Robert Cahill, an alumnus of the Patricia and Douglas Perry Honors College at Ƶ, will conduct a series "Law and Society" Master Classes in the coming weeks.
Cahill earned his bachelor of arts degree in political science from Ƶ in 1991 and his juris doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law in 1995. He is a commercial litigation partner with Cooley LLP in Reston, Virginia. Cahill focuses on representing companies in the technology, real estate and life sciences industries, among others, in a diverse range of high-stakes, complex disputes.
Here are his classes, which are for Honors College students and members of Ƶ's Pre-Law Association, and the cases he will discuss (all sessions will be conducted at 12:30 p.m. via Zoom):
March 16: Introduction and Right of Free Speech for Students
- Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) (students wearing black armbands to protest Vietnam War)
- Morse v. Frederick (2007) (student displaying "Bong hits 4 Jesus" sign)
April 6: Fundamental Liberties
- Griswold v. Connecticut (1963) (right of privacy)
- Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) (same sex marriage; Cahill suggests because this is so long, read the Kennedy majority opinion and Roberts' dissent)
April 20: Equal Protection
- Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) (racially segregated public schools)
- United States v. Virginia (1994) (law prohibiting females from attending VMI)
