Lackland H. Bloom, Jr.

Full-time faculty

Larry and Jane Harlan Senior Research Fellow and Professor of Law

"The dominant theme of the Constitution is to ensure that no institution of government may exercise unchecked power. "

Biography

A member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif, as well as administrative editor of the Michigan Law Review, Professor Bloom was law clerk to Chief Justice John R. Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He later was associated with the Washington firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. A specialist in constitutional law, he has published articles concerning freedom of speech and the rhetoric of Supreme Court opinions. The Oxford University Press has published Professor Bloom’s book DO GREAT CASES MAKE BAD LAW? (2014), as well as his previous book METHODS OF INTERPRETATION: HOW THE SUPREME COURT READS THE CONSTITUTION (2009). Professor Bloom is also active in the field of copyright.

Areas of Expertise

Constitutional Law

Education

B.A., Southern Methodist University
J.D., University of Michigan

Courses

Constitutional Law
Freedom of Speech, Press and Religion

Books

DO GREAT CASES MAKE BAD LAW? (Oxford University Press, 2014)

METHODS OF INTERPRETATION: HOW THE SUPREME COURT READS THE CONSTITUTION (Oxford University Press 2009)

Articles

Joe McKnight and the Oxford Summer Program, 71 SMU Law Review 15 (2018)

John Stuart Mill and Political Correctness, 56 University of Louisville Law Review 1 (2017)

Copyright Under Seige: The First Amendment Front, 9 Computer Law Review 41-61 (2004)

Grutter and Gratz: A Critical Analysis, 40 Houston Law Review 459-513 (2004)

Interpretive Issues in Seminole and Alden, 55 SMU Law Review 377 (2002)

Bad Consequences, 55 SMU Law Review 69 (2002)

NEA v. Finley: A Decision in Search of a Rationale, 77 Washington University Law Quarterly 1 (1999)

Long Live the Bill of Rights! Long Live Akhil Amar's The Bill of Rights, 33 University of Richmond Law Review 313 (1999)

Hopwood, Bakke and the Future of the Diversity Justification, 29 Texas Tech Law Review 1 (1998)

Other Publications

A Meeting of the Minds: SMU and NYU Host Historic Summit with Russian, U.S. and Texas Justices, 33 The Brief 3 (Summer 2001)

Presentations

Methods of Interpretation
Wisconsin State Appellate Court Seminar (4 hour presentation)
Pewaukee, WI (March 20, 2012)

Current Issues in Constitutional Interpretation
Appellate Judges Certification Program
Santa Fe, NM (June 27 - July 1, 2012)

Freedom of Speech and Security Breaches
Trade Association of High Tech Companies
(June 2011)

Godbey Lecture Series - Constitutional Law
Dallas, TX (February 2011)
     Lecture One - Constitutional Conventions
          (February 1, 2011)
     Lecture Two - Constitutional Structure
          (February 8, 2011)
     Lecture Three - Civil Rights and Liberties
          (February 15, 2011)
     Lecture Four - Methods of Interpretation
          (February 22, 2011)

The Year in Copyright
Texas State Bar Annual Convention
Section on Intellectual Property
Fort Worth, TX (June 2010)

Intelligent Design in the Schools: The Establishment Clause Background
Cary McGuire Ethics Center Panel on Darwin
SMU Dedman School of Law (September 25, 2009)

District of Columbia v. Heller - An Interpretive Goldmine
State Bar of Texas, Bill of Rights Section Conference
Houston, TX (May 22, 2009)

Supreme Court and the Establishment Clause
American Jewish Congress, Dallas Chapter (May 14, 2008)

Copyright Under Siege - The First Amendment Front
Conference on Digital Legal Issues
SMU Dedman School of Law (March 2004)

Grutter and Gratz: A Critical Analysis
Faculty Forum and a Student Forum
SMU Dedman School of Law (October 2003)

Media

Defamation, Privacy and the "Rotten Neighbors" Website
Interview
NBC Today Show
(January 22, 2008)