Professor David S. Cohen was quoted in an article published by CNN on Jan. 11 concerning a French-born man who faces deportation because immigration officials do not, under the Defense of Marriage Act, recognize his 21-year marriage to an American man.

The law, passed by Congress in 1996 and signed by President Bill Clinton is “clearly unconstitutional, because it violates basic equality rights,” Cohen said. "Unless the legislative stars align themselves and make it a part of the priority to repeal DOMA, it will take some time for the courts to get to it."

Cohen, an expert on constitutional law and gender issues in the law, is a member of the law school’s inaugural faculty. His scholarly work has appeared in publications including the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender, the George Washington Law Review and the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law.