Assistant Professor of Law
B.A., 2008, Yale University; J.D., 2017, UCLA Law School; Ph.D., 2020, UCLA Philosophy
Room 425 | Phone: 501-916-5412 | Email: [email protected]
Assistant: Room 407 | Phone: 501-916-5428
Curriculum vitae | Bowen Law Scholarship Repository
Jordan Wallace-Wolf is a graduate of the law and philosophy program at UCLA, where he earned a J.D. from the law school (2017) and a Ph.D. from the philosophy department (2020). His main area of research concerns the distinction between what is private and what is public, and its significance for law and morality.
Currently, his research focuses on developing a philosophical account of the value of privacy and then deploying it to evaluate First, Fourth, and Fifth amendment jurisprudence. This approach aims to illuminate how these amendments work together, to protect what Louis Brandeis called the “spiritual nature” of citizens. A recent focus of this project is geofencing searches. They are not neatly covered by Carpenter v. United States, and at least two circuits (the Fifth and Fourth) have split on whether they trigger Fourth Amendment protections. Deepening the concept of privacy, especially with regard to its application in public space, can provide a stronger foundation for Fourth Amendment doctrine in this evolving area.
A second area of research concerns the nature of tort law. Two questions guide Prof. Wallace-Wolf’s current research. First, how should tort law protect privacy? Can it be used to effectively combat deepfake images? Second, in what respect, if any, is tort law private law? And does the answer to this question help define the scope of strict liability as compared to negligence?
Professor Wallace-Wolf’s research has appeared or is forthcoming in the Journal of Free Speech Law, the Journal of Tort Law, and the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal.
Prof. Wallace-Wolf is an award-winning instructor. His overriding goal is to give students the tools to untangle difficult legal and political questions for themselves, and to expose them to the value of doing so. To this end, he relies on his love of legal and philosophical questions, channeling it through the use of pedagogical best practices, such as interactive classroom activities, concept mapping, in class writing, cutting-edge cases, and, cautiously, artificial intelligence. Currently, he teaches torts, remedies, privacy law, and criminal law.
Selected Publications
- Less Fisher, More Doe: Non-Testimonial Mental Content and a New Rule for Unlocking Digi-
tal Device, 34 W. M. BILL RTS. J. (forthcoming 2026) - A Fourth Amendment of People and Places, 108 MARQUETTE L. REV. (forthcoming 2025)
- Unfenced: The Fourth Circuit Gives Geofencing its First Appellate Go-Ahead in U.S. v. Chatrie, 82 WASH & LEE L. REV. Online 1 (2024) (available here)
- The Firsthand Theory: An Updated Rationale for the Privilege against Self-Incrimination, 1 AM. CRIM. L. REV. 1301 (2024) (available here)
- Think Again: The Thought Crime Doctrine and the Limits of Criminal Law, 1 J. FREE SPEECH L. 5 (2021) (available here)