John M. Bickers

John M. Bickers - Chase College of Law

Assistant Professor of Law

"After retiring as an Army Judge Advocate, I was honored and delighted to have the opportunity to come to Chase. To be a part of a community like this one, with both full and part-time students becoming exceptional lawyers, is a rare gift. Chase students are impressive in the dedication they bring to learning, and they demonstrate in the classroom skills that will soon be a real asset for their clients."

  • Education

  • AB History, Cornell University
  • JD, The University of Michigan Law School
  • LLM, Georgetown University Law Center

  • Courses Taught

  • Constitutional Law I
  • Constitutional Law II
  • Professional Responsibility

Profile

Upon graduation from Cornell, Professor Bickers received a commission as an officer in the armor branch of the Army. After serving as a tanker, he attended the University of Michigan Law School and became a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. His subsequent experience as an Army lawyer was wide-ranging: among the positions he held were prosecutor, defense counsel, administrative lawyer, and the manager of a law office in Germany. Following duty at the Pentagon, he earned an LL.M. from Georgetown, and became a Constitutional Law professor at the U.S. Military Academy. In 2006 he retired from the Army and joined the faculty at Chase. He has spoken on topics from affirmative action to the Posse Comitatus Act, and written on subjects including the Freedmen's Bureau and trials by military commissions. His work has been quoted approvingly by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and a plurality of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Latest Publications

Of Non-Horses, Quantum Mechanics, and the Establishment Clause, 57 U. Kan. L. Rev. (forthcoming 2009)

The Power to Do What Manifestly Must Be Done: Congress, The Freedmen's Bureau, and Constitutional Imagination, 12 Roger Williams L. Rev. 70 (2007)

With T. Bakken and R. Goldstein, Guide to Criminal Procedure in New York, Wadsworth Publishing (2005)

Military Commissions Are Constitutionally Sound: A Response To Professors Katyal And Tribe, 34 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 899 (2003)

Warrior Generals Combat Leadership In The Civil War, 158 Mil. L. Rev. 164 (1998)

Public Service

Coach, high school debate team; active in organizing high school debate at the statewide level.