Sounds like a cool new class in law school, right? Sort of like “Ethics and the Law” or “Animals and the Law.” Shockingly, it’s not a class at all but reality for the popular former Dean of SMU’s Dedman School of Law (1998-2013) and current Judge William Hawley Atwell Chair of Constitutional Law and Professor of Law, John B. Attanasio. Professor Attanasio, 60, was arrested on a prostitution charge and booked into the Collin County Jail early this past Sunday.
Apparently, Professor Attanasio responded to an ad on Backpage.com, an online classifieds website, on Saturday, that was part of a Texas Department of Public Safety sting operation. Four others were also arrested in the undercover prostitution sting, according to jail records.
In 2013-14, John B. Attanasio was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at New York University Law School. Prior to serving as Dean at SMU, he was Dean of Saint Louis University School of Law, and Professor of Law and John M. Regan, Jr. Director of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He received a B.A. from the University of Virginia in the interdisciplinary major Social Systems, a J.D. from New York University, a Dipl. in Law from Oxford and an LL.M. from Yale. He’s also a Fulbright award recipient. And now his mug shot is spreading among SMU law grads like wildfire, not to mention the national news. How does someone this smart and successful get involved in a sex sting operation? And then LIST THEIR WIFE AS THE EMERGENCY CONTACT?
Something tells me she was not pleased about this news. Makes me so sad for her and the family. And really, for Professor Attanasio, too. Still, we must be pragmatic: with the lack of inventory in our current housing market, might there be another listing coming up?
The Attanasios live on the elite Radbrook Place in Dallas, backing up on NW Highway…in a 5 bedroom, 4,804 sq. foot home with a DCAD market value of $1,112,540. Which begs the question – what was he doing in a Frisco hotel? We will have to keep our eyes peeled on what transpires with his job and the house – but we’re guessing they may be utilizing two different bedrooms in the home right now. An SMU spokeswoman confirmed that Attanasio is a full-time faculty member of SMU law school, but declined to comment on the investigation and arrest. She said Attanasio would not be teaching his scheduled course this week.
