I just read at the Indiana Law Blog that Professor Pat Baude died today.
That’s very sad news. He was a very engaging, smart, and likable professor. I had him for a class on professional ethics, and he was a regular at the continuing legal education seminars put on by the Legislative Services Agency for its attorneys.
Rest in Peace, Professor Baude.
On a personal note, my wife’s grandmother Thelma Harrell also passed away this morning. I wasn’t going to mention it on this blog because it wasn’t necessarily of general interest. But, it seemed wrong somehow to mention one death but not the other. So, Rest in Peace, Thelma, as well.
Pat Baude, in my opinion, was my best law prof. He spoke in perfect, grammatical sentences, with no umming or throat-clearing. You could almost see the punctuation marks, as if it were a written text. But it was extemporaneous. I found it mesmerizing. His questions to students forced thought.
One day, he asked us to ponder “just what IS an essential governmental function?” (I think National League of Cities v. Ussery may have been the case, if that’s not anachronistic.) At the start of the next class, when he returned to that question, I quipped “waging war and inflating the currency.” Without breaking stride, he responded with something like “Suffice for now that your view as you stated it is somewhere to the right of Rhenquist,” whereupon he turned to someone who wasn’t feeling like a smartass that day. You couldn’t throw him off his game.
Years later, my wife and I took a weekend to Indianapolis. She had never seen the statehouse, so I set out to give her a tour. I heard a familiar voice through an open door into the House chambers, stepped into the balcony, and found Baude doing a law update for government attorneys (who knows: maybe this was in Doug’s LSA days, and he was one of them). We sat and listened. Then, mindful that my wife was not an attorney, I rose and suggested we leave. “No!,” she responded. “He’s amazing! I see why you loved him!”
Justice Frank Sullivan also ran into us in the hall, and invited us into his chambers (he was a classmate). Sorry, Frank, but I think the highlight of my wife’s day was Pat Baude, not Frank Sullivan.
Rest in peace, Prof. And condolences to Julia, his partner (at least back then).
He was mentally nimble; no doubt about it. Great story, Tipsy.
Condolences to your wife’s family — the death of a grandparent is a significant life experience.
I did not have occasion to know the professor, but condolences to his family as well.
My condolences to you and Amy.
Your family is in my prayers as well. May both rest in peace
With session in full swing, I almost missed the news about Professor Baude. I was startled to learn of his passing. I had him for Constitutional Law in 1991 and then got to see him every year when he’d come up to the Statehouse for continuing legal education classes for state attorneys. He was thought-provoking and made the mandatory CLE’s enjoyable! I will miss him. Doug-condolences on the loss in your family today as well.
My favorite memory of Professor Baude was him saying “Everyone assumes that because I’m a constitutional law professor that I love the constitution . . . Does an oncologist love cancer?”
That one still cracks me up every time I think of it.
Absolutely the best professor I had at IU. His Constitutional Law classes were great and he was always very balanced in his discussions, but always very witty. I enjoyed his classes immensly.
My condolences to his family.