Fernand "Tex" N. Dutile

Professor Emeritus of Law

Office: 1185 Eck Hall of Law
Phone: 574-631-8620
Fax: 574-631-4197
Email: fdutile@nd.edu
Staff Assistant: Debbie Sumption

Fernand N. “Tex” Dutile earned his A.B. from Assumption College in 1962, and his J.D. from Notre Dame in 1965, where he served as the articles editor for the law review, The Notre Dame Lawyer. Admitted to the Maine Bar in 1965, Dutile practiced law in the Honors Program of the U.S. Department of Justice (1965-1966), and taught law at the Catholic University of America (1966-1971) before returning to Notre Dame, as a member of the faculty, in 1971. He became a full professor in 1976. During his tenure at Notre Dame, he served in a number of administrative positions, including assistant dean (1976-1979), associate dean (1989-1991 and 1993-1999), and acting dean (1991-1993). He co-directed the London Law Program in 1991 and 2009, and taught in that program in 1974, 1975, 1994, 1996 and 2010. He has also held the position of senior visiting fellow at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) and scholar-in-residence at the University of Queensland (Australia) during the summers of 1995 and 1996, respectively. He chaired Notre Dame’s Faculty Board on Athletics and served as the University’s NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative from 2000-2006.

Dutile’s teaching and scholarship concentrate in two areas. He taught criminal law to first-year students and wrote extensively in that area. He also taught and wrote on the law of education. He served as faculty editor of the Journal of College & University Law, the hallmark publication of the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) (1986-94), and has been a member of that publication’s editorial board since 1986. In 1994, NACUA honored his work by naming him a lifetime fellow of the association. Professor Dutile has served on countless University and Law School committees, including the Academic Council, of which he was a member for about a quarter-century. In 2001, the University’s Alumni Association conferred on him its Armstrong Award, bestowed annually on a graduate who has provided “outstanding” service as an employee. Professor Dutile earned two Presidential Awards at Notre Dame (1982 and 2006). He also garnered the University’s Faculty Award in 2004. His alma mater, Assumption College, presented him with its Outstanding Achievement Award in 2007.

Dutile retired from Notre Dame Law School in 2011.

Courses Taught

• LAW60302, Criminal Law
• LAW70313, Law of Education

Scholarship

Books

• Ed., The Prediction of Criminal Violence, with C.H. Foust ed. (Charles C. Thomas Publishing Co. 1987).
• Sex, Schools and the Law (Charles C. Thomas Publishing Co. 1986).
• State and Campus: State Regulation of Religiously Affiliated Higher Education, with E. Gaffney Jr. (University of Notre Dame Press 1984).
• Ed., Early Childhood Intervention and Juvenile Delinquency, with C.H. Foust and D.R. Webster eds. (Lexington Books 1982).
• Ed., Legal Education and Lawyer Competency: Curricula for Change (University of Notre Dame Press 1981).

Book Segments

• A Catholic University, Maybe; But a Catholic Law School? in The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University 71 (Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., ed., University of Notre Dame Press 1994).

Articles

Dutile has published numerous articles on the topics of the law of higher education and criminal law, including:

• Law and Governance Affecting the Resolution of Academic and Disciplinary Disputes at Scottish Universities: An American Perspective, 8 Indiana International & Comparative Law Review 1 (1997).
• Law, Governance, and Academic and Disciplinary Decisions in Australian Universities: An American Perspective, 13 Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law 69 (1996).
• God and Gays at Georgetown: Observations on Gay Rights Coalition of Georgetown University Law Center v. Georgetown University, 15 Journal of College and University Law 1 (1988).
• Freezing the Status Quo in Criminal Investigations: The Melting of Probable Cause and Warrant Requirements, 21 Boston College Law Review 851 (1980).
• The Burden of Proof in Criminal Cases: A Comment on the Mullaney-Patterson Doctrine, 55 Notre Dame Lawyer 380 (1980).
• Mistake and Impossibility: Arranging a Marriage Between Two Difficult Partners, with H. Moore, 74 Northwestern University Law Review 166 (1979).
• Promises, Promises: Reflections on the Validity of Immunity Grants to Hostage Holders, 21 Res Gestae 260 (1977).
• Some Observations on the Supreme Court's Use of Property Concepts in Resolving Fourth Amendment Problems, 21 Catholic University Law Review 1 (1971).

Areas of Expertise

• Church & State
• Criminal Law
• Education Law
• Education Reform & Policy