2025 Lerude First Amendment Distinguished Lecturer Forum

The Reynolds School of Journalism is pleased to present the inaugural Lerude First Amendment Distinguished Lecturer: Justin Marceau. The program will include a discussion between Justin Marceau, University of Denver Sturm College of Law and Gabe Rottman, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Please join us on Tuesday, March 11, 2025 in the Wells Fargo Auditorium in the University of Nevada, Reno Knowledge Center. A reception with light refreshments will precede the talk at 5 p.m. and the program will begin at 6 p.m.

This inaugural forum is funded by longtime supporters Professor Warren Lerude and his wife, Janet Lerude. Professor Lerude, a Pulitzer Prize winner and emeritus professor, has been instrumental in advancing press freedom both in Nevada and nationally. His dedication to First Amendment issues has made it possible for us to host this inaugural forum.

Thanks to support provided by the Lerude Family Endowment, this event is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available on the first floor of the Whalen Parking Complex.

About the talk:

Going Undercover: Investigative reporting and the law

What are the risks and rewards of extending robust legal protections for public interest reporting techniques that push boundaries? Could emerging technologies and evolving professional standards change how we look at these practices? Hear from two experts: Lerude First Amendment Distinguished Lecturer Justin Marceau, University of Denver Sturm College of Law in discussion with Gabe Rottman, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

About Justin Marceau:

Justin is a law professor at the University of Denver where he specializes in constitutional law and criminal law. He has litigated on behalf of non-profits and individuals challenging anti-transparency laws in states across the country, including Utah, Idaho, and Iowa, and he oversees a law clinic that is currently defending a number of whistleblowers who are being sued. He is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI), a fellow at Cambridge University, UK, and the author of three academic books, including the one he will be speaking about tonight, Truth and Transparency. He is also a member of the judicial selection committee in Colorado and the Reporter for the pattern jury instruction committee for the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2024 he was recognized as one of the future perfect 50 by Vox news, a distinction given to fifty individuals who are working on solutions to the biggest problems of the day.

Host or Publisher Reynolds School of Journalism