Scholarship
In addition to teaching appellate advocacy at Pace and Brooklyn law schools, Fernich regularly writes and speaks on criminal justice-related issues. Most notably, he contributes periodic columns to the leading daily newspaper for the local legal community, the New York Law Journal, and sporadically blogs about legal affairs and current events at his own I Am the Law site.
Joined by esteemed colleagues and judges, Fernich also gives continuing legal education presentations to fellow practitioners and judicial law clerks, at courthouses, colleges, bar associations and similar venues. Less conventionally, his articles have been cited authoritatively – and his cases analyzed extensively – in a raft of federal court opinions, scholarly journals and other national publications.
Paired with his frequent media appearances, Fernich’s teaching, writing and speaking activities make him a more forceful and persuasive advocate. His teaching and speaking engagements help him cut to the heart of legal disputes and express abstract ideas in plain language – great assets when talking to judges and juries in pending litigations. Likewise, his academic and judicial recognition command respect from courts, adversaries and prosecutors, redounding to clients’ benefit.
Publications
New York Law Journal
U.S. v. Burden: An Errant Exercise in Evidence Law
Evidence Rule in Second Circuit: Inclusionary Approach Under Fire
Skirting the Stone Bar: Hybrid Fourth and Sixth Amendment Claims in Federal Habeas Practice
Money Laundering After Santos: A Supreme Mess
Minding the Personal Knowledge Gap: Expert and Lay Opinion Under Federal Rules of Evidence
Federal Rules of Evidence 608(b): A Modest Amendment Proposal (with Gerald L. Shargel)
Additional Outlets
Intermittent blogger on legal and other topics – I Am the Law
Contesting Search Warrants and Wiretaps in New York State Drug Cases: A Checklist in Outline Form
“United States v. Booker: Miracle or Mirage?” Atticus (formerly The Mouthpiece – magazine for the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers), March 2005; Sentencing Law and Policy blog (with Debra A. Karlstein)
“Blakely v. Washington: A Selective User’s Guide,” Atticus, Sept. 2004; Sentencing Law and Policy blog
“An AEDPA Primer”; “Select Developments in Substantive Criminal Law” – 17- and four-page single-spaced outlines distributed to Appellate Division, First Dept. law clerks during 2002 lecture (with Gerald L. Shargel)
Writings, Etc. Cited in Judicial Opinions and Other Scholarly Works
Federal Court Opinions
Armendariz v. Martin, No. 09 CV 154, 2011 WL 5245218 (E.D. Tex. July 26, 2011) (Beaumont)
Golb v. Martin, No. 09 CV 7, 2011 WL 3511482 (E.D. Tex. June 13, 2011) (Beaumont)
Rippetoe v. Roy, No. 08 CV 210, 2011 WL 2652131 (E.D. Tex. June 9, 2011) (Texarkana)
U.S. v. Ramos, Nos. C-03-387 (2), -08-327, 2009 WL 2485592 (S.D. Tex. Aug. 7, 2009) (Corpus Christi)
Santana v. U.S., Nos. C08-1493-JLR, CR06-220-JLR, 2009 WL 1228556 (W.D. Wash. May 4, 2009) (Seattle)
Wilson v. Roy, No. 08 CV 122, 2009 WL 1203401 (E.D. Tex. May 1, 2009) (Texarkana)
Kenemore v. U.S., No. 08 CV 104, 2008 WL 4965948 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 17, 2008) (Texarkana), vacated on other grounds, 401 Fed. Appx. 975 (5th Cir. 2010)
Harris v. U.S., Nos. 04 CR 11, 05 CV 147, 2005 WL 1888843 (N.D. Ind. Aug. 9, 2005) (Ft. Wayne)
Law Review Articles
Rachel Zimarowski, Taking a Gamble: Money Laundering After United States v. Santos, 112 W. Va. L. Rev. 1139 (2010)
Michael Morrissey, Structural Strength: Resolving a Circuit Split in Boyle v. United States with a Pragmatic Proof Requirement for RICO Associated-in-Fact Enterprises, 77 Fordham L. Rev. 1939 (2009)
Gerald L. Shargel, Federal Evidence Rule 608(b): Gateway to the Minefield of Witness Preparation, 76 Fordham L. Rev. 1263 (2007)
Robert Howell, Sentencing Reform Lessons: From the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 to the Feeney Amendment, 94 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 1069 (2004)
Lectures (non-Pace/Brooklyn Law School)
Federal Practice in 2016 and Beyond, New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NYSACDL) Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Seminar at New York Law School, Manhattan (April 29, 2016). Topic: Issues for Jury Instructions in Federal Court.
Defending a Drug Case, NYSACDL CLE Seminar at St. Francis College, Brooklyn (May 18, 2012). Topic: Controverting Search Warrants and Wiretaps.
Federal Practice Seminar, NYSACDL CLE Symposium at Brooklyn Federal Courthouse (March 16, 2007). Topic: Distinguishing Expert and Lay Opinion Testimony.
ABCs of Federal Criminal Trial Practice: A Practical Primer in the Post USA Patriot Act & PROTECT Act World – New York City Bar Association (NYCBA) CLE Seminar, City Bar Building, Manhattan (Sept. 30, 2004). Topics: Bail & Discovery Practices; Pretrial Motions: Issue-Spotting Strategies & Practice; Trial Preparation & Techniques; Blakely Update & Issues; What Remains of the Sentencing Guidelines.
The ABCs of Federal Criminal Litigation, NYCBA CLE Seminar, City Bar Building, Manhattan (April 15, 2003). Topic: Basics of the Sentencing Guidelines.
CLE Presentation to Law Clerks of Manhattan’s Top State Appeals Court, the Appellate Division, First Dept. (2002). Topics: Habeas Corpus Practice Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996; Hot Button Issues in Criminal Defense.
