Faculty

Clyde Willis, J.D., Ph.D.
Professor

Education | Courses | Experience | Publications | Courses | Email

Personal Web Page (with class materials) www.mtsu.edu/~cewillis
Education

• Ph.D., University of Tennessee at Knoxville
  Phi Kappa Phi honors
  Fields: political philosophy, public law, world politics, and United States government (subfields: Congress and Presidency)
• J.D., College of Law , University of Tennessee at Knoxville
• B.S., East Tennessee State University , political science and history

Courses Law

• Administrative Contracts
• Constitutional Law
• Law & Banking
• Special Topics in "Judicial Decision-making"
• Trial Advocacy and Procedure

Graduate Public Administration

• Administrative Law
• Public Sector Employment Law
• Labor Law

Undergraduate Courses

• U.S. Constitutional Law
• International Politics
• World Law: International Legal and Political Systems
• Political Philosophy
• The U.S. Presidency
• The Judicial Process
• Philosophy of Judicial Interpretation
• Law & Literature
• Public Policy & Criminal Justice
• Criminal Justice Administration
• Introduction to American Government
• Introduction to Political Science
• Introduction to Criminal Justice

Experience Academic Experience

• 2004 to present, Professor, MTSU.
• 2000-2004 Member of the Board of Directors of the American Mock Trial Association, following 2004 Director Emeritus.
• 1999-2004, Associate Professor, MTSU.
• 1993-1999, Associate Professor of Public Law, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia
• 1997, Fulbright Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia:
• Lectured in constitutionalism and contracting with governments, served as consultant to Ethiopian Ministry of Justice on civil and penal reform; coached Moot Court Team.
• 1996, Visiting Professor in the Law Faculty, Syktyvkar State University, Russia:
• Lectured in trial advocacy and Law & Banking; served as consultant to court officials and lawyers on trial reform.
• 1991-1993, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Criminal Justice, Union College, Barbourville, Kentucky

Non-Academic Professional Experience

• Tennessee Supreme Court Certified Rule 31 Mediator.
• 1985-1991, Partner in law firm Harwell, Baumgartner & Willis, Knoxville, Tennessee
• 1986, Attorney General pro tempore for State of Tennessee
• 1984-1985, Partner in law firm Smith & Willis, Raleigh, North Carolina, practicing labor and employment law
• 1971-1984, Partner in law firm Hyder & Willis, Rogersville, Tennessee, practicing civil, administrative, and criminal law
• 1969-1971, Staff Attorney with Federal Trade Commission
• 1975-1977, Mayor of the City of Rogersville, Tennessee

Publications

• Essays related to the First Amendment on "Atheism,"; "Birth of a Nation,"; "Emma Goldman,"; "Eugene Debs,"; "Picketing"; and "William Prynn" in The Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. Hudson, John et al, eds. Washington, D.C.: CQ press (forthcoming 2008).
• Essays on civil liberties, including "Bifurcated Trials,"; "Blue Laws,"; "Censorship,"; "Child Pornography,"; "Copyrights & Patents,"; "Corrupt Practices Act of 1925,"; "Espionage Act of 1917,"; "Eight Amendment Evolving Standards of Decency,"; "Obscenity,"; "Pornography,"; "Publicity Act of 1910,"; "Red Scare (1919-1920),"; "Release Time (for religion during school) Program,"; "Subversive Speech"; in Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America, Edited by Schultz, David et al. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2004.
• Biographical essays on Judges John R. Brown, William Cranch, and Horace Gray in Great American Judges: An Encyclopedia, John Vile, ed. Santa Barbara: ABC‑CLIO; (June 2003).
• Landmark Congressional Laws on the First Amendment. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, Inc., 2002.
• Essays on "Roscoe Conkling: Pugilistic Rhetorician,"; "James Otis: Revolutionary Activist,"; and "Louis Nizer: Rainmaker,"; in Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia. Edited by John R. Vile. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. 2001.
• "The Phenomenology in a Feminist Approach to Obscenity Law," 16 Law and Philosophy, No. 2 (1997), 177.
• "Teacher's Portfolio," in Peter Seldin's The Teaching Portfolio, 2nd ed., Anker Publishing Co. , 1997
• "Judicial Interpretation: Distinctions Without Differences," i n Perspectives in Politics: From Aristotle to Present, Peterson, Argile and Allen, eds. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co. , 1994.
• "The Paradox of Limited Government: A Topsy-Turvy World," 14 American Review, (March 1994) 18.