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Photo of Bernard James, J.D.

Bernard James, J.D.
Professor of Law

Office: School of Law (SOL)
E-mail: bernie.james@pepperdine.edu

  • J.D., University of Michigan, 1983
  • B.G.S., Univeristy of Michigan, 1977

Bernard James joined the Pepperdine faculty in 1984 after serving as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Judge Myron Wahls for the Court of Appeals in Michigan.

Specializing in constitutional law, Professor James has served as the First Amendment contributing editor of the ABA Preview Journal, which reviews the cases of the U.S. Supreme Court. He also writes for the National Law Journal on First Amendment matters. He lectures in the U.S. and Canada on constitutional issues, and serves as a commentator for the national and local media discussing Supreme Court decisions.

Professor James has served as a special consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice since 1988, writing policy guides and conducting workshops on constitutional subjects. He also has served since 1985 as a consultant to federal, state, and local legislators, providing technical assistance and testimony on issues that arise in lawmaking. He writes and speaks on educational law issues for the National School Safety Center, a partnership between the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, and Pepperdine University. He is the past California chairman of the National Organization of Legal Problems in Education (NOLPE).

In addition to teaching Constitutional Law, Constitutional Law Seminar, and State Constitutional Law, Professor James teaches Education Law at the Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

Selected Works:
  • Legal Update: Safe Schools, Information Sharing and FERPA, 2007 NASRO School Safety Journal 22 (Summer 2007).
  • Legal Update: Fine Tuning the Educator/SRO Relationship Part I: Lessons Learned from the Interrogation Cases, 2007 NASRO School Safety Journal 22 (Fall 2007).
  • What Locke Portends (2003-2004 Supreme Court Review), NAT'L L.J., Aug. 2, 2004, at S10.
  • Bernard James & Joanne E. K. Larson, The Doctrine of Deference: Shifting Constitutional Presumptions and the Supreme Court's Restatement of Student Rights after Board of Education v. Earls, 56 SO. CAROLINA L. REV. 1 (2004).
  • Privacy and Education: Lawrence, Bollinger (Supreme Court Review: 2002-2003 Term), NAT'L L.J., Aug. 4, 2003, at S8.
  • Empowering Educators (Supreme Court Review), NAT'L L.J., Aug. 5, 2002, at C7.
  • The 'Good News' Ruling (Supreme Court Preview, 2000-2001 Term), NAT'L L.J., Aug. 6, 2001, at C10.
  • No Landmarks Among First Amendment Cases (Supreme Court Term Analysis, 1999-2000), NAT'L L.J., August 7, 2000, at A27.