Erwin Chemerinsky named dean of Berkeley Law

Erwin Chemerinsky, speaks to the media after a hearing on California's three-strikes law outside the Supreme Court in Washington, in this Nov. 2002 file photo. Erwin Chemerinsky, speaks to the media after a hearing on California's three-strikes law outside the Supreme Court in Washington, in this Nov. 2002 file photo. Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer / / Photo: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer / / Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Erwin Chemerinsky named dean of Berkeley Law 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Erwin Chemerinsky, an influential legal scholar, author and founding dean of UC Irvine School of Law, was named the dean of UC Berkeley School of Law, officials said Wednesday.

Chemerinsky, 64, is a constitutional law scholar and will serve as Berkeley Law’s 13th dean, replacing interim Dean Melissa Murray, who took the job after Dean Sujit Choudhry resigned in March 2016 amid sexual-harassment allegations.

“I believe he will be a phenomenal leader for our law school, someone who will ensure that Berkeley Law remains not only a powerhouse of legal scholarship and training, but also a community built on mutual respect and inclusion,” UC Berkeley interim Executive Vice Chancellor Carol Christ said in a statement.

Chemerinsky attended Harvard Law School after getting his bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University. He went on to teach for 21 years at the University of Southern California School of Law, and also taught at UCLA School of Law, DePaul University College of Law and Duke Law School.

Chemerinsky is considered one of the country’s top legal minds in constitutional law, federal practice, civil rights and civil liberties.

He has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals. Chemerinksy is the author of 10 books. He frequently contributes opinion pieces to newspapers and is a commentator on national news broadcasts.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky