Law Faculty in the News - Archives for Rodney A. Smolla
3/30/2010 - High Court Mulls Speech Rights and MoreWashington and Lee Law School Dean Rodney Smolla comments in a USA Today article exploring free-speech claims in a series of cases before the Supreme Court that will test the boundaries of the First Amendment.
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1/20/2010 - In the Wake of Fort Hood Shooting, Can a Rap Song Be a Threat?
Washington and Lee Law School Dean Rod Smolla comments in Newsweek about Army Specialist Marc A. Hall, who has been charged with threatening fellow soldiers in a rap song he sent to the Pentagon.
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10/25/2009 - An Affectionate Portrait of Bill Rehnquist, Regular Guy
Washington and Lee law school dean Rod Smolla writes about a new book profiling the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
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10/4/2009 - High Court tackles animal-abuse tapes as free speech test
Washington and Lee Law Dean and First Amendment scholar Rodney A. Smolla comments in a USA Today story exploring a federal law that makes it a crime to sell depictions of animal cruelty.
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9/24/2009 - Dean Smolla, Third Year Program Featured in ABA Journal Legal Rebels Project
The ABA Journal's Legal Rebels project, which features lawyers, scholars and others who are committed to innovation in the legal profession, made a stop in Lexington to meet with students and faculty involved in the School's new third year program.
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9/7/2009 - Reality's knocking: Recession forcing schools to bow to reality
Washington and Lee's new third year program is featured in a National Law Journal story covering legal education reform at several law schools.
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7/18/2009 - A Matter of Opinion
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla was quoted in a New York Times profile of famed First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams. In a turn that has surprised some of his followers, Abrams has signed on to defend the now infamous credit rating company Standard and Poor's in a series of investor lawsuits.
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4/20/2009 - Free Speech Does a Body Good
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla explores free speech issues in the marketplace in this recent commentary from Legal Times.
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4/4/2009 - 4th Circuit Reinstates Police Officer's First Amendment Suit
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rodney A. Smolla comments on a Fourth Circuit decision reinstating a lawsuit by a Baltimore police officer who claims he was fired for giving information about a police shooting to a reporter.
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2/19/2009 - Libel Suit Against New York Times Settled
A lobbyist's lawsuit against The New York Times over the newspaper's account of her ties to Senator John McCain has been settled, both sides announced on Thursday. Dean Rodney A. Smolla represented lobbyist Vicki Iseman in the dispute.
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1/16/2009 - Does the First Amendment Protect the Naming of Children?
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rodney Smolla comments on the First Amendment rights afforded to parents when naming their children. Three New Jersey children with Nazi-influenced names were removed recently from their home by state officials.
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9/24/2008 - Is the Wall Street Bailout Proposal Unconstitutional?
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla explores in an article for Slate the constitutionality of provisions in Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion Wall Street bailout proposal.
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9/13/2008 - Dean Smolla Analyzes Virginia Supreme Court Spam Ban Decision
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla comments on a decision by the Virginia Supreme Court to overturn a state anti-spam law due to free speech violations.
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9/1/2008 - Dean Smolla Discusses Third Year Reform in Legal Times
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla discusses the School of Law's third-year curriculum reform in a Legal Times Op/Ed.
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3/18/2008 - Dean Smolla Discusses Military Honors and Freedom of Speech in the New York Times
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla discusses freedom of speech issues surrounding the case of Xavier Alvarez, a California man being prosecuted for falsely claiming he served as Marine and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
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1/13/2008 - Dean Smolla Discusses Blogs and Freedom of Speech in the Providence Journal
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla discusses freedom of speech issues surrounding a divorce and child custody case where the wife and mother used a blog to criticize the State's handling of the custody case.
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1/10/2008 - Dean Smolla Discusses Blogs and Freedom of Speech in New York Times
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla discusses freedom of speech issues surrounding a Vermont divorce case where a judge has ordered a husband to stop posting fictionalized accounts of his marriage on a blog.
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11/2/2007 - Dean Smolla Discusses Protests at Military Funerals on NPR's Morning Edition
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla discusses freedom of speech issues surrounding protests at military funerals on NPR's Morning Edition. Recently, a jury awarded a grieving father nearly $11 million in a law suit against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals in the belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
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9/30/2007 - Dean Smolla Discusses Free Speech on University Campuses in the New York Times
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla discusses freedom of speech issues that have emerged after the visit to Columbia University by Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
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9/19/2007 - Dean Smolla Praises Legacy of Justice Lewis Powell in Richmond Times-Dispatch
Washington and Lee School of Law Dean Rod Smolla praises Justice Lewis Powell, a "hero of the middle ground", in a column published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch on the 100th anniversary of Powell's birth.
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8/27/2007 - Dean Rod Smolla Looks at Sports-related Law Suits in Sports Illustrated
Dean Rod Smolla analyzed some current law suits in the Newsmakers section of a recent issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. The piece, "See You in Court! Handicapping the recent spate of sports related lawsuits" focused on cases involving Don Imus and Barry Bonds.
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