Brendan T. Beery
Professor
B.A. Bradley University 1995
J.D., summa cum laude, Cooley Law School 1998
beeryb@cooley.edu
"As lawyers, we don't persuade with volume and repetition; we persuade with evidence and reason. So at Cooley, we don't just teach law; we teach the habit of intellectual rigor."
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Before joining the Cooley faculty in 2002, I discovered my passion for teaching as an adjunct professor at the law school while gaining real legal experience as an associate with Thrun, Maatsch & Nordberg, P.C. Before that, I was a partner in the private practice firm of Mahjoory, Mahjoory & Beery, P.L.C. I began my legal career as a research attorney for the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1998-1999.
Teaching law involves continuous research, learning, and scholarship. I have written extensively on topics ranging from constitutional principles to the process of legal reasoning (top 10 percent of legal authors on the Social Science Research Network - SSRN) and have been quoted or cited by other scholars in George Washington Law Review; Boston College Law Review; Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy; University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Public Affairs; Seton Hall Law Review; Missouri Law Review; William and Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice; and Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion, among others.
As lawyers, we play a special role in preserving our democratic republic; we must contribute to the public’s understanding of the law and its application to our lives. I have appeared on or been quoted in international, national, and local media outlets, including Salon.com, The Hill, Law360, The Washington Examiner, U.S. News & World Report, and Talking Points Memo. My op-ed pieces have appeared across the nation.
While a student at Cooley, I was fortunate to win the West Scholastic Award for being ranked first in my class after the first year of law school. I also was awarded the James Burns Memorial Award for graduating first in my class.
I teach Constitutional Law I & II and Constitutional Law Seminar and have taught Introduction to Law, Research & Writing, Advanced Writing, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Interviewing & Counseling. I have been honored to receive the Stanley E. Beattie Teaching Award from five graduating classes. -
Law Review Articles
- Brendan Beery, Free Exercise Standing: Extra-Centrality as Injury In Fact, 93 St. John's L. Rev. 579 (2020).
- Brendan T. Beery, Sarah Roberge, & Jason Terry, National Lawyers Guild Amicus Brief: The State Lacks Jurisdiction over Reproductive Decisions, 76 Nat'l Law Guild Rev. 126 (2019).
- Brendan Beery & Daniel R. Ray, Five Different Species of Legal Tests—And What They All Have in Common, 37 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 501 (2019)
- Brendan Beery & Daniel R. Ray, Constitutional Law: A Survey of Michigan Cases, 64 Wayne L. Rev. 685 (2019).
- Brendan Beery, Rational Basis Loses Its Bite: Justice Kennedy's Retirement Removes the Most Lethal Quill from LGBT Advocates' Equal Protection Quiver, 69 Syracuse L. Rev. 69 (2019).
- Brendan Beery, Tiered Balancing and the Fate of Roe v. Wade: How the New Supreme Court Majority Could Turn the Undue-Burden Standard Into a Deferential Pike Test, 28 Kan. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 395 (2019).
- Brendan Beery, Lading and Weight: Suggested Evidentiary Burdens in Senate Judicial-Nominee Hearings Post-Kavanaugh, 17 U.N.H. L. Rev. 229 (2019).
- Brendan Beery, Prophylactic Free Exercise: The First Amendment and Religion in a Post-Kennedy World, 82 Alb. L. Rev. 121 (2018-2019).
- Brendan Beery, How to Argue Liberty Cases in a Post-Kennedy World: It's Not about Individual Rights, But State Power and the Social Compact, 75 Nat'l. Law. Guild Rev. 1 (2018).
- Brendan Beery & Daniel R. Ray, Michigan's Invisible People, 70 Nat'l. Law. Guild Rev. 129 (2013).
- Brendan Beery, "When Originalism Attacks: How Justice Scalia’s Resort to Original Expected Application in Crawford v. Washington Came Back to Bite Him in Michigan v. Bryant," 59 Drake L. Rev. 1047 (2011).
- Brendan Beery, "My Doctor Made Me Crazy: Can a Medical Malpractice Plaintiff Allege Psychological Damages Without Making Credibility the Issue?" 27 T M Cooley L Rev 321 (2010).
Bar Journal Articles
- Brendan Beery, It Is What It Is, 83 Mich. B.J. 54 (May 2004).
- Brendan Beery, Some Particularly Useless Words, 82 Mich. B.J. 56 (July 2003).
- Brendan Beery, Be Careful What You Ask For: Navigating a Remand After You've Won the Appeal, 81 Mich. B.J. 20 (May 2002).
Op Ed Pieces
- Brentan Beery, A Peek into the Ideology of SCOTUS Nominee Amy Coney Barrett, (Online Op Ed), Attorney at Law September 2020.
- Brendan Beery, The High Court: The President Is Not Above the Law (Online Op Ed), Attorney at Law July 2020.
- Brendan Beery, Mueller's Report Exposes Blind Spots in Our System (Online Op Ed), Attorney at Law April 2019, (reprinted in LikeTheDew.com, May 2019).
- Brendan Beery, Trump May Have Violated the First Amendment (Online Op Ed), Detroit Legal News August 2018.
- Brendan Beery, With Justice Kennedy's Retirement, We Enter a New Era of Jurisprudence (Online Op Ed), Attorney at Law Magazine June 2018.
- Brendan Beery, As with King George's Colonial Governors, EFMs Breach the Social Compact (Op Ed), Detroit Free Press 2011.
- Brendan Beery, Same-Sex Ruling Political, (Op Ed), Lansing State Journal, May 2007
- Brendan Beery, Marriage Not a Federal Issue (Sunday Op Ed), (as co-author), Lansing State Journal, July 2006
- Brendan Beery, Peoria Prostitution Postings Could Be Unconstitutional (Sunday Op Ed), Peoria Journal Star, August 2005
- Brendan Beery, Constitution Puts Clear Limits on Congress’ Work (Op Ed), Lansing State Journal, April 2005
- Brendan Beery, Aristotle Would Cringe at How Foreign Policy is Made (Sunday Op Ed), Peoria Journal Star, August 2004
- Brendan Beery, Marriage Fear Lacks Basis in the Law (Sunday Op Ed), Lansing State Journal, June 2004
Other
- Brendan Beery, Amicus Curiae Br. of Mich. Law Professors in Support of Pl.- DeBoer v Snyder, 2:12-cv-10285 (E.D. Mich. 2013).
- Brendan Beery, An Equal Protection Primer, Michigan Equality Newsletter, July 2006
Speaking Engagements and Panels
- Invited Panelist, "Consequences of the Developing National Surveillance State: Where Were You on April 3? (The Government Says It Knows)," Cooley Constitution Day, Ann Arbor, September 2010
- Invited Speaker, Rethinking the USA Patriot Act, Cooley/OU Federalist Society, June 2007
- Moderator, Cooley SBA panel on diversity, April 2007
- Invited Panelist, March 2007, Amnesty International (Cooley Chapter) Seminar on International Human Rights, March 2007
- Invited Panelist, "Immigration, Citizenship and the Constitution," Oakland University Constitution Day Seminar, September 2006
- Invited Panelist, Kaplan "Law Insider Seminar" for prospective law students, July 2006
- Invited Speaker, "Judicial Activism and Justice Scalia," Cooley ACS Chapter, June 2006
- Invited Speaker, "Are Gays the New Jews? Examining Scalia’s dissent in Romer v Evans," Cooley Law School LGBT Legal Issues Seminar, June 2006
- Invited Speaker, "Judicial Activism and Justice Scalia," Cooley ACLU, June 2006
- Invited Speaker, "Legal Research & Writing for Legal Assistants in Michigan," Halfmoon LLC, July 2002
- Invited Speaker, "Legal Developments Relating to Indoor Air Quality," Michigan School Business Officials, Facilities Committee, January 2002
- Invited Speaker, "Potential Tort Liability for Internet Service Providers," Michigan Association of School Administrators, December 2001
- Keynote Speaker, National Lifers Association Seminar on Brief Writing, Thumb Correctional Facility, Lapeer, Michigan, April 2001