Frankfurter Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz's sabbatical next year will be more than just operas, dinners at expensive restaurants, travel, reading and even writing a book.

Beginning Sept. 8, he will spend two hours a week as an anchor on Court TV, the cable network that broadcasts live criminal and civil trials and offers commentary on the legal system.

"My goal is to broaden the scope of what we do beyond individual cases," Dershowitz said. "I see my role as a teacher, I'm just changing the forum of my teaching."

Each Friday, Dershowitz will host a Court TV show about the week in justice.

"I hope to focus primarily on constitutional and criminal cases, since that's my specialty," he said.

According to Marlene Dann, vice president of daytime programming for Court TV, Dershowitz's weekly segment will be a huge asset to the network.

"His incredible knowledge will help us and viewers better understand the justice system and trials," she said. "He will help put whatever we're seeing in many of the trials we cover into context."

This is only Dershowitz's second year away from Harvard after 36 years of teaching.