Faculty and Staff
Ms. Blum is a Visiting Professor for Fall 2012 where she teaches employment discrimination and a seminar on national security. She is an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security where she advises the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on application of federal laws to the Office’s activities. She is also an adjunct law professor at Michigan State University’s College of Law and an instructor at its Criminal Justice School. In 2009, she served on a Department of Justice Task Force, set up by Executive Order, analyzing policy options for issues relating to the detention, trial, transfer, and release of individuals captured in connection with armed conflicts and counterterrorism operations.
From 2003-2009, Ms. Blum was an employment litigator for the Transportation Security Administration where she defended the Agency against employment discrimination complaints and challenges to adverse personnel actions before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and district courts. In this capacity, she won the Silver Medal Award, Illumination Award, Special Act Award, and Bronze Medal Award for tenacity, strength, and persuasiveness in litigating cases as well as excellent trial skills, including extensive pretrial briefing, thorough witness preparation, and highly effective direct and cross examination.
After graduating from law school in 1999, Ms. Blum worked at Jenner & Block and served as a law clerk to three federal judges. She has a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School, a M.A. in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a B.A. in political science from Yale University. She has written a book and several pieces on homeland security related issues.
Books or book chapters
The Necessary Evil of Preventive Detention in the War on Terror, a Plan for a More Moderate and Sustainable Solution (Cambria Press, 2008).
The Department of Homeland Security and Intelligence: Past, Present and Future, in Homeland Security and Intelligence (Praeger Security, 2010).
Articles
“Use it or Lose It”: An Exploration of Unused Counterterrorism Tools and Implications for Future Counterterrorism Policies (forthcoming Lewis & Clark Law Review, 2012).
Encyclopedia entries on FISA, the USA Patriot Act, and the Lone Wolf Amendment for CQ Press’s Encyclopedia of the Fourth Amendment (forthcoming 2012).
Same Priorities, Different Perspectives: Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff on Homeland Security, Homeland Security Affairs, Jan. 2010.
The Why and How of Preventive Detention in the War on Terror, 26 T.M. Cooley L. Rev. 51 (2009).
What Really Is at Stake with the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 and Ideas for Future Surveillance Reform, 18 B.U. Pub. Int. L.J. 269 (2009).
Preventive Detention in the War on Terror: A Comparison of How the United States, Britain, and Israel Detain and Incapacitate Terrorist Suspects,Homeland Security Affairs, Oct. 2008.
Blogs
“Where the US Went Right on the Christmas Day Bomber,” Homeland Security Watch, February 14, 2010
“Why Take Low Hanging Fruit and Plant it Further up the Tree,” Homeland Security Watch, February 12, 2010