UNM political science students learn about historic U.S. Supreme Court case from special guest speaker

A group of Political Science students at The University of New Mexico had the chance to learn about a historic U.S. Supreme Court case from one of the main people involved in the worldwide scandal.

During the 2024 spring semester in UNM's Constitutional Law class, students learned more about the Bridget Kelly vs United States Supreme Court case on a Zoom call with former Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Kelly herself.

Professor Lawrence Jones said he reached out to Kelly on Linked In asking her to speak about the case, that arose from the famous 2013 'Bridgegate' scandal, and for the students' benefit, she said yes.

"I had never spoken to her before but asked her anyway, and Ms. Kelly wrote back agreeing to do it," Jones said. "It was great she was willing to speak, especially since this appearance with the University of New Mexico was the first time she had ever spoken at any university to students. In doing so she addressed not only Bridgegate, but other subjects, including her life story, and the students were extremely engaged."

Bridget Kelly vs. United States was a 2020 Supreme Court decision resulting from approximately seven years of ongoing litigation heavily watched politically and legally throughout the country. The big question arising from the Bridgegate scandal is whether then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was involved in a plan to shut down several lanes at the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey for political revenge. Christie, who contended he did not know the situation, blamed his then Deputy Chief of Staff, Bridget Kelly, and fired her shortly after. Kelly argued she didn't know about the bridge closures and was bullied, citing she had no authority to close traffic lanes. Ultimately, criminal charges were brought against Kelly and she was convicted. However, in a landmark 2020 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed and dismissed her conviction.

"In this particular case, when mapping out the syllabus, I thought students would be interested in it, not only because it was precedential, but because of all the human elements and drama that was involved on a national level," Jones said. "Students rarely get the opportunity to hear directly from the people they're studying in a university course."

Jones thought having Kelly as a guest speaker added a unique experience to the semester, and many students agreed.

"I have never had the opportunity to talk to someone who has taken a case up to the Supreme Court level, and not only argue but win essentially their freedom back," Quinn Arruti, a UNM student said. "We asked her about anything and she gave us a well-thought-out answer."

"Talking to a person who was involved, and a part of this scandal was interesting and provided a good look inside this bizarre scandal that shaped American politics," student Kylie Pucella said. "It brought the Supreme Court case to our doorstep and helped us understand the system better; It made it seem human."

Student Amelia Beggio said as an avid news watcher and reader, she knew a lot about the case before the Zoom call with Kelly. From this experience, Beggio said it brought up much more than just the case itself.

"I think it has a larger impact on American history and a larger lesson for us to learn about toleration of corruption and the honesty we expect from our politicians," she said.

Depending on the case and course, Jones says he'd like to bring in more guest speakers.

"Kelly posted on her LinkedIn page after, it seemed like she was very positive about the experience and the student response to her and the ability to talk about this subject," Jones said. "It's one thing to talk on social media, it's another to talk directly with university students and allow them to ask questions on a very politically charged topic."

Kelly said in her LinkedIn post, "Earlier this year, I received a message on my LinkedIn. A professor of Constitutional Law at the University of New Mexico messaged me due to my experience with the United States Supreme Court, the legal drama with the federal indictment, trial, conviction, appeals, and finally the reversal of it all. He asked if I would be interested in sharing my real life and human experience of Bridgegate and I agreed." Kelly said. "I shared that with the students and a class that was supposed to be one hour became over two. It was spirited, the students asked some incredibly intuitive questions, and it was therapeutic. Thank you Professor Larry Jones and a very special thank you to your students."