William J. Aceves

Law School
University of Southern California

Major Cases
I have represented human rights and civil liberties organizations as amicus curiae counsel in numerous cases, including the following U.S. Supreme Court cases:  DeMore v. Kim, Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, Sanchez-Llamas v. State of Oregon, Medellin v. Dretke, Republic of the Philippines v. Pimentel, Boumedienne v. Bush, Acree v. Republic of Iraq, Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan Inc., Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, and Al Maqaleh v. Hagel. I have also appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Migrants, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Professional Background
In 1998, I joined the faculty at California Western School of Law and received tenure in 2001. From 2007 through 2014, I served as the vice dean for academic affairs. My primary teaching and research interests are in international law and human rights. I have written numerous articles that have been published in legal journals at Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Fordham, Gonzaga, Harvard, Hastings, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Pepperdine, Vanderbilt and Virginia. I am the author of "The Anatomy of Torture," co-author of "The Law of Consular Access," and co-editor of “Lessons and Legacies of the War on Terror.”

Professional Affiliations
I am a member of the American Law Institute. I serve on the Board of Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Justice & Accountability. I also serve on the Executive Committee of the American Branch of the International Law Association. I previously served on the Board Of Directors for Amnesty International USA and I currently serve as the AIUSA Ombudsperson.