Ric Simmons, B.A., M.A., J.D.
Education
- BA, Stanford University, Political Science, 1990
- MA, Stanford University, International Policy Studies, 1991
- JD, Columbia University School of Law, 1994
Biography
Ric Simmons is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law at Moritz. He teaches Evidence, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Computer Crime and Surveillance.
An accomplished legal scholar, Professor Simmons’ research focuses on the intersection of the Fourth Amendment and new technology. He has written about the use of big data in the criminal justice system, searches of cell phones and other electronic devices, and hyper-intrusive surveillance devices. He has also written about the privatization of the criminal justice system and the role of the prosecutor. Professor Simmons is the author of Smart Surveillance: How to Interpret the Fourth Amendment in the Twenty-First Century (Cambridge Press 2019), and Private Criminal Justice: How Private Parties are Enforcing Criminal Law and Transforming Our Justice System (2023), and he has co-authored four casebooks and two hornbooks. His scholarship has also appeared in leading legal journals, including the Duke Law Journal, the Boston University Law Review, and the George Washington Law Review.
Before coming to Moritz, Simmons was an acting assistant professor at New York University School of Law. Before that, he clerked for the Honorable Laughlin E. Waters of the Central District of California and then served for four years as an assistant district attorney for New York County.
Professor Simmons is a national expert on the grand jury and served on the Ohio Supreme Court’s Grand Jury Task Force. He has also been a recipient of the Ohio State University Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching and has won the Morgan E. Shipman Outstanding Professor Award six times.
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Ric Simmons, A Failed Revolution: The Muted Impact of Jones, Riley, and Carpenter, 61 Wake Forest L. Rev. 435
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Ric Simmons, Legal Vigilantes, 61 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 157 (2024)
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Ric Simmons, Private Criminal Justice ((2023)
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Ric Simmons, Constitutional Double Standards: The Unintended Consequences of Reducing Police Presence, 91 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 817 (2023)
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Deborah Jones Merritt & Ric Simmons, Learning Evidence: From the Federal Rules to the Courtroom ((2022)
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Ric Simmons, Lange, Caniglia, and the Myth of Home Exceptionalism, 54 Ariz. St. L.J. 145 (2022)
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Ric Simmons, Race and Reasonable Suspicion, 73 Fla. L. Rev. 413 (2021)
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Ric Simmons & Deborah Jones Merritt, Learning Evidence with an Uncasebook, in Teaching Evidence Law: Contemporary Trends and Innovations (2021)
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Ric Simmons, Terry in the Age of Automated Police Officers, 50 Seton Hall L. Rev. 909 (2020)
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Ric Simmons, Strategies and Techniques for Teaching Evidence ((2013)
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Ric Simmons, True Goals of the Modern Grand Jury--And How to Achieve Them, in Grand Jury 2.0: Modern Perspectives on the Grand Jury (2010)
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Ric Simmons, Smart Surveillance: How to Interpret the Fourth Amendment in the Twenty-First Century ((2019)
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Ric Simmons & Renee Hutchins, Learning Criminal Procedure: Adjudication ((2019)
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Ric Simmons & Renee Hutchins, Learning Criminal Procedure: Investigations ((2019)
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Ric Simmons, Big Data and Procedural Justice: Legitimizing Algorithms in the Criminal Justice System, 15 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 573 (2018)
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Ric Simmons, The Mirage of Use Restrictions, 96 N.C. L. Rev. 133 (2018)
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Ric Simmons, Big Data, Machine Judges, and the Legitimacy of the Criminal Justice System, 52 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1067 (2018)
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Ric Simmons, Evaluating the Credibility Using Prior Convictions: An Empirical Study of Rule 609 and Suggestions for Practical Reform, 59 B.C. L. Rev. 993 (2018)
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Deborah Jones Merritt & Ric Simmons, Learning Evidence: From the Federal Rules to the Courtroom ((2018)
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Ric Simmons, The Role of the Prosecutor and the Grand Jury in Police Use of Deadly Force Cases: Restoring the Grand Jury to Its Original Purpose, 65 Clev. St. L. Rev. 519 (2017)
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Joshua Dressler, Alan C. Michaels & Ric Simmons, Understanding Criminal Procedure: Investigation ((7th ed., 2017)
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Ric Simmons, Quantifying Criminal Procedure: How to Unlock the Potential of Big Data in Our Criminal Justice System, 2016 Mich. St. L. Rev. 947 (2016)
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Ric Simmons & Renée Hutchins, Learning Criminal Procedure: Investigations ((2015)
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Deborah Jones Merritt & Ric Simmons, Learning Evidence: From the Federal Rules to the Courtroom ((2015)
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Ric Simmons, Ending the Zero-Sum Game: How to Increase the Productivity of the Fourth Amendment, 36 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 549 (2013)
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Ric Simmons, The New Reality of Search Analysis: Four Trends Created by New Surveillance Technologies, 81 Miss. L. Rev. 991 (2012)
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Deborah Jones Merritt & Ric Simmons, Learning Evidence: From the Federal Rules to the Courtroom ((2011)
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Deborah Jones Merritt & Ric Simmons, Learning Evidence: From the Federal Rules to the Courtroom ((2009)
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Ric Simmons, Private Criminal Justice, 42 Wake Forest L. Rev. 911 (2007)
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Ric Simmons, The Audience for an Evidence Class: Teaching to Litigators, Scholars, or Bar-Examinees, 50 St. Louis U. L.J. 1063 (2006)
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Ric Simmons, Conquering the Province of the Jury: Expert Testimony and the Professionalization of Fact-Finding, 74 U. Cin. L. Rev. 1013 (2006)
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Ric Simmons, The Two Unanswered Questions of Illinois v. Caballes: How to Make the World Safe for Binary Searches, 80 Tul. L. Rev. 411 (2006)
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Ric Simmons, Not “Voluntary” but Still Reasonable: A New Paradigm for Consensual Searches, 80 Ind. L.J. 773 (2005)
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Ric Simmons, Technology-Enhanced Surveillance by Law Enforcement Officials, 60 N.Y.U. Ann. Surv. Am. L. 711 (2005)
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Ric Simmons, From Katz to Kyllo: A Blueprint for Adapting the Fourth Amendment to Twenty-First Century Technologies, 53 Hastings L.J. 1303 (2002)