Photograph of Professor Song Richardson

Song Richardson

Associate Professor of Law

Office: Room 342
 Phone: 202-274-4325
E-mail: vCard


L. Song Richardson is an Associate Professor of Law. Professor Richardson received her BA from Harvard College where she majored in psychology and graduated with honors.

Professor Richardson is an expert on criminal law and procedure. Her current research utilizes the science of implicit social cognition to study criminal procedure and policing. Currently, she is working on a book that examines the legal and moral implications of mind sciences research on policing and criminal procedure. She is also co-editing a book titled The Future of Criminal Justice in America that will be published by Cambridge University Press. Professor Richardson’s scholarship has been published by law journals at Cornell University, the University of California, Duke Law School, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota, and Indiana (Bloomington).

Her legal career has included partnership at an elite boutique criminal law firm. In that capacity, she was involved in high-profile criminal cases. Prior to that, she earned distinction as a state and federal public defender. Professor Richardson’s legal career has also included serving as a Skadden Arps Public Interest Fellow with the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles, and later as Assistant Counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Professor Richardson has been featured in numerous news programs (local and national), including 48 Hours. She teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Comparative Criminal Procedure, and Prosecutorial Ethics.





Degrees & Universities

  • J.D., Yale Law School 1993
  • B.A., Harvard University 1990 (cum laude)