Brandon L. Garrett
L. Neil Williams, Jr. Professor of Law
Brandon L. Garrett is one of the nation's most influential criminal justice scholars, having authored six books and numerous articles that have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and courts worldwide. He directs the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law. Before joining Duke in 2018, he taught at the University of Virginia. He graduated from Columbia Law School, where he was an articles editor of the Columbia Law Review and a James Kent Scholar. His work on wrongful convictions and forensic science has driven real-world reform.
Teaching Style
Professor Garrett is a data-driven scholar who brings empirical evidence into the classroom to challenge assumptions about how the criminal justice system operates. He uses the Socratic method with a focus on helping students understand the gap between constitutional rights in theory and their enforcement in practice. He draws on his extensive research on wrongful convictions and forensic science to make criminal procedure vivid and urgent.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Be prepared to discuss empirical findings about criminal justice outcomes, not just doctrinal rules
- 2Know the procedural safeguards in criminal cases and be ready to evaluate their effectiveness
- 3Understand the basics of forensic science reliability issues that he frequently raises in class
- 4Be ready to analyze how corporate criminal liability differs from individual criminal prosecution
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Columbia Law School
- B.A., Yale University
Notable Publications
- Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong
- Too Big to Jail: How Prosecutors Compromise with Corporations
- Autopsy of a Crime Lab: Exposing the Flaws in Forensics
Research Interests
More Professors at Duke University School of Law
Constitutional Law, Second Amendment, First Amendment, Property
Civil Procedure, Federal Courts, Remedies
International Trade Law, International Law, Anti-Corruption Law
Immigration Law, Family Law, Citizenship, Constitutional Law
Constitutional Law, Constitutional History, First Amendment