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Is the average American citizen familiar with the particulars of the United States Constitution, which represents the supreme law of the land?

A U.S. Circuit Court judge will be at Gannon University on Friday, Sept. 18 to give his thoughts.

Judge Richard L. Nygaard will give Gannon University’s annual Constitution Day lecture. Nygaard’s lecture, “Our Constitution – the ‘Bestseller’ No One Reads,” will begin at 12 p.m. in room 1200 of the University’s Palumbo Academic Center, 824 Peach St. It is free and open to the public.

During his lecture, Nygaard will discuss how many people actually know very little about the Constitution. He also will encourage the audience to stay better informed with respect to current Constitutional issues.

Constitution Day is an American federal holiday that recognizes the ratification of the United States Constitution. The law establishing the holiday was created in 2004 through an amendment by U.S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

More about Judge Nygaard
Judge Richard L. Nygaard is a United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (Erie and Philadelphia). He was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President Ronald Reagan, and entered duty on Nov. 7, 1988.

Judge Nygaard was born July 9, 1940 in Thief River Falls, Minn. He received a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in public administration (local government) from the University of Southern California in 1969. He was awarded a juris doctorate by the University of Michigan in 1971, and an honorary doctor of laws degree by Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1993.

Judge Nygaard was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas for the Sixth Judicial District of Pennsylvania on May 1, 1981 and, following nominations by both political parties, was elected to a full 10-year term in November, 1983. Before his appointment to the bench, he was engaged in the general practice of law.

In 1977, Nygaard was elected as a County councilman under the newly enacted Home Rule Charter for Erie County, where he served until his nomination to the Court of Common Pleas.

In 1982, he was a U.S. delegate to the International Conference on Free Elections co-sponsored by the United States State Department and the American Enterprise Institute. Post-conference, he provided constitutional advice to (then professor) President Amos Sawyer, regarding court restructuring and judicial appointments.

In 1991, the American Bar Association received a request from Romania for assistance in preparing their country for a democracy; in developing a Constitution and a Bill of Rights; and in restructuring their judiciary. The International Law Section of the ABA requested that Judge Nygaard act as an advisor to the Constitutional Conferees of Romania and make comments on their Constitution, Judiciary Structure, and Bill of Rights.

Since then, he has been a constitutional consultant for Albania, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and Croatia, mainly in the areas of judicial structure and individual rights. He developed a “Charter of Rights and Responsibilities,” now in use, to varying extent, in these countries.

In 1995, under the auspices of the University of Virginia, and funded by the National Institute of Health and the Department of Energy, he began a study of the ethical, legal, and sociological implications of the Human Genome Project. Since then he has lectured at The University of Chicago Law School, Penn State University, The Mid-Georgia Educational Foundation, and the American Society of Criminologists on areas like genetics and the law.

He has served as guest lecturer for Edinboro University and Mercyhurst College on topics such as constitutional law, criminal justice, penology, political science, and the American legal systems. He has served as a constitutional law lecturer at Penn State Behrend and taught a directed research course in penal and criminal law reform. He also has served as a senior fellow with the Mercyhurst College Civic Institute.

His book, Sentencing As I See It, was published in 2000; he is writing a companion reader to be called Prison As I See It. His works in progress also include a course for the layperson on constitutional law, complete with textbook, casebook, lectures, and examinations, for use in high schools and colleges which may not have a constitutional law expert on staff. He is also developing law readers for primary, intermediate, middle, and high schools, beginning with fundamental moral lessons and injunctions, and developing into an essential understanding of our rule of law.

Judge Nygaard also has started a prison library program by obtaining donated used books and delivering them to tri-state area prisons and jails. To date, he has delivered more than 10,000 books.

Judge Nygaard is a member of the PBA and the Federal Bar Association and is a life member of the NAACP.