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Judith Ritter
Distinguished Professor of Law
B.A., State University of New York at Buffalo
J.D., Georgetown University School of Law
Office Number 303
About
Judith L. Ritter is Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic at Widener's Delaware campus. Professor Ritter received a B.A. summa cum laude from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1976, and a J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1979, where she was a member of the Law and Policy in International Business Law Review.
Following graduation from law school, Professor Ritter served as a Staff Attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, Mineola, New York from 1979-86; Clinical Staff Attorney, Rutgers Law School, Newark, New Jersey, from 1986-90; Associate Counsel, Community Service Society of New York, New York, New York, from 1990-93; and Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Hofstra University from 1993-1994.
Professor Ritter joined the faculty at Widener as Associate Professor of Law in 1994 and has served as Professor of Law since 2004. She founded and directs the Law School’s Criminal Defense Clinic which has been providing representation to indigent defendants since 1995. Professor Ritter is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and she teaches and writes in the areas of Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Post-Conviction Remedies.
What inspires me to teach?
Excellence in lawyering requires diligence, tenacity and devotion. In my field, criminal law, too many accused persons have ineffective legal representation, often bringing tragic results. One of the reasons I teach is to inspire excellence in future lawyers. I encourage and assist students in forming a model for quality lawyering that will frame their careers.
Why do lawyers matter?
Lawyers have the privilege and obligation to contribute toward pushing the law and legal system to promote justice and equal rights. This aspect of one’s professional identity should begin to develop in law school. I encourage students to not only learn the law but to think critically about what they learn. Lawyers have a role in molding the law in ways that improve people’s lives.
Publications
Articles
Making a Case for No Case: Judicial Oversight of Prosecutorial Choices--From In re Michael Flynn to Progressive Prosecutors, 26 Berkeley J. Crim. L. 31 (2021).
After the Hurricane: The Legacy of the Rubin Carter Case, 12 Hastings Race & Poverty L.J. 1 (2015).
The Voice of Reason—Why Recent Judicial Interpretations of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act’s Restrictions on Habeas Corpus Are Wrong, 37 Seatlle U. L. Rev. 55 (2013).
Growin’ Up: An Assessment of Adult Self-Image in Clinical Law Students, 44 Akron L. Rev. 137 (2011).
Your Lips Are Moving…But the Words Aren’t Clear: Dissecting the Presumption That Jurors Understand Instructions, 69 Missouri L. Rev. 163 (2004).
The X Files: Joint Trials, Redacted Confessions and Thirty Years of Sidestepping Bruton, 42 Vill. L. Rev. 855 (1997).
Other
Dale, Michael J. & Lott, Rhani, A Guide to Transitioning from Law Student to Lawyer. National Institute of Trial Lawyers. (2019)
Take Our Quiz About Constitutional Law, THE News Journal (Wilmington DE), September 15, 2016, at A7.
Time to Rethink Delaware’s Death Penalty? 34 Delaware Lawyer 14 (2016).
& Ross Kleinstuber, Opinion, Death Penalty Cases Impose Singular Burden, The News J. (Wilmington, DE), Sept. 14, 2010, at A9.
Widener Law Criminal Defense Clinic: Twelve Years of Making a Difference, 14 Widener Sch. L. Mag., Spring 2007, at 6.
Criminal Trials of Co-Defendants: The United States Supreme Court Clarifies the Rules, 20 PA. B. Ass’n Q. 25 (1999).
Recent Decision, Prejudgment Attachment as a Means of Reaching Foreign Securities: InterRegional Financial Group, Inc. v. Hashemi, 10 Law & Pol'y Int'l Bus. 1017 (1978).