John R. Neal: An Extraordinary Law Professor

During its century-long existence, the UT College of Law has had many colorful and controversial faculty members, but surely one of the most fascinating was John R. Neal.

When he joined the faculty in 1917, he had already attained substantial political recognition and a considerable degree of scholarly eminence. He had earned an undergraduate degree from UT, an M.A. and a law degree from Vanderbilt University, and a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University. Immediately upon receipt of his doctorate in 1899, he taught law at the University of Denver, leaving in 1907 to return to Tennessee to campaign successfully for a seat in the state's General Assembly. Two years later, he won election to the Tennessee Senate.

In the legislature, Neal supported the efforts of Philander P. Claxton, then head of the University's Department of Education, to secure a general appropriation for the University. Up to this time, the University's support had come largely from tuition and fees, federal appropriations, and the income from land grant funds. Neal helped to secure passage of the General Education Bill of 1909, which increased appropriations throughout the state and established the precedent of regular allocations of funds for the University of Tennessee.

These traditional accomplishments, however, concealed a rather unconventional personality. While Neal proved popular with many of his law students, his inattention to the University's administrative requirements provoked his superiors. He did not turn in grades promptly; he failed even to grade his examinations. He announced to one class that he would give them all 90s as grades in lieu of an examination. Objectors could elect to take an exam! He often failed to meet his classes, and when he did, the prescribed lesson was discarded in favor of a discussion of current events.

His carelessness with dress deteriorated, in time, to positive slovenliness. He wore the same shirt for days without washing until it wore out; he would then put a new shirt over it. His hair was rarely combed, and he bathed only infrequently. This unorthodox behavior exacerbated bad feelings between Neal and the law school dean, Malcolm McDermott.

In 1923, six members of the faculty were dismissed upon the recommendation of James Hoskins, dean of Liberal Arts and dean of the University. The issues were varied but included charges that some of those released were too liberal in their views on evolution. When the law school dean heard of the impending action, he recommended that Neal's name be added to the list, and in July 1923, the dismissals were formally announced. This "Slaughter of the Ph.D.s," as critics called it, provoked a public outcry and produced an investigation by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP).

Neal denounced the charges against him--of missing classes, failing to give exams, refusing to grade exams, and neglecting the subject of his lectures--and received some AAUP support in his stand, but it was not enough to change the Trustees decision.

Embittered, Neal embarked on a variety of other enterprises. The most spectacular was the establishment of a private law school in Knoxville for part-time students. It lasted for twenty years and enrolled more than seventy students during its peak period, 1940-1941, but it never attained much stature as an institution of legal education.

Neal ran for several public offices in Tennessee but failed in each effort. In 1925, he undertook the defense of John Scopes in the famous Dayton "Monkey Trial," enlisting Clarence Darrow as his co-counsel. Neal achieved some notoriety in this case but failed to prevent Scopes's conviction.

In other "liberal" causes, Neal wrote the charter for the Highlander Folk School, supported the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and represented North Carolina mill workers in suits arising from a strike.

In his last years, Neal, a bachelor, became even more derelict in dress and appearance and equally eccentric in his behavior. On one occasion, at a dinner, he placed his salad in his coat pocket. On another, he commented on the beautiful treed scenery in fields where there were none. In 1959, just shortly before his death, and years after his law school had closed, he announced to some old friends its opening! Friends, however, preferred to remember him as a champion of lost causes, a defender of labor unions, an advocate of civil liberties, and a supporter of the University of Tennessee.

Perhaps his most appropriate epitaph came from the pen of T.H. Alexander, a Nashville newspaperman:

"The very thing I like about Dr. John Neal is what some of his fellow countrymen object to, that is his absolute willingness upon any and all occasions to fly to the defense of any creature who is within the toils of the law....What a man, what a man."