim.html|archive-date=September 8, 2017}}</ref>

In February 2019, Marra ruled that prosecutors had violated the Crime Victims Rights Act.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lawsuit-epstein-idUSKCN1QA30I|title=Prosecutors violated Victims Rights Act in deal for Florida financier: judge|date=February 22, 2019|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=February 1, 2020|language=en|archive-date=January 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115195511/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lawsuit-epstein-idUSKCN1QA30I|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2019, Giuffre filed a defamation lawsuit in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]] against Dershowitz, alleging he had made "false and malicious defamatory statements" about her, such as accusing her of [[perjury]]. The lawsuit sought punitive damages and included the previous claims that Epstein sex-trafficked Giuffre to Dershowitz.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kalmbacher|first=Colin|date=July 31, 2020|title=Alan Dershowitz Massages the Facts: 'I Got' Epstein Files Unsealed|url=https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/alan-dershowitz-massages-the-facts-i-got-epstein-files-unsealed/|access-date=August 4, 2020|website=Law and Crime|language=en|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802123540/https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/alan-dershowitz-massages-the-facts-i-got-epstein-files-unsealed/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz said that he would "prove without any doubt that she is lying about me. She is going to end up in prison."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hartfield |first1=Elizabeth |title=Alleged victim of Jeffrey Epstein files a defamation lawsuit against Alan Dershowitz |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/17/us/dershowitz-defamation-lawsuit-epstein/index.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=May 3, 2019 |date=April 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503215153/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/17/us/dershowitz-defamation-lawsuit-epstein/index.html |archive-date=May 3, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2019, Dershowitz filed a motion to dismiss Giuffre's suit (which was later denied)<ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/11/08/alan-dershowitz-countersues-accuser-jeffrey-epstein-case-then-is-sued-by-david-boies/|title=Alan Dershowitz countersues accuser in Jeffrey Epstein case, then is sued by David Boies|last1=Jackman|first1=Tom|date=November 8, 2019|newspaper=Washington Post|last2=Paul|first2=Deanna|access-date=December 22, 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209124000/https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/11/08/alan-dershowitz-countersues-accuser-jeffrey-epstein-case-then-is-sued-by-david-boies/|url-status=live}}</ref> and a motion to disqualify [[David Boies]]'s firm from representing her (which was later approved).<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article235423842.html|title=In lurid sidelight to Epstein scandal, Alan Dershowitz asks judge to dismiss defamation case|last=Brown|first=Julie K.|date=September 24, 2019|work=[[Miami Herald]]|access-date=January 31, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215014855/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article235423842.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2019, Dershowitz filed a countersuit against Giuffre and accused Boies of pressuring Giuffre to provide false testimony, in response to which Boies sued Dershowitz in November 2019 for defamation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/11/08/alan-dershowitz-countersues-accuser-jeffrey-epstein-case-then-is-sued-by-david-boies/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=November 8, 2019|title=Alan Dershowitz countersues accuser in Jeffrey Epstein case, then is sued by David Boies|first1=Tom|last1=Jackman|first2=Deanna|last2=Paul|access-date=December 22, 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209124000/https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/11/08/alan-dershowitz-countersues-accuser-jeffrey-epstein-case-then-is-sued-by-david-boies/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the November 2019 lawsuit, Dershowitz alleged that Giuffre had "falsely and with a knowing and reckless disregard of falsity and acting out of ill-will and spite publicly labelled Dershowitz as a [[child rapist]] and molester."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Frehse |first1=Rob |last2=Vitagliano |first2=Brian |date=November 8, 2019 |title=Attorney Alan Dershowitz countersues Virginia Giuffre for defamation and intentionally inflicting emotional distress |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/08/us/alan-dershowitz-virginia-giuffre-defamation-countersuit/index.html |access-date=February 27, 2022}}</ref> In a July 31, 2020, interview, Dershowitz said, "I never met her. I never saw her."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Dominic |title=Alan Dershowitz: 'We will get her…she will end up in prison for perjury' |url=https://spectatorworld.com/topic/alan-dershowitz-documents-virginia-roberts-giuffre-perjury/ |access-date=February 27, 2022 |publisher=The Spectator |date=July 31, 2020}}</ref>

Giuffre repeated her allegations on camera as part of the May 2020 Netflix series ''[[Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich]]'', and stated that Epstein had trafficked her to Dershowitz for sex at least six times.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=John|date=May 27, 2020|title='Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich' Review: Another Kind of Contact Tracing|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-filthy-rich-review-another-kind-of-contact-tracing-11590612322|access-date=August 5, 2020|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=July 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723022326/https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-filthy-rich-review-another-kind-of-contact-tracing-11590612322|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite web|date=June 25, 2020|title=Dershowitz says he's suing Netflix over sexual allegations in Epstein series|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/dershowitz-says-hes-suing-netflix-over-sexual-allegations-in-epstein-series/|access-date=August 5, 2020|website=Times of Israel|language=en-US|archive-date=July 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714061052/https://www.timesofisrael.com/dershowitz-says-hes-suing-netflix-over-sexual-allegations-in-epstein-series/|url-status=live}}</ref> In response, Dershowitz repeated his denial of Giuffre's account and accused her of selling false allegations to news outlets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brinn |first=David |date=August 14, 2020 |title=Alan Dershowitz hits back at Netflix over Epstein-linked allegations |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/alan-dershowitz-faces-reversal-of-fortune-with-epstein-linked-allegations-638557 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903055106/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/alan-dershowitz-faces-reversal-of-fortune-with-epstein-linked-allegations-638557 |archive-date=September 3, 2020 |access-date=September 3, 2020 |website=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>

In addition to the 2019 litigation filed by Giuffre and Dershowitz against each other for defamation in federal court in New York, Dershowitz also filed a defamation lawsuit in [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida|U.S. Federal District Court in Miami]] against Netflix and the producers of ''Jeffery Epstein: Filthy Rich'' in May 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 27, 2021 |title=Alan Dershowitz Sues Netflix Over Jeffrey Epstein Documentary |language=en |work=Haaretz |publisher=[[Deutsche Presse-Agentur]] |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-alan-dershowitz-sues-netflix-over-jeffrey-epstein-documentary-1.9848361 |access-date=February 27, 2022}}</ref> In 2022, Giuffre, Dershowitz and Boies jointly announced that they had settled their respective lawsuits. Giuffre said that, given the traumatic circumstances of being trafficked by Epstein and her age, she realized that her identification of Dershowitz might have been a mistake.<ref name=settled2022>Katherine Rosman, Jonah E. Bromwich,
[https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/08/nyregion/epstein-victim-giuffre-dershowitz.html 'Epstein Victim Says She May Have Made a Mistake in Accusing Dershowitz,'] [[New York Times]] November 8, 2022: 'settled a defamation lawsuit against Mr. Dershowitz on Tuesday and said that she might have "made a mistake" in accusing him. In a joint statement announcing the settlement, Ms. Giuffre said, "I have long believed that I was trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein to Alan Dershowitz. However, I was very young at the time, it was a very stressful and traumatic environment, and Mr. Dershowitz has from the beginning consistently denied these allegations. I now recognize I may have made a mistake in identifying Mr. Dershowitz," her statement said. The joint statement announced the end of litigation between Ms. Giuffre and Mr. Dershowitz — who had also sued her — as well as of two other lawsuits between Mr. Dershowitz and the lawyer David Boies that stemmed from Ms. Giuffre's accusation.</ref> Dershowitz said that his assertion that Boies had engaged in an extortion plot and in suborning perjury was mistaken.<ref>Sarah Fitzpatrick, Tom Winter, [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/epstein-victim-drops-lawsuit-lawyer-alan-dershowitz-rcna56250 'Epstein victim drops her lawsuit against lawyer Alan Dershowitz,']  [[NBC News]] November 8, 2022.</ref>

== Awards and recognitions ==
Dershowitz was named a [[Guggenheim Fellow]] in 1979, and in 1983 received the [[William O. Douglas]] First Amendment Award from the [[Anti-Defamation League]] for his work on civil rights.<ref>Champion, Dean John. [https://archive.org/details/sentencingrefere0000cham/page/131 ''Sentencing: A Reference Handbook''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617223918/https://books.google.com/books?id=t4oqRmOsNMEC&pg=PA131 |date=June 17, 2016 }}, ABC-CLIO, 2008, pp. 131–132.</ref> In November 2007, he was awarded the Soviet Jewry Freedom Award by the Russian Jewish Community Foundation.<ref>[http://jta.org/news/article/2007/11/16/105360/dershowitzsovietjewry "Dershowitz cited for Soviet Jewry efforts"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022071848/http://jta.org/news/article/2007/11/16/105360/dershowitzsovietjewry |date=October 22, 2010 }}, JTA, November 16, 2007, accessed November 20, 2010.</ref> In December 2011, he was awarded the [[Menachem Begin]] Award of Honor by the [[Menachem Begin Heritage Center]] at an event co-sponsored by [[NGO Monitor]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.begincenter.org.il/%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%96%d7%99%d7%90%d7%95%d7%9f-2/?lang=en|title=מוזיאון|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101100514/https://www.begincenter.org.il/%d7%9e%d7%95%d7%96%d7%99%d7%90%d7%95%d7%9f-2/?lang=en|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Dershowitz was honored with a stone in the [[Brooklyn Botanic Garden]]'s Celebrity Path.<ref name=":16" /> He has been awarded honorary doctorates in law from Yeshiva University, the Hebrew Union College, Monmouth University, University of Haifa, Syracuse University, Fitchburg State College, Bar-Ilan University, and Brooklyn College.<ref name=bio/> He is a member of the International Advisory Board of [[NGO Monitor]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ngo-monitor.org/about/boards/|title=Boards|website=ngomonitor|access-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809104702/https://www.ngo-monitor.org/about/boards/|archive-date=August 9, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dershowitz has appeared as himself in the television series ''[[Picket Fences]]'', ''[[Spin City]]'', and ''[[First Monday]]'',<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220641/ IMDB page of Alan M. Dershowitz] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803152357/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220641/ |date=August 3, 2018 }},</ref> and in the 2019 documentary ''[[No Safe Spaces]].''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bond|first=Paul|date=February 12, 2018|title=Alan Dershowitz to Appear in Adam Carolla's 'No Safe Spaces' Film|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alan-dershowitz-appear-adam-carollas-no-safe-spaces-film-1083921|website=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=December 17, 2019|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205181546/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/alan-dershowitz-appear-adam-carollas-no-safe-spaces-film-1083921|url-status=live}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
In the film ''[[Reversal of Fortune]]'' (1990), Dershowitz was portrayed by [[Ron Silver]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Variety Staff|date=January 1, 1990|title=Reversal of Fortune|url=https://variety.com/1989/film/reviews/reversal-of-fortune-7-1117794446/|access-date=December 29, 2020|website=Variety|language=en-US|archive-date=February 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205181757/https://variety.com/1989/film/reviews/reversal-of-fortune-7-1117794446/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Evan Handler]] portrays Dershowitz in the 2016 television series ''[[The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Rich|first1=Katey|last2=Levy|first2=Lee|last3=Park|first3=Benjamin|date=January 26, 2016|title=The People v. OJ Simpson Cast and Their Real-Life Counterparts|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/photos/2016/01/people-v-oj-simpson-real-people|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=July 29, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920121825/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/photos/2016/01/people-v-oj-simpson-real-people|url-status=live}}</ref>

On ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''{{'}}s January 26, 2020, episode, [[Jon Lovitz]] played Dershowitz, who ends up in Hell during a [[near-death experience]], where he encounters [[Jeffrey Epstein]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Valby|first=Karen|date=January 26, 2020|title=SNL Drags Adam Driver's Jeffrey Epstein to Hell|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/01/adam-driver-snl-jeffrey-epstein-kylo-ren|magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=July 11, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920181658/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/01/adam-driver-snl-jeffrey-epstein-kylo-ren|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Works ==
{{refbegin}}
* 1982: ''The Best Defense''. {{ISBN|978-0-394-50736-1}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1985: ''Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case''. {{ISBN|978-0-394-53903-4}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1988: ''Taking Liberties: A Decade of Hard Cases, Bad Laws, and Bum Raps''. {{ISBN|978-0-8092-4616-8}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1991: ''Chutzpah''. {{ISBN|978-0-316-18137-2}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1992: ''Contrary to Popular Opinion''. {{ISBN|978-0-88687-701-9}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1994: ''The Advocate's Devil'' (fiction). {{ISBN|978-0-446-51759-1}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1994: ''The Abuse Excuse: And Other Cop-Outs, Sob Stories, and Evasions of Responsibility''. {{ISBN|978-0-316-18135-8}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1996: ''Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O. J. Simpson Case''. {{ISBN|978-0-684-83021-6}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1997: ''The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century''. {{ISBN|978-0-316-18133-4}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1998: ''Sexual McCarthyism: Clinton, Starr, and the Emerging Constitutional Crisis''. {{ISBN|978-0-465-01628-0}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 1999: ''Just Revenge'' (fiction). {{ISBN|978-0-446-60871-8}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2000: ''The Genesis of Justice: Ten Stories of Biblical Injustice that Led to the Ten Commandments and Modern Law''. Warner Books. {{ISBN|978-0-446-67677-9}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2001: ''Letters to a Young Lawyer''. Basic Books. {{ISBN|978-0-465-01631-0}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2001: ''[[Supreme Injustice|Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000]]''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-514827-5}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2002: ''Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge''. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-09766-5}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2002: ''Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age''. Little Brown. {{ISBN|978-0-316-18141-9}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2003: ''[[The Case for Israel]]''. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|978-0-471-46502-7}}
* 2003: ''America Declares Independence''. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|978-0-471-26482-8}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2004: ''America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation''. Warner Books. {{ISBN|978-0-446-52058-4}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2004: ''Rights From Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights''. {{ISBN|978-0-465-01713-3}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2005: ''[[The Case for Peace|The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can be Resolved]]''. John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|978-0-471-74317-0}}; {{cite web|url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/dershowitz/Chapter_16.pdf |title=Chapter 16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060101080846/http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/dershowitz/Chapter_16.pdf |archive-date=January 1, 2006 }};{{small|(111&nbsp;KB)}}.<!-- checked; source: http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/dershowitz/pubs.html -->
* 2006: ''Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways''. W.W. Norton & Company. {{ISBN|978-0-393-06012-6}}.<!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2007: ''Blasphemy: How the Religious Right is Hijacking the Declaration of Independence''. {{ISBN|978-0-470-08455-7}}. <!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2007: ''Finding Jefferson: A Lost Letter, a Remarkable Discovery, and the First Amendment in an Age of Terrorism''. {{ISBN|978-0-470-16711-3}}. <!-- checked; loc.cit. -->
* 2008: ''Is There a Right to Remain Silent?: Coercive Interrogation and the Fifth Amendment After 9/11''. {{ISBN|978-0-19-530779-5}}.
* 2008: ''The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace''. {{ISBN|978-0-470-37992-9}}.
* 2009: ''Mouth of Webster, Head of Clay'' essay in ''The Face in the Mirror: Writers Reflect on Their Dreams of Youth and the Reality of Age''. {{ISBN|978-1-59102-752-2}}.
* 2009: ''The Case For Moral Clarity: Israel, Hamas and Gaza''. {{ISBN|978-0-9661548-5-6}}.
* 2010: ''The Trials of Zion''. {{ISBN|978-0-446-57673-4}}.
* 2013: ''Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law''. {{ISBN|978-0307719270}}.
* 2014: ''Terror Tunnels: The Case for Israel's Just War Against Hamas''. {{ISBN|978-0795344312}}.
* 2015: ''Abraham: The World's First (But Certainly Not Last) Jewish Lawyer (Jewish Encounters Series)''. {{ISBN|978-0805242935}}.
* 2016: ''Electile Dysfunction: A Guide for Unaroused Voters''. {{ISBN|978-0795350214}}.
* 2017: '' Trumped Up: How Criminalization of Political Differences Endangers Democracy''. {{ISBN|978-1974617890}}.
* 2018: ''The Case Against Impeaching Trump''. {{ISBN|978-1510742284}}.
* 2018: ''The Case Against BDS: Why Singling Out Israel for Boycott is Anti-Semitic''. (self-published), {{ISBN|978-1984956699}}.
* 2019: ''Defending Israel: The Story of My Relationship with My Most Challenging Client''. {{ISBN|978-1250179975}}.
* 2019: ''Guilt by Accusation: The Challenge of Proving Innocence in the Age of #MeToo''. {{ISBN|978-1510757561}}.
* 2019: ''Speaking for Israel: A Speechwriter Battles Anti-Israel Opinions at the United Nations'' with [[Aviva Klompas]]. {{ISBN|978-1510743915}}.
* 2020: ''Cancel Culture: The Latest Attack on Free Speech and Due Process''. {{ISBN|978-1510764903}}.
* 2021: ''The Case Against the New Censorship: Protecting Free Speech from Big Tech, Progressives, and Universities''. {{ISBN|978-1510767737}}
* 2023: ''Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law''. {{ISBN|978-1510777811}}
* 2023: ''War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism'' {{ISBN|978-1510780545}}
* 2023: ''Defending Israel: Against Hamas and its Radical Left Enablers''. {{ISBN|978-1510780521}}
* 2024: ''War on Woke: Why the New McCarthyism Is More Dangerous Than the Old''. {{ISBN|978-1510780361}}
* 2024: ''The Ten Big Anti-Israel Lies and How to Refute them with Truth''. {{ISBN|978-1-5107-8354-6}}
* 2025: ''The Preventive State: The Challenge of Preventing Serious Harms While Preserving Essential Liberties''. {{ISBN|978-1-6417-7440-6}}
{{refend}}

== See also ==
* [[List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 2)]]

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
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*{{official website|https://www.alan-dershowitz.com/}}

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