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About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
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Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
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Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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Thomas D. Griffith
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
- LECTURERS IN LAW DIRECTORY
- EXPERTS DIRECTORY
- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
- SCHOLARSHIP AND PUBLICATIONS
- DISTINCTIONS AND AWARDS
- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

John B. Milliken Professor Emeritus of Law and Taxation
Email: tgriffith@law.usc.edu699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA SSRN Author Page: Link
Last Updated: November 13, 2020
Thomas D. Griffith is the John B. Milliken Professor Emeritus of Law and Taxation. He specializes in studies of income tax and in criminal law. He has taught Contracts, Corporate Taxation, Criminal Law, Topics in Criminology and Federal Income Taxation.
Griffith is the author of Federal Income Tax: Examples and Explanations (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt, Aspen Law & Business, 2002); “Gangs, Schools and Stereotypes” (with Linda S. Beres, Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review, 2004); and “Progressive Taxation and Happiness” (“The State of Federal Income Tax Symposium: Rates, Progressivitiy, and Budget Processes,” Boston College Law Review, 2004).
A magna cum laude graduate of
Books
- Federal Income Tax: Examples and Explanations, 7th ed. (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt) (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2014).
- Federal Income Tax: Examples and Explanations, 5th ed. (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt) (Aspen Publishers, 2008).
- Federal Income Tax: Examples and Explanations, 4th ed. (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt) (Aspen Publishers, 2005).
- Federal Income Tax: Examples and Explanations, 3d ed. (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt) (Aspen Law & Business, 2002).
- Federal Income Tax: Examples and Explanations, 2d ed. (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt) (Aspen Law & Business, 1998).
- Federal Income Tax: Examples and Explanations (with Joseph Bankman and Katherine Pratt) (Little Brown & Co., 1996).
Articles and Book Chapters
- "Gangs, Schools and Stereotypes" (with Linda S. Beres). 37 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 935 (2004). - (Hein)
- "Progressive Taxation and Happiness" (The State of Federal Income Tax Symposium: Rates, Progressivity, and Budget Processes). 45 Boston College Law Review 1363 (2004). - (Hein)
- "Taxing Sunny Days: Adjusting Taxes for Regional Living Costs and Amenities" (with Michael S. Knoll). 116 Harvard Law Review 987 (2003). - (Hein)
- "Habitual Offender Statutes and Criminal Deterrence" (with Linda S. Beres). 34 Connecticut Law Review 55 (2001). - (Hein)
- "Demonizing Youth" (with Linda S. Beres). 34 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 747 (2001). - (Hein)
- "Diversity and the Law School." 74 Southern California Law Review 169 (2000). - (Hein)
- "Did 'Three Strikes' Cause the Recent Drop in California Crime?: An Analysis of the California Attorney General's Report" (with Linda S. Beres). 32 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 101 (1998). - (Hein)
- "Do Three Strikes Laws Make Sense? Habitual Offender Statutes and Criminal Incapacitation" (with Linda S. Beres). 87 Georgetown Law Journal 103 (1998). - (Hein)
- "Efficient Taxation of Mixed Personal and Business Expenses." 41 UCLA Law Review 1769 (1994). - (Hein)
- "Should 'Tax Norms' be Abandoned? Rethinking Tax Policy Analysis and the Taxation of Personal Injury Recoveries." 1993 Wisconsin Law Review 1115. - (Hein)
- "Tribute to David Carroll" (with others). 67 Southern California Law Review 1 (1993). - (Hein)
- "Is the Debate Between an Income Tax and a Consumption Tax a Debate About Risk? Does it Matter?" (with Joseph Bankman). 47 Tax Law Review 377 (1992). - (Hein)
- "Theories of Personal Deductions in the Income Tax." 40 Hastings Law Journal 343 (1989). - (Hein)
- "Social Welfare and the Rate Structure: A New Look at Progressive Taxation" (with J. Bankman). 75 California Law Review 1905 (1987). - (Hein)
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
The New York Times
January 28, 2023
Re: Jody David Armour
Professor Jody Armour was interviewed by the New York Times about the recent policy brutality incident that led to the death of Tyre Nichols. “It’s not just a Black and white issue, but a Black and blue one. And when you put on that blue uniform, it often becomes the primary identity that drowns out any other identities that might compete with it," Armour said.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Jonathan Barnett
December, 2022
"The China Innovation Challenge." Center for Strategic & International Studies interview, Washington, D.C.
Robin Craig
December, 2022
"The Clean Water Act and the Ocean: An Unfulfilled Promise." Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Law 14 (2022): 3.
Robin Craig
December, 2022
"Rights of Nature Is Becoming a U.S. Reality." Natural Resources & Environment. Prepublished December 2, 2022.