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Between earning a J.D. and Ph.D., Rick worked from 1994 to 1996 as a law clerk to Justice James A. Knecht of the Illinois Appellate Court. Ever since obtaining his Ph.D. focusing on public law and judicial politics, he has been at UL teaching pre-law courses in the Department of Political Science and served as a past head of the Political Science Department head for three years. His legal expertise is in constitutional law, especially civil rights and civil liberties. His articles and essays analyzing legal concepts and judicial voting behavior have been published in peer-reviewed journals, law reviews, and legal encyclopedias. He has also authored two textbooks:  The Big Picture of U.S. National Government, published by UL Press, and The Lanahan Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning, published by Lanahan Publishers. His current research involves the civil rights history of South-Central Louisiana. He has given numerous community presentations on the topic and recently wrote a chapter titled “The Politics of Racial Memory in Louisiana,” contained in The Party is Over: Louisiana Politics in the 21st Century, edited by Pearson Cross and Christie Maloyed, published by LSU Press. In his personal time, Rick communes with nature, philosophizes about the beauty and wonder of the universe, and tries to live life to the fullest, all while sharing these experiences with friends, family, his 5 dogs, and especially his amazing wife Anne.

Ph.D., 2001
University of Kentucky

J.D., 1994
Southern Illinois University

M.A., 1991
Eastern Illinois University

B.S., 1988
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Civil Liberties
• Civil Rights
• Constitutional Law
• Public Law and Judicial Politics
• American Government