100 Years On: The Legacy of Meyer v. Nebraska—For Parental Rights and Beyond

Moderator | Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. is the Chief United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska, a position he has held since July 2021. Born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Judge Rossiter earned his Bachelor of Science in Management from Purdue University and his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Creighton University School of Law.

Prior to his appointment, Judge Rossiter spent more than three decades in private practice in Omaha, Nebraska, where he focused on labor and employment law. He also served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Albert G. Schatz and the Honorable C. Arlen Beam of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska. In addition to his legal practice, he has been active in legal education as an adjunct professor at Creighton University School of Law and has held leadership roles in professional bar organizations.

Professor Jamie Cooper joined the Nebraska College of Law as an Assistant Professor of Law after practicing law in the areas of family law, criminal defense, and juvenile justice for 14 years. Cooper has extensive trial experience and has successfully argued cases before the Nebraska Supreme Court and Nebraska Court of Appeals. Prior to joining the faculty, Cooper served as an adjunct professor for the College of Law, teaching Pretrial Litigation. She holds a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Outside of the classroom, you can find Professor Cooper on a yoga mat. She is a certified yoga teacher trainer and teaches community yoga classes.

Judge Rachel A. Daugherty is a District Judge for the 5th Judicial District. Her home court is the Hamilton County District Court. She received her law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1995. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she worked at the law firm of Myers and Daugherty in Grand Island. Judge Daugherty is a member of the NSBA and the District Judges Association. She has served on the Nebraska Supreme Court Commission on Children in the Courts and is currently the Co-Chair for the Supreme Court Committee on Self-Represented Litigants. Judge Daugherty is a Bar Foundation Fellow.

Judge Stefanie A. Martinez serves as a District Court Judge for Nebraska’s Second Judicial District. She was appointed to the district court in 2017 after previously serving as a County Court Judge in the same district from 2013 to 2017.

Before joining the bench, Judge Martinez built a diverse legal career spanning public service and private practice. She served in the Sarpy County Attorney’s Office, including as Senior Deputy County Attorney and Domestic Violence Coordinator, and previously worked as an assistant public defender in Douglas County and as an administrative hearing officer for the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles. She also maintained a private practice for nearly a decade. Judge Martinez eared her Juris Doctor from New York Law School and her bachelor’s degree from Boston College, and she remains active in judicial and bar-related committees and community initiatives.

Professor William G. Ross is the Albert P. Brewer Professor of Law and Ethics at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, where he taught since 1988. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Professor Ross began his career as a litigator in New York City before transitioning to academia. He is a nationally recognized scholar in legal ethics, constitutional law, and American legal history, and his work has been cited in more than 1,000 scholarly publications.

Professor Ross also served as guest editor for the Western Legal History Volume 35, Numbers 1 & 2: The Parental Rights Trilogy: A Centennial Symposium. In that issue, he authored “The Context and Enduring Legacy of Pierce v. Society of Sisters,” which explores the case’s lasting significant in shaping constitutional protections for parental rights and personal liberties. Read Professor Ross’s article on Pierce v. Society of Sisters here.