Professor of Law
B.A., Smith; M.A., Ph.C., J.D., University of Michigan

Assistant: Ralph Freeman

Phone: 9421

Biography

Professor Bloch joined the faculty in 1983. She teaches Constitutional Law I and II, Federal Courts, Communications Law, and a seminar on the Supreme Court. Professor Bloch is the author of numerous articles in the areas of constitutional and administrative law and is the co-author of the book Supreme Court Politics: The Institution and Its Procedures, published by West Publishing Company in 1994. She has given lectures and interviews on a variety of topics, including impeachment, presidential immunity, historical overviews of the Supreme Court, the role of the Constitution in this country and its relevance for emerging democracies. In November 1998, she testified before the House Judiciary Committee as one of 19 constitutional law experts on what is an impeachable offense. She also testified before the Senate on whether the President can be indicted and tried while in office. She has participated in numerous international symposia organized by the Gruter Institute, giving papers on a variety of comparative law issues. Widely quoted in the media, Professor Bloch has appeared on numerous television and radio programs on CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, NPR, CBC, and USAID to discuss various topics including the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, impeachment, and the independent counsel statute as well as pertinent constitutional issues of the moment. Last year she was one of the expert panelists on a new show, "Inside DC with Fred Graham," a weekly program that examined the latest developments in the law and produced by Court TV. She is now a regular contributor to the website "TheLAW.COM." In addition to teaching, Professor Bloch is a member of the American Law Institute, participant on the Twentieth Century Fund Project on the Judiciary, and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Locally, she is a commissioner on the Judicial Nominating Committee for the District of Columbia Courts and has worked with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, serving on the Committee to Write the Oral History of the Circuit and on numerous arrangement and program committees for the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference. In addition, she has been an editorial advisor to "Justice," the Journal of the Department of Justice. Professor Bloch is also active in the D.C. Bar, serving on the Ethics Committee, the Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee, the Judicial Evaluation Committee, the Steering Committee of D.C. Bar Section for Courts, Lawyers, and the Administration of Justice, the Committee to Celebrate the Bicentennial of the Constitution, and the Administrative Law Section nominating committee. She is also on the Board of the Institute for Public Representation and an advisor to students in the Public Interest Law Scholars Program at Georgetown. Before joining the Law Center, Professor Bloch served as a law clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall and for Judge Spottswood Robinson. She also practiced law at Wilmer, Cutler, and Pickering for about four years. Susan Bloch did her legal training at the University of Michigan, where she graduated summa cum laude. Before that, she received graduate degrees in mathematics and computer science from the University of Michigan and a B.A. with distinction from Smith College. She is married to Richard Bloch and has two children, Rebecca and Michael.