# Christopher M. Fairman > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Christopher_M._Fairman > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Christopher_M._Fairman.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_M._Fairman > Source revision: 1353875679 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American law professor Christopher M. Fairman Christopher M. Fairman Born (1960-07-26)July 26, 1960 Kansas, United States Died July 22, 2015(2015-07-22) (aged 54) United States Occupations Professor, Lawyer Known for Research on freedom of speech, censorship and word taboo Notable work Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties **Christopher M. Fairman** (July 26, 1960 – July 22, 2015) was a [professor](/source/Professor) of law at [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University) [Moritz College of Law](/source/Ohio_State_University_Moritz_College_of_Law) and Associate Dean for Faculty. He was also the C. William O'Neill Professor in Law and Judicial Administration. Fairman was born in [Kansas](/source/Kansas).[1] He was awarded the "Outstanding Professor Award 2003" by the Graduating Class of 2003.[2] Fairman's article "Fuck", published in 2007 by [Cardozo Law Review](/source/Benjamin_N._Cardozo_School_of_Law), examines the legal implications of the use of the word *[fuck](/source/Fuck)*. Fairman's article quickly became one of the most downloaded scholarly legal articles on the Internet, leading to some controversy in [Brian Leiter](/source/Brian_Leiter)'s list of "Most Downloaded Law Faculties, 2006" because Brian Leiter chose to omit Ohio State and [Emory University School of Law](/source/Emory_University_School_of_Law) (where Fairman was a visiting professor) from the list. Leiter argued that without Fairman's article, neither school would be close to the top 15.[3] In 2009 Fairman followed up this article with the book *[Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties](/source/Fuck%3A_Word_Taboo_and_Protecting_Our_First_Amendment_Liberties)*, published by [Sphinx](/source/Sourcebooks_(publisher)). Fairman's primary areas of focus were civil procedure and heightened pleading.[4] He died of cardiac arrest at the age of 54 on July 22, 2015.[1] At the time of his death, Fairman's 2007 *Cardozo Law Review* article, "Fuck" was still classed with the 20 top downloaded works on the Social Science Research Network.[1] ## Selected publications - "Heightened Pleading," 81 Tex. L. Rev. 551 (2002) - "Ethics and Collaborative Lawyering: Why Put Old Hats on New Heads?," 18 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 505 (2003) - "No McJustice for the Fat Kids," Legal Times, Feb. 17, 2003, at 42 - "The Myth of Notice Pleading," 45 Ariz. L. Rev. 987 (2003) - "An Invitation to the Rulemakers – Strike Rule 9(b)," 38 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 281 (2004) - "House Follies," Legal Times, June 13, 2005, at 76 - "A Proposed Model Rule for Collaborative Law," 21 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 73 (2005). - "Fuck," 28 Cardozo L. Rev. 1711 (2007). - "Why We Still Need a Model Rule for Collaborative Law: A Reply to Professor Lande," 22 Ohio St. J. on Disp. Resol. 707 (2007). - *[Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties](/source/Fuck%3A_Word_Taboo_and_Protecting_Our_First_Amendment_Liberties)*. [Sphinx Publishing](/source/Sourcebooks_(publisher)). 2009. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1572487116](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1572487116). [LCCN](/source/LCCN_(identifier)) [2009016762](https://lccn.loc.gov/2009016762). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [262433445](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/262433445).; [Kindle](/source/Amazon_Kindle) edition: [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1572487119](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1572487119) [ASIN](/source/Amazon_Standard_Identification_Number) [B00348UN8E](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00348UN8E) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-death_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-death_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-death_1-2) ["College Mourns Loss of Professor, Associate Dean Fairman"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150723044323/http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/college-mourns-loss-of-professor-associate-dean-fairman/). *Briefing Room*. The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. July 22, 2015. Archived from [the original](http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/briefing-room/faculty/college-mourns-loss-of-professor-associate-dean-fairman/) on July 23, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Christopher Fairman CV](http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty-old/cv/fairman_christopher.pdf). Accessed 2015-07-24. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Brian Leiter Most Downloaded Law Faculties, 2006](https://www.leiterrankings.com/faculty/2007faculty_downloads.shtml). Accessed 2015-07-24. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Christopher M. Fairman at Moritz College of Law](http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/professor/christopher-m-fairman/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140318094953/http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty/professor/christopher-m-fairman/) 2014-03-18 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine). Accessed 2015-07-24. Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF WorldCat National United States Belgium Other IdRef This biographical article about an American legal academic is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:US-legal-academic-bio-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3AUS-legal-academic-bio-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:US-legal-academic-bio-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Christopher M. Fairman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_M._Fairman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_M._Fairman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.