Rod Smolla is one of the nation’s leading defamation law and constitutional law litigators and scholars. Rod has presented oral argument on constitutional law issues, particularly defamation matters, in scores of cases in federal and state courts throughout the nation, including the Supreme Court of the United States. His notable recent defamation litigation successes include Dominion Voting v. Fox News, in which he single-handedly argued on behalf of the plaintiff Dominion the successful defeat of Fox’s motion to dismiss, and then co-argued the successful defeat of Fox’s motion for summary judgment—setting up a record-breaking $787.5 million settlement by Fox. In 2024, in Goldfarb v. Channel One Russia, he successfully argued and secured a $25 million judgment in a defamation action in the Southern District of New York on behalf of a former Russian dissident against a Russian media outlet. He has handled many high-profile defamations matters on behalf of plaintiffs against defendants as various as The New York Times, Fox News, The National Enquirer, and Netflix.
Rod is also a distinguished scholar, writer, and educator. He is the author of over 100 scholarly articles, and a frequent author of books for general audiences. His scholarly works have been cited by courts over 600 times, including many United States Supreme Court Justices, state supreme courts, federal appeals courts, and trial courts throughout the country. His works have been cited by other scholars and writers over 7,000 times. He is the author of several books and five multi-volume legal treatises, including Law of Defamation (which has for decades been widely regarded as the leading American treatise on defamation law). Most colorfully, his book Deliberate Intent: A Lawyer Tells the True Story of Murder by the Book (Crown Publishers 1999), described Rod’s successful advocacy in the notorious Hit Man case, in which he represented the families of murder victims in a suit against the publisher of a murder instruction manual used by an assassin to carry out three murders. The book was made into a television movie by FX, in which the Oscar-winning actor Timothy Hutton played the role of Rod. Not surprisingly, he is often in demand as a guest or commentator in media broadcasts or articles on legal matters, such as CNN and The New York Times.
Rod has also long been one of the nation’s leading educators. He served as President of Furman University, as Dean of the law schools at Richmond, Washington & Lee, and Delaware, as President of the Vermont Law and Graduate School, and as a faculty member or visiting faculty member at Duke, Illinois, William & Mary, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Denver, DePaul, and the University of Melbourne. He is a native of Chicago, and a graduate of Yale, where he played football, and Duke Law School, where he graduated first in his class. Not surprisingly, he is often in demand as a guest or commentator in media broadcasts or articles on legal matters, such as CNN and The New York Times.
Representative Matters
Dominion Voting Systems, Inc. v. Fox News Network LLC and Fox Corporation, Superior Court of Delaware
Dominion Voting Systems, Inc. v. Newsmax Media, Inc., Superior Court of Delaware
Goldfarb v. Channel One Russia and RT America, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Goodier v. Cousins, Supreme Court of Delaware
Harvey v. Cable News Network, Inc., United States District Court for the District of Maryland
WE Charity Inc. v. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Jevremovic v. Courville, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
Goodman v. Dohmen, Supreme Court of Delaware
Uhlfelder v. DeSantis, First District Court of Appeal of Florida
Gaprindashvili v. Netflix, Inc., United States District Court for the Central District of California
Williams v. Netflix, Inc., United States District Court for the District of Delaware
Romeril v. Securities and Exchange Commission, Supreme Court of the United States
Author, Brief of Constitutional Law & First Amendment Scholars in Support of Petitioner (2022)
Isaly v. Garde, New York Court of Appeals
Carney v. Adams, Supreme Court of the United States
Sadler Brothers v. Commonwealth of Virginia
Del Castillo v. Florida Department of Health, Supreme Court of the United States
Zuckerbrot v. Gellis Lande, Supreme Court of the State of New York
Calvert v. Fox News Network, LLC, Superior Court of Los Angeles County
Simmons v. American Media, Inc.
Burke v. Sparta Newspapers, Inc., Supreme Court of Tennessee
Tapia v. Rao, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Zepter v. International Crisis Group,
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
Shawe v. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP,
Supreme Court of New York County
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York
New York Court of Appeals
Basile v. Prometheus Global Media, Inc.,
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois
Bass v. United Development Funding, L.P., Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas
Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity v. Rolling Stone, LLC
Anetjim, Inc. v. Clark-Jennings
Save Southern Heritage, Inc. v. Townsend, Circuit Court for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Co., Inc. v. Thixton, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Bonsignori v. Starz Entertainment, LLC, United States District Court for the Central District of California
Herrick v. Grindr LLC, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Chapman v. The New York Times Company
Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission of Virginia v. Bumgardner, Supreme Court of Virginia
Davison v. Rose, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Davison v. Randall, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Matal v. Tam, Supreme Court of the United States
Pro-Football, Inc. v. Blackhorse
Blakley v. Cartwright
Blumenkranz v. Leff, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Hunter v. Virginia State Bar,
Supreme Court of Virginia
Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Supreme Court of the United States
Fox Television Stations, Inc. v. Aereokiller, LLC, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Virginia v. Black, Supreme Court of the United States
Chevron Corp. v. Berlinger, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Iseman v. The New York Times Company, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Baker v. American Media, Inc.
IMS Health Inc. v. Ayotte, Supreme Court of the United States
Amicus Brief on Behalf of Academic Research Scientists in Support of Petition for Certiorari
Kirch v. Liberty Media Corp., United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Condit v. National Enquirer, Inc., United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Yow v. National Enquirer, Inc., United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
The Cadle Company v. Schlichtmann, Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
The Local Church v. Harvest House Publishers, Supreme Court of the United States
Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Pape v. Florida Bar, Supreme Court of the United States
Knight Publishing Co. v. Presbyterian Health Services Corp., Supreme Court of the United States
Cobb v. Time, Inc., Supreme Court of the United States
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, Supreme Court of the United States
Mainstream Marketing Services, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
In re Theodore Kaminski
In re Morrissey, Supreme Court of the United States
Lohrenz v. Donnelly,
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
Rice v. Paladin Enterprises, Inc.,
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Supreme Court of the United States
McCreary v. Allen, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Ashcraft v. Conoco, Inc., United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Republic of Paraguay v. Allen, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Gregoire v. Centennial School District, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Baugh v. Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Stuart Circle Parish v. Board of Zoning Appeals for the City of Richmond, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen v. Williams, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Hustler Magazine, Inc. v. Falwell, Supreme Court of the United States
Co-counsel for Amicus; Principal Author, Brief of Amicus Curiae
Admissions
Illinois
Virginia
Delaware
District of Columbia
Vermont
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States District Court for the District of Delaware
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
United States Supreme Court
Education
J.D., Duke University School of Law, 1978 (Graduated First in Class; Note and Comment Editor, Duke Law Journal; American Jurisprudence Awards in Torts and Constitutional Law; Order of the Coif)
B.A. cum laude, Yale University, 1975 (Majored in American Studies; Scroll and Key Senior Society; played on Yale Football team; Chief Aide to Master of Timothy Dwight College)
Clerkships
Law Clerk to Judge Charles Clark, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Jackson, Mississippi (1978-1979)