Professor Margaret A. Berger (Brooklyn) died last week. A member of the Brooklyn Law School faculty since 1973, Professor Berger was an evidence law expert. Her specialty was scientific evidence, especially DNA. Margaret Berger attended Columbia Law School and had been a member of the New York bar since 1956.
Here is President Joan Wexler’s notice to the Brooklyn Law School community :
Professor Berger was a cherished member of the faculty for over 35 years. She was revered by her students and was widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading evidence scholars. She was instrumental in shaping the Federal Rules of Evidence and did pioneering work in the field of scientific evidence. Her influence on lawyers, judges and scholars was legendary. She authored or co-authored more than a dozen books, and 35 law review articles. She received many awards and honors for her work. Margaret was an extraordinary woman and a beloved friend. We will miss her dearly, but her legacy will be long enduring. We extend our deepest sympathy to her sons, Joshua and David, Class of 1989, and the entire family.
Writing in the Brooklyn Law Review festshrift on the occasion of Professor Berger’s retirement, Professor Edward Cheng wrote, “Margaret has embraced her role as part of the vanguard for women in the legal academy, and she has served as an important role model for young scholars female and male alike.”
Professor Berger’s obituary is in the Brooklyn Eagle is here. The absence of this “kick-ass feminist,” as one of my friends described Margaret Berger, will be felt by many.
-Bridget Crawford
