White Berkeley dean of law tells class he illegally discriminates in hiring to encourage diversity

Berkeley dean of law Erwin Chemerinsky has been filmed suggesting to a class that he is illegally discriminating against potential hires to increase racial diversity.

Chemerinsky is seen telling students how “unspoken affirmative action” can be achieved when a “college or university doesn’t tell anyone, doesn’t make public statements.”

“I’ll give you an example from our law school, but if I ever get impeached, I’ll deny saying this to you,” he continued.

“When we hire faculty, we are very aware that diversity is important to us, and we say diversity is important, it’s okay to say that.”

The video Chemerinsky made during a constitutional law class last spring semester was tweeted Thursday by critical opponent of race theory Christopher Rufo.

And it surfaced in the days following the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in college admissions.

Affirmative action has been illegal in California — where Berkeley is located — since 1996, and the tablet screen visible on Chemerinsky’s desk suggests the clip is recent.

Chemerinsky said he is “very careful when we have a faculty nomination committee meeting, when someone says, ‘We really should favor this candidate or this candidate because this person would add diversity’ — don’t say that!”

“You can think it, you can vote on it, but our discussions are not privileged, so never say you do.”

The law school dean said this is “easier for faculty hiring,” but less so for “student admissions” because of “statistical measures.”

Proposition 209 is a California ballot that, when passed in November 1996, amended the state constitution.

Chemerinsky said he is “sad” that someone took a video in his classroom and “removed it like this, adding that the law school strictly adheres to Proposal 209 in all of its hiring and admissions decisions.”

It prohibits state government agencies from considering race, gender, or ethnicity, particularly in the areas of public employment, public procurement, and public education.

In 2020, the University of California supported a ballot to repeal Prop 209, but the state’s voters rejected the change 57 percent to 43 percent, meaning affirmative action remains illegal there.

Chemerinsky told DailyMail.com it was “not all of his comments.”

“I record my classes for students who are not attending,” he said.

“Someone consulted it and took it from a class. It was constitutional law and this past spring semester.

Under existing California law, Berkeley Law School cannot and will not consider race in hiring and admissions decisions.

“Those who were actually in the room and heard my whole comment, not a single section, completely understood that.”

Twitter was in a frenzy after the video labeled Chemerinsky as “shockingly wrong” for admitting he would be breaking the law because of his political views.

“Not only does he tell them he is breaking the law, he also announces that he will commit perjury if he is ever declared on the matter,” said one user.

Another said, “This is such an important point. Schools and companies should strive for diversity in perspective and thinking, not just skin color and sexual preference.’

McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Princeton academician Robert P. George said the video revealed a “lack of diversity and point of view” across the faculty.

“What Dean Chemerinsky reveals here most glaringly is the lack of diversity—diversity of viewpoints—on his faculty,” he wrote.

“He can say to them what he says to them if they break the law *only* because he can count on them to share his ideological commitments.”