Alan Dershowitz, Goofball

The professor’s progress

ALAN Dershowitz says he doesn’t get defensive when people accuse him of going a little overboard in his analysis of the Florida presidential fight. Yes, he accused George W. Bush of staging a “legal coup d’etat” and called secretary of state Katherine Harris a crook. But Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University, says his statements—made during a seemingly endless succession of television appearances—are part of his role as an educator. “I defend my positions,” he says. “My job as a teacher is partly as a public provocateur.”

About the Author

Byron York

Byron York is a former White House correspondent for National Review.

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Presidential Election

The professor’s progress

ALAN Dershowitz says he doesn’t get defensive when people accuse him of going a little overboard in his analysis of the Florida presidential fight. Yes, he accused George W. Bush of staging a “legal coup d’etat” and called secretary of state Katherine Harris a crook. But Dershowitz, the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard University, says his statements—made during a seemingly endless succession of television appearances—are part of his role as an educator. “I defend my positions,” he says. “My job as a teacher is partly as a public provocateur.”