My research is primarily in philosophy of law with a focus on the nature of rights.  The question that has been the focus of my most recent research is:  What is it to have a right?   One constantly hears statements such as "The Chinese are violating Tibetan rights," "Landlords have a right that their tenants pay their rent," "Students have a right to be graded fairly," "Animals have a right not to suffer merely to bring pleasure to humans," "Abortion violates a fetus's right to life," "We violate the rights of future generations when we pollute the water." These statements assert that Tibetans, landlords, students, animals, fetuses, and future generations all have rights. Tibetans, landlords, students, animals, fetuses, and future generations do not seem to have much in common. What is this thing that they all have?  My answer to this question can be found in The Concept of Rights.  It takes a book to fully present and defend my answer but the one sentence version is that a person has a right when a feature of that person is the justification of the obligations of others. I also do work on mercy, the death penalty, civil forfeiture, and health care.  I have strong interests in metaethics, feminist ethics, decision theory, and the philosophy of economics.

Some fun facts about me (a la that 46 questions thing that has been running around the internet).  My favorite inanimate object is my 1996 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.  My favorite cereal is raisin bran with Bonne Maman raspberry jam. My favorite smells are red wine, blue cheese, grilled beef, and mushrooms.  My favorite sport is baseball.  On my mouse pad is a copy of The School of Athens by Rapheal.  My favorite sound is my sons playing (when they are not yelling at each other).  To the "Rolling Stones or Beatles?" question, I responded:  Rolling Stones and Beatles and Bach and Dwight Yoakam and Bonnie Raitt and B.B. King and ....  My special talent is that I speak French.