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Bradley A. Smith

Hon. Bradley A. Smith

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law, Capital University Law School

Bradley A. Smith holds the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law position at Capital University Law School. He is one of the nation’s leading authorities on election law and campaign finance, and co-author of “Voting Rights and Election Law,” a leading casebook in the field. In 2010 he received the Bradley Prize from the Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, awarded annually “to recognize individuals of extraordinary talent and dedication who have made contributions of excellence defending the institutions of free, representative government and private enterprise.”

In 2000, he was nominated by President Clinton to fill a Republican-designated seat on the Federal Election Commission, where he served for five years, including as Chairman of the Commission in 2004. He has appeared as a guest on all major TV networks, including programs such as The O’Reilly Factor, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Hannity & Colmes, and many others. His 2001 book, “Unfree Speech: The Folly of Campaign Finance Reform” was praised by columnist George Will as “the year’s most important book on governance.” He has published widely with popular publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, and National Review, and his scholarly work has appeared in the Yale Law Journal, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Georgetown Law Journal, the Harvard Journal of Legislation, the Harvard Business Law Review, the George Washington Law Review, the Stanford Law and Policy Review, and many other academic journals. 

Professor Smith has been on the Capital University Law School faculty since 1993. From 2013-15 he held the Visiting Judge John T. Copenhaver Chair of Law at West Virginia University, and has also taught at George Mason University in Virginia. Professor Smith earned his B.A. from Kalamazoo College and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and holds an honorary doctorate from Augustana College.

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