Rychlak, Ronald J. 1957–

(Ronald Rychlak)

PERSONAL:

Born September 23, 1957, in Columbus, OH; son of Joseph F. (a professor of psychology and philosophy) and Lenora Smith (a homemaker) Rychlak; married Claire Lindsey (a homemaker), October 26, 1985; children: Joseph A., Lindsey F., Susanna M., Mary Helen, Sarah L., Olivia C. Ethnicity: "Polish-American." Education: Wabash College, B.A., 1980; Vanderbilt University, J.D., 1983. Hobbies and other interests: Sleight of hand, jogging, baseball.

ADDRESSES:

Office—School of Law, Box 1842, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677; fax:662-915-6842. E-mail—rrychlak@olemiss.edu.

CAREER:

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Memphis, TN, law clerk to Harry W. Wellford, 1983-84; Jenner & Block (law firm), Chicago, IL, associate, 1984-87; University of Mississippi, University, professor of law and associate dean for academic affairs, 1987—. Member of William C. Keady American Inn of Court III; U.S. Civil Rights Commission, member of Mississippi state advisory committee. Red Cross of North Central Mississippi, chair, 1995-97; advisor to Roman Catholic delegation of the Holy See to the United Nations, 2000—.

MEMBER:

Society of Catholic Social Scientists, National Association of Scholars, Federalist Society of Mississippi, Knights of Columbus, International Brotherhood of Magicians (Order of Merlin).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Salvatori fellow, Heritage Foundation; papal medals from Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI; Blessed Frederic Ornam Award for Catholic Social Action, Society of Catholic Social Scientists; State Family of the Year 1999-2000, Mississippi Knights of Columbus.

WRITINGS:

Real and Demonstrative Evidence: Applications and Theory, Michie (Charlottesville, VA), 1995, 2nd edition, LexisNexis (Newark, NJ), 2003.

Hitler, the War, and the Pope, Genesis Press (Columbus, MS), 2000.

(With Robert M. Jarvis and others) Gaming Law: Cases and Materials, LexisNexis (Newark, NJ), 2003.

(With Marc M. Harrold) Mississippi Criminal Trial Practice, Thomson/West (St. Paul, MN), 2004.

Righteous Gentiles: How Pius XII and the Catholic Church Saved Half a Million Jews from the Nazis, Spence Publishing (Dallas, TX), 2005.

Trial by Fury: Restoring the Common Good in Tort Litigation, Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty (Grand Rapids, MI), 2005.

Contributor to books, including Winning Your Case before Trial: Powerful Discovery Techniques, edited by Thomas R. Mulroy, Paul M. Lisnek, 1995; Courting the Yankees: Legal Essays on the Bronx Bombers, edited by Ward, Carolina Academic Press, 2003; The Pius War, Lexington Press, 2004; and Pius XII, the Holocaust, and the Revisionists, edited by Gallo, McFarland and Co. (Jefferson, NC), 2006. Contributor to journals, including New Ideas in Psychology, Journal of Mind and Behavior, This Rock, Catalyst, Tulane Law Review, West Virginia Law Review, Boston College Law Review, Gaming Law Review, Mississippi Law Journal, and Notre Dame Law Review. Member of editorial board, The Gaming Law Review.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ronald J. Rychlak once told CA: "My interests are varied, from criminal punishment, to the environment, to the history of the Vatican. I strive to find that which is true. I like researching questions and learning. At some point, I need to write down what I have learned, if for no other reason than to help me keep track of things. Of course, once I begin to write my findings up, I see the weaknesses in my arguments. Then I do directed research to fill in the blanks. This is where the fun often becomes work, but it is also what separates a good, truthful writing from sloppy work.

"In terms of style, I take a ‘shotgun’ approach. I do not write from beginning to end. I outline very broadly what I want to do, and I fill in my outline with my initial research. Then I edit, rewrite, refine, and fill in the missing parts. I try to end up with a book that will be interesting and will contribute to what we know about the subject.

"The hardest parts of writing are starting and finishing. Getting started requires me to think things through, read up on the subject, and decide what direction to take. Finishing requires you to show your work to others. There always seems to be some other little point you could add to your work, but a time comes to send it off for publication.

"I tend to over-write. For instance, Hitler, the War, and the Pope is now mainly about Hitler and Pope Pius XII, but I originally had a third character—the war itself. I had to learn all about the war to understand the motivations of the people. At first I included all of this information in the book. Fortunately, others convinced me to focus on only those things that advanced the story. They were correct. I have a lot of material on the war that I cut from the final draft.

"The last section highlights one final point. I sent the Hitler, the War, and the Pope manuscript to everyone I could for comments. I imposed on friends, old professors, even some big-name people whom I did not know but who had expressed an opinion on the matter. I sent it to people who I assumed would not agree with me. This helped my book tremendously."