University of Arizona Law Welcomes Two New Faculty for 2024–25 Academic Year
The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law has hired two new faculty members who will join the college at the beginning of the 2024–25 academic year.
Professor Keith Richotte, Jr. (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) joins as the new director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (IPLP) Program. Richotte will also teach “Indigenous Legal Thought” in which students will explore how Indigenous thinkers have examined, critiqued and reimagined both the law of the colonizer and the law of their peoples in the modern world.
Richotte’s research focuses on American federal Indian law and policy and tribal law. He is author of “Federal Indian Law and Policy: An Introduction and Claiming Turtle Mountain’s Constitution: The History, Legacy, and Future of a Tribal Nation’s Founding Documents.” His next book, available February 2025, is an Indigenous examination of the plenary power doctrine through the lens of the trickster story and harkens to his interest in Indigenous legal thought and the class he will be teaching at Arizona Law this academic year.
“I am deeply enthused to be joining a law school and a program that has evidenced a clear dedication to the Indigenous world. It is invigorating to be part of an environment that is engaged with Indigenous issues at the local, national and international level,” says Richotte. “My hope is that the class that I will teach this next academic year and other classes in the future will add to the already world class strengths of IPLP and the law school more generally by further exploring the historical and philosophical contours of law concerning Indigenous peoples.”
He has served his tribal nation, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, as an associate justice on the appellate court since 2009 and also serves as the chief justice of the appellate court of the Spirit Lake Nation.
Richotte received his JD from Minnesota Law School, his PhD from the University of Minnesota, and his LLM from the University of Arizona Law IPLP Program.
“I look forward to engaging with both students and colleagues as they explore their own interests in the Indigenous world,” said Richotte.
Oren Tamir joins as associate professor of law and will teach administrative law and constitutional law. His research and teaching interests include public law, constitutional law and administrative law, with a strong focus on comparative law.
“One of the things that makes joining the Arizona Law community particularly exciting is how diverse and multicultural it is,” says Tamir. “I have deep interest in studying divergent cultures and laws. I have always been fascinated by the fact that countries’ institutions and laws are sometimes similar and sometimes different, and what reasons might be that can make sense of that as well as justify it, or what opportunities there are for cross-national learning (and even reform). The College of Law has amazing opportunities for people like me who have this comparative and international curiosity.”
Tamir also looks forward to learning and collaborating with Arizona Law’s public law faculty, being part of the annual National Conference of Constitutional Law Scholars and exploring Tucson.
“I am a huge food buff and simply can’t wait to explore the food scene in Tucson which I hear is absolutely phenomenal,” says Tamir. “The scenery in Tucson is marvelous and has been a huge draw for me and my family (my spouse, Daphna, and daughters Ellie (7) and Evie (6)). The saguaro cacti, the beautiful mountains surrounding the city, and the fact that after almost 10 years in Massachusetts we might finally be able to get rid of our heavy-duty winter coats (!!) seems like the stuff dreams are made of.”
This summer, Tamir published “Our Parochial Administrative Law” in the Southern California Law Review and “Getting Right What’s Wrong with the Major Questions Doctrine” in the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law. He is currently co-editing with colleagues from the University of New South Wales and Sydney University the “Handbook on Comparative Statutory Interpretation” and working on a constitutional law case book with Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig.
Tamir joins us from Harvard Law School and NYU School of Law, where he was a post-doctoral fellow and an adjunct professor. Prior to that, he graduated from Harvard Law School with an SJD and an LLM and served as an assistant attorney-general in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Israeli Department of Justice and a clerk for then Associate Justice Esther Hayut on the Israeli Supreme Court.
“We are thrilled to welcome Professors Keith Richotte Jr. and Oren Tamir to Arizona Law. These are additions to strength. Professor Richotte's expertise in Indigenous legal thought and American federal Indian law will greatly enrich our world-renowned IPLP Program,” said Dean Marc Miller. “Similarly, Professor Tamir’s expertise in comparative and constitutional law, coupled with his enthusiasm for cross-national legal studies, promises to bring fresh perspectives and dynamic learning opportunities to our students – and he will join constitutional law scholars currently changing national discourse. Both Keith and Oren bring experiences and ideas that will enhance our strong academic community.”