OUR FACULTY

• Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty
• Visiting Faculty
• Special Faculty Appointments
• Pence Law Library Faculty
• Adjunct Faculty (Summer 2013)
• Adjunct Faculty (Spring 2013)
• Adjunct Faculty (Fall 2012)
• Emeritus Law Faculty

FACULTY SCHOLARSHIP

Angela J. Davis, professor of law at AU's Washington College of Law, is an expert in criminal law and procedure with a specific focus on prosecutorial power and racism in the criminal justice system. Davis previously served as director of the D.C. Public Defender Service, where she began as a staff attorney representing indigent juveniles and adults. She also served as executive director of the National Rainbow Coalition and is a former law clerk of the Honorable Theodore R. Newman, the former Chief Judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals. Davis is the author of Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (Oxford University Press 2007). She is also the co-editor (with Professor Michael E. Tigar) of Trial Stories (Foundation Press 2007) and the 5th edition of Basic Criminal Procedure (Thomson West 2009) (with Professors Stephen Saltzburg and Daniel Capra). Davis' other scholarly publications include articles in the Michigan, Iowa, Fordham, and Hofstra Law Reviews. Davis won the Pauline Ruyle Moore award for Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor in 2009 and for her Fordham Law Review article, "Prosecution and Race: The Power and Privilege of Discretion” in 2000. Davis was awarded a Soros Senior Justice Fellowship in 2003. Davis won the American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research, Creative Activity, and Other Professional Contributions in 2009 and the American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in a Full-Time Appointment in 2002.

Davis is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peter M. Cicchino Social Justice Foundation, the Frederick Douglas Jordan Scholarship Board, the Southern Center for Human Rights, and the Sentencing Project. She was a reporter for the ABA Justice Kennedy Commission and is a member of the ABA Commission for Effective Criminal Sanctions. Davis also serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Vera Institute of Justice Prosecution and Racial Justice Project. She teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, and Criminal Defense: Theory and Practice.

• Selected Publications

  • Angela J. Davis, Stephen Saltzburg & Daniel Capra, Basic Criminal Procedure (5th ed., Thomson West 2009).
  • Angela J. Davis, Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (Oxford U. Press 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis & Michael E. Tigar, Trial Stories (Foundation Press 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Incarceration and the Imbalance of Power, in Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment (Marc Mauer & Meda Chesney-Lind, eds., New Press 2002).

• • More Publications...

• • Angela J. Davis, The People v. Orenthal James Simpson: Race and Trial Advocacy, in Trial Stories, 283-352 (Michael E. Tigar & Angela J. Davis, Foundation Press 2008).
  • Angela J. Davis, The Legal Profession's Failure to Discipline Unethical Prosecutors, 36 Hostra L. Rev. 275 (2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, They Must Answer For What They've Done, Leg. Times (Aug. 6, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Racial Fairness in the Criminal Justice System: The Role of the Prosecutor, 39 Colum. Hum. Rights L. Rev. 202 (2007).
  • Angela J. Davis & Marc Mauer, Others Aren't So Lucky as Lindh, Wash. Post (July 20, 2002).
  • Angela J. Davis, In Defense of Judges, Leg. Times (Mar. 18, 2002).
  • Angela J. Davis, The American Prosecutor: Independence, Power, and the Threat of Tyranny, 86 Iowa L. Rev. 393 (2001).
  • Angela J. Davis, Prosecution and Race: The Power and Privilege of Discretion, 67 Fordham L. Rev. 13 (1998) (reprinted in The International Library of Essays, Prosecutors and Prosecution (2007); Susan A. Carle, Lawyers’ Ethics and the Pursuit of Social Justice: A Critical Reader (2005); Dorothy A. Brown, Critical Race Theory: Cases, Materials and Problems (2003); & Carol L. Fine, Journals of Justice: Profound Concepts and Compelling Realities (1999)).
  • Angela J. Davis, Race, Cops, and Traffic Stops, 51 U. Miami L. Rev. 425 (1997).
  • Angela J. Davis, Benign Neglect of Racism in the Criminal Justice System (book review of "Malign Neglect" by Professor Michael Tonry), 94 Mich. L. Rev. 1600 (1996).

• Selected Presentations

  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, The Phases and Faces of the Duke LaCrosse Controversy (Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, July 30, 2008).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Concealment of Exculpatory Evidence by Prosecutors: A Conversation about the Nifong Case (Plenary Session at the ABA Ethics Conference, Boston, Mass., May 29, 2008).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Prosecutorial Power (Charlotte E. Ray Inn of Court, Wash., D.C., Jan., 31, 2008).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Race and the Criminal Justice System (Georgetown Day School Martin Luther King Celebration, Wash., D.C., Jan. 29, 2008).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, 21st Century Challenges to Minority Representation (Mid-Atlantic People of Color Conference, Balt, Md., Jan. 25, 2008).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (Inaugural Meeting of Washington Bar Association Book Club, Wash., D.C., Jan. 2008).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Prosecutorial Misconduct (Criminal Practice Institute Held at the Washington Hilton, Wash., D.C., Nov. 17, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Keynote Address (Reception for the Abramson Foundation Law Fellows at Busboys and Poets Bookstore, Wash., D.C., Nov. 15, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Lecture, Annual Emeritii Luncheon (American University, Wash., D.C., Nov. 12, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panel Moderator, Plea Bargaining (The American Bar Association Criminal Justice Fall Meeting at George Washington University, Wash., D.C., Nov. 2, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Book Signing, Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (Congressional Black Caucus Authors Pavilion Book Signing, Wash, D.C., Sept. 29, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Lecture & Book Signing, Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (Harvard Law School Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 19, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Guest Lecturer, Served on Faculty at Harvard Law School Trial Advocacy Workshop (Cambridge, Mass., Sept 17 - 21, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Law Enforcement and the Dangers of Discretion (Northeastern People of Color Conference at Southern New England School of Law, Dartmouth, Mass., Sept. 14, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Lecture & Book Signing, Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (The Brennan Center for Justice, New York University Law School, N.Y.C., N.Y., Sept. 12, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Reforming the Juvenile Justice System (National Bar Association Annual Conference, Atlanta, Ga., Aug. 2, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Beyond Profiling (American Constitution Society Conference, Wash., D.C., July 28, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Presentation, Arbitrary Justice (Lecture at Open Society Institute, Wash., D.C., June 14, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Presentation, Arbitrary Justice (Lecture at Politics and Prose Bookstore, Wash., D.C., July, 7 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Keynote Speaker, Arbitrary Justice (Charles Hamilton Houston Law Institute at Georgetown Law Center, Wash., D.C., July 6, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Panel On Scholarship (AALS New Law Teachers Conference, Wash., D.C., June 28 - July 1, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Debate, Debate with Former U.S. Attorney Roscoe Howard (Washington, D.C. Superior Court, Wash., D.C., June 21, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Prosecution and Race (Panel on Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice, Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, Jan. 7, 2006).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panel Chair, Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice: Prosecutorial, Judicial and Defense Perspectives (American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Fall Meeting, Nov. 4, 2005).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Recognizing and Overcoming Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System (State Bar of California 78th Annual Meeting, Sept. 8, 2005).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, The ABA Justice Kennedy Commission (American Bar Association Annual Meeting, Aug. 7, 2004).
  • Angela J. Davis, Presented paper, Prosecutorial Discretion in the United States (L'egalite devant la justice, University of Paris X-Nanterre, Paris, Fr., Apr. 3, 2004).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, The 40th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright (39th Annual Deborah T. Creek Criminal Practice Institute, Nov. 21, 2003).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Death Penalty (American Constitution Society Annual Meeting, Aug. 2, 2003).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Juveniles Charged as Adults (NAACP 19th Annual Continuing Legal Education Seminar, July 14, 2003).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panelist, Racial Profiling after September 11th (Northeast People of Color Annual Conference at the University of the West Indies, Barbados, June 15, 2002).
  • Angela J. Davis, Panel, Race and Criminal Justice (Yale Law School, Conference on Race, Values and the American Legal Process Honoring Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, New Haven, Conn., Feb. 22, 2002).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Indigent Defense Systems in the United State (Ritsumeikan University Conference on Crime and Criminal Justice in a Borderless Era, Kyoto, Japan, 1999) (15 Ritsumeikan L. Rev. 33 (1999)).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Keynote Address (Conference on The Rehnquist Court and the American Dilemma, American University, Washington College of Law, Wash., D.C., Feb. 1996) (45 Am.U. L. Rev. 567 (Feb.1996)).
  • Angela J. Davis, Speech, Conference on the 30th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, (American University, Washington College of Law, Wash., D.C., Fall 1993) (43 Am. U. L. Rev. 1 (Fall 1993)).

• Selected Honors & Awards

  • Angela J. Davis, Pauline Ruyle Moore Scholar, Washington College of Law, Awarded for scholarly contribution in the area of public law (2000, 2009).
  • Angela J. Davis, American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Research, Creative Activity, and Other Professional Contributions, (2009).
  • Angela J. Davis, Black Leadership Forum’s Lamplighter Award in the area of Scholarship ( Nov. 3, 2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor, Association of American Publishers 2007 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award for Excellence in the "Law and Legal Studies" category (2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, New American Community Award, National Council on Crime and Delinquency (2007).
  • Angela J. Davis, Soros Senior Justice Fellow, Awarded by the Soros Foundation to write a book on prosecutorial discretion and power (2003 - 2004).
  • Angela J. Davis, American University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in a Full-Time Appointment, (2002).
  • Angela J. Davis, Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Fellow, Harvard Law School (1993 - 1994).

• Selected Media Appearances

  • We The People Stories, "The Story Behind Florence v. Burlington" (National Constitution Center Oct. 2011) (Webcast).
  • The CoffeeHouse, "Courting Justice" (CoffeeHouse TV July 7, 2008) (Television Host).
  • The CoffeeHouse, "Courting Justice" (CoffeeHouse TV May 2008) (Television Host).
  • The Al Sharpton Show, "Prosecutorial Power" (Syndication One Nov. 28, 2007) (Radio Interview).
  • The Tom Joyner Morning Show, "Prosecutorial Power and Abuse" (REACH Media Nov. 16, 2007) (Radio Interview).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Nov. 10, 2007) (Part 3).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Nov. 10, 2007) (Part 1).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Nov. 10, 2007) (Part 2).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Oct. 27, 2007) (Part 1).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Oct. 27, 2007) (Part 2).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Oct. 27, 2007) (Part 3).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Oct. 27, 2007) (Part 4).
  • The American Prosecutor - Power, Discretion and Accountability (C-SPAN Oct. 27, 2007) (Part 5).
  • Update Show, "'Arbitrary Justice,' Law and Justice Segment" (WLKF, Lakeland, Fla. Sept. 23, 2007) (Radio Interview).
  • Time Magazine, "Power Outage" (Time Magazine July 26, 2007) (Magazine Profile).
  • A Public Affair, "Abritrary Justice (Discussion of Professor Davis' New Book)" (WORT 88.9 FM July 11, 2007) (Radio Interview).
  • 9 News Now, "Prosecutorial Misconduct" (WUSA June 22, 2007) (Television Interview).
  • The Kojo Nnamdi Show, "Prosecutorial Discretion" (WAMU FM 88.5 June 19, 2007) (Radio Program).
  • We Ourselves With Ambrose I. Lane, Sr., "Arbitrary Justice" (XM 169 - The Power June 7, 2007) (Radio Interview).
  • Writers Bloc, "Arbitrary Justice" (Coffee House TV May 7, 2007) (Television Interview).
  • Race and the Criminal Justice System (Canada TV September 2004) (Television).
  • Angela J. Davis The Kojo Nambdi Show, "Race and the Criminal Justice System" (WAMU Radio Aug. 2004) (Radio).
  • Will September 11th Change the U.S. Constitution? onel at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting (C-Span Aug. 10, 2002) (Television).
  • The Death Penalty, "Evening Exchange" (WHUT Jan. 2002) (Television).