Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky, the Dean of UC Irvine School of Law, has written an editorial in the Los Angeles Times entitled, "The law is on Blagojevich's side." The article begins:
Like it or not, Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich has the legal authority to appoint Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate, and Burris, the state's former attorney general, should be allowed to take the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. Senate Democrats are on weak constitutional ground in trying to deny a seat to a properly selected individual. Their claim to the power to exclude a lawfully chosen senator could create a dangerous precedent.
Eugene Volokh, a libertarian law professor at UCLA, agrees in a note entitled "Surely a Sign of the Apocalypse."