Ronald Rotunda

Ronald D. Rotunda (February 14, 1945 – March 14, 2018) was an American legal scholar and professor of law at Chapman University School of Law. Rotunda's first area of primary expertise is United States Constitutional law, and is the author of an influential 6-volume legal treatise on Constitutional Law. His other area of primary expertise is Legal Ethics, often called Professional Responsibility. He has also published an influential treatise on Legal Ethics, co-published by West-Thomson Reuters, ABA. He was also a senior fellow, in 2000, at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. In 1963, when Rotunda was 18 years old, he received a scholarship to attend Harvard University. Professor Rotunda later received a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Rotunda married Marcia Mainland, a law school classmate, in June 1969. They were married for 28 years and had two children. They were divorced in 1997. Marcia Rotunda was an attorney in the Office of University Counsel at the University of Illinois from 1986 to 2007.

In 1966, shortly after his conviction, Albert DeSalvo, the supposed Boston Strangler, was one of Rotunda's students in a law course for prisoners. In an article about this experience, Rotunda described DeSalvo as charming, helpful, and well-groomed in contrast to every other student at the prison.

Rotunda was Albert E. Jenner Jr. Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He was employed there for twenty-five years. He served as an advisor to Ken Starr during Starr's tenure as special prosecutor during the Clinton Administration. Previously, he had served on the investigative team during the Watergate scandal.

As an advisor to the Independent Counsel in 1998, Rotunda was asked for an opinion on "whether a sitting President is subject to indictment."

In a 56-page response released by the National Archives following a Freedom of Information Act request by The New York Times, Rotunda concluded, "It is proper, constitutional, and legal for a federal grand jury to indict a sitting President for serious criminal acts that are not part of, and are contrary to, the President's official duties. In this country, no one, even President Clinton, is above the law."

He was later married to Kyndra Rotunda (and divorced in 2014). The Rotundas were on faculty at George Mason University School of Law until departing in 2008 for Chapman University.

Professor Rotunda died on March 14, 2018. A few weeks before his death, his final work, a one-volume abridged edition of Beveridge’s original early 20th century, 4 volume series on the life of John Marshall, was published.

Publications The Politics of Language: Liberalism as Word and Symbol Intro. by Daniel Schorr. (1986) California Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1976) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1978 Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1978) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1979 Problems, Cases and Readings Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1979) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1979 California Rules Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1979) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1979 Standards Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1979) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1980 California Rules Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1980) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1980 Standards Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1980) (with Thomas D. Morgan). Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1978) (a one-volume treatise on Constitutional Law) (with John E. Nowak and J. Nelson Young). 1978 Supplement to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1978) (with John E. Nowak and J. Nelson Young). 1979-1980 Supplement to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1979) (with John E. Nowak and J. Nelson Young). 1982 Supplement to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1982) (with John E. Nowak and J. Nelson Young). Modern Constitutional Law: Cases & Notes (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1981). 1981 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1981). 1982 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1982). 1983 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1983). 1984 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1984). Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 2d ed. 1981) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1981 Standards Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1981) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1983 Standards Supplement to Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 1983) (with Thomas D. Morgan). The United States Federal System: Legal Integration in the American Experience (Giuffrè, Milan, 1982) (with Peter Hay). Six Justices on Civil Rights (Oceana Publications, Inc., Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., 1983) (edited and with introduction). Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 2d ed. 1983) (with John E. Nowak and J. Nelson Young) (a one-volume treatise on Constitutional Law). Professional Responsibility (West Publishing Co., 1984, Black Letter Series). Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 3d ed. 1984) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1984 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y. 1984) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1985 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y. 1985) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1986 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y. 1986) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1987 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y. 1987) (with Thomas D. Morgan). Modern Constitutional Law: Cases & Notes (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 2d ed. 1985). 1985 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1985). 1986 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1986). 1987 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1987). 1988 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1988). The Politics of Language: Liberalism as Word and Symbol (University of Iowa Press, 1986) (with an Introduction by Daniel Schorr) [Reviews]. Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1986) (three-volume treatise) (with John E. Nowak and J. Nelson Young). 1987 Pocket Part to Treatise on Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., 1987) (with John E. Nowak). 1988 Pocket Part to Treatise on Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., 1988) (with John E. Nowak). 1989 Pocket Part to Treatise on Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., 1989) (with John E. Nowak). 1990 Pocket Part to Treatise on Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., 1990) (with John E. Nowak). 1991 Pocket Part to Treatise on Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., 1991) (with John E. Nowak). Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 3d ed. 1986) (a one-volume treatise on Constitutional Law) (with John E. Nowak and J. Nelson Young). 1988 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., 1988) (with John E. Nowak). Joseph Story's Commentaries on the Constitution (Carolina Academic Press, Durham, N.C. 1987) (with introduction) (with John E. Nowak). Constitutional Law: Principles and Cases (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1987). Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y., 4th ed. 1987) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1988 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Mineola, N.Y. 1988) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1989 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1989) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1990 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1990) (with Thomas D. Morgan). Professional Responsibility (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 2d ed. 1988, Black Letter Series). Modern Constitutional Law: Cases and Notes (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 3d ed. 1989). 1989 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1989). 1990 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1990). 1991 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1991). 1992 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1992). Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y., 5th ed. 1991) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1991 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1991) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1992 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1992) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1993 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1993) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1994 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1994) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1995 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1995) (with Thomas D. Morgan). Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 4th ed. 1991) (a one-volume treatise on Constitutional Law) (with John E. Nowak). Professional Responsibility (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 3d ed. 1992, Black Letter Series). Treatise on Constitutional Law: Substance and Procedure (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 2d ed. 1992) (four-volume treatise) (with John E. Nowak). 1993 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1993) (with John E. Nowak). 1994 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1994) (with John E. Nowak). 1995 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1995) (with John E. Nowak). 1996 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1996) (with John E. Nowak). 1997 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1997) (with John E. Nowak). 1998 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1998) (with John E. Nowak). 1999 Pocket Part to Constitutional Law (West Group, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1999) (with John E. Nowak). Modern Constitutional Law: Cases and Notes (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 4th ed. 1993). 1993 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1993). 1994 SUPPLEMENT to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1994). 1995 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1995). 1996 Supplement to Modern Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 1996). Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, Minnesota, 5th ed. 1995) (a one-volume treatise on Constitutional Law) (with John E. Nowak). Problems and Materials on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y., 6th ed. 1995) (with Thomas D. Morgan). 1996 Selected Standards on Professional Responsibility (Foundation Press, Westbury, N.Y. 1996) (with Thomas D. Morgan).