Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

James D. & Pamela J. Penny Research Professor and Hugh & Nolie Haynes Professor of Law
Degrees: J.D., University of Virginia School of Law; B.A., University of Delaware
Email: [[amgershowitz]]
Office phone: (757) 221-7363
Office location: Room 259
Full resume: here (.pdf in new window)
Areas of Specialization

Criminal Law; Criminal Law--White Collar Crime; Criminal Procedure Law

Representative Professional Activities and Achievements

Adam Gershowitz received his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Delaware. He then earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif, won the Roger and Madeleine Traynor Prize for best paper by a graduating student, and served as the Articles Development Editor of the Virginia Law Review. After law school, Professor Gershowitz served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert B. King of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and worked as a litigation associate at Covington & Burling. Prior to joining William & Mary, Professor Gershowitz taught at the University of Houston Law Center and South Texas College of Law.

Professor Gershowitz has won ten teaching awards, including the Professor of the Year prize at three different law schools. At William & Mary, he has been honored with the McGlothlin Teaching Award, the Walter L. Williams, Jr. Memorial Teaching Award, and the 1L Professor of the Year. Previously, he was awarded the All University Teaching Award at the University of Houston. Outside of the classroom, Professor Gershowitz has been quoted in hundreds of media stories, including in N.Y. Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, L.A Times, and NPR.

Professor Gershowitz is the author of more than three dozen scholarly articles. The College of William & Mary recognized Professor Gershowitz's research with a Plumeri Award for Faculty Excellence in 2015. The Supreme Court cited his amicus brief in its ruling in Riley v. California, which forbid warrantless cell phone searches.

Professor Gershowitz served as the Vice Dean and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2021 to 2023 and as the Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development from 2015 to 2019.


Scholarly Publications
Books
  • Criminal Law: Cases and Comments (Foundation Press 11th ed. 2022; 10th ed. 2017; 9th ed. 2013) (with Ashdown, Bacigal & Finegan).
  • Crim Pro 360: The Investigation Process (Carolina Academic Press 2021).
  • Criminal Procedure: Constitutional Limits on Policing (2023) (with Jeffrey Bellin). Online.
  • Criminal Procedure: The Adjudication Process (2020) (with Jeffrey Bellin). Online.
  • The Wire: Crime, Law, and Policy (Carolina Academic Press 2013).
Articles and Book Chapters
  • Accidental Brady Violations, 12 Tex. A&M L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2024). SSRN.
  • The Brady Database, 114 J. Crim. L. & Criminology ___ (forthcoming 2024) (with Brandon L. Garrett & Jennifer Teitcher).
  • The Prosecutor Vacancy, 50 BYU L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2024).
  • Mercy for the Masses: A Default Rule of Automatically Triggered Commutations, 103 Tex. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2024) (symposium).
  • The Tesla Meets the Fourth Amendment, 48 BYU L. Rev. 1135 (2023). SSRN.
  • Laundering Police Lies, 2023 Wis. L. Rev. 1187 (2023) (with Caroline Lewis).
  • The Myth of the All-Powerful Federal Prosecutor at Sentencing, 95 St. John's L. Rev. 581 (2022).
  • Old Age as the Hidden Sentencing Factor, 29 Elder L.J. 249 (2021).
  • The Race to the Top to Reduce Prosecutorial Misconduct, 89 Fordham L. Rev. 1179 (2021) (symposium). SSRN.
  • The Opioid Doctors: Is Losing Your License a Sufficient Penalty for Dealing Drugs?, 72 Hastings L.J. 871 (2021). SSRN.
  • Punishing Pill Mill Doctors: Inconsistent Sentences in the Opioid Epidemic, 54 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1053 (2020). SSRN.
  • Criminal-Justice Apps, 105 Va. L. Rev. Online 37 (2019). SSRN.
  • Justice on the Line: Prosecutorial Screening Before Arrest, 2019 U. Ill. L. Rev. 833 (2019). SSRN.
  • The Challenge of Convincing Ethical Prosecutors That Their Profession Has a Brady Problem, 15 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 307 (2019) (solicited). SSRN.
  • Prosecutorial Dismissals as Teachable Moments (and Databases) for the Police, 86 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1525 (2018) (symposium). SSRN.
  • The Post-Riley Search Warrant: Search & Seizure L. Rep., 69 Vand. L. Rev. 585 (2017). SSRN.
  • Consolidating Local Criminal Justice: Should Prosecutors Control the Jails?, 51 Wake Forest L. Rev. 677 (2016) (symposium). SSRN.
  • Post-Trial Pleas Bargaining in Capital Cases: Using Conditional Commutations to Remove Weak Cases from Death Row, 73 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1359 (2016) (symposium). SSRN.
  • Google Glass While Driving, 47 Ariz. St. L.J. 755 (2015). SSRN.
  • An NTSB for Capital Punishment, 47 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 151 (2014) (symposium). SSRN.
  • Rethinking the Timing of Capital Clemency, 113 Mich. L. Rev. 1 (2014). SSRN.
  • The Wire as a Gap-Filling Class on Criminal Law and Procedure, 64 J. Legal Educ. 117 (2014). SSRN.
  • Why Arizona v. Gant Is the Wrong Solution to the Warrantless Cell Phone Search Problem, 94 B.U. L. Rev. Annex 9 (2014) (solicited). SSRN.
  • Seizing a Cell Phone Incident to Arrest: Data Extraction Devices, Faraday Bags, or Aluminum Foil as a Solution to the Warrantless Cell Phone Search Problem, 22 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 601 (2013). SSRN.
  • Is Texas Tough on Crime But Soft on Criminal Procedure?, 49 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 31 (2012). SSRN.
  • Texting While Driving Meets the Fourth Amendment: Deterring Both Texting and Warrantless Cell Phone Searches, 54 Ariz. L. Rev. 577 (2012). SSRN.
  • 12 Unnecessary Men: The Case for Eliminating Jury Trials in Drunk Driving Cases, 2011 U. Ill. L. Rev. 961 (2011). SSRN.
  • Password Protected? Can a Password Save Your Cell Phone From a Search Incident to Arrest?, 96 Iowa L. Rev. 1125 (2011). SSRN.
  • The State (Never) Rests: How Excessive Prosecutor Caseloads Harm Criminal Defendants, 105 Nw. U. L. Rev. 261 (2011) (with Laura R. Killinger). SSRN.
  • Can Police Search Your Cell Phone, and Even Break Your Password, During an Arrest?, Champion, Nov. 2011, at 16.
  • Statewide Capital Punishment: The Case for Eliminating Counties' Role in the Death Penalty, 63 Vand. L. Rev. 307 (2010). SSRN.
  • Imputed Liability for Supervising Prosecutors: Applying the Military Doctrine of Command Responsibility To Reduce Prosecutorial Misconduct, 14 Berkeley J. Crim. L. 395 (2009) (with G. Corn). SSRN.
  • Prosecutorial Shaming: Naming Attorneys To Reduce Prosecutorial Misconduct, 42 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 1059 (2009). SSRN.
  • An Informational Approach to the Mass Imprisonment Problem, 40 Ariz. St. L.J. 47 (2008). SSRN.
  • Get in the Game or Get Out of the Way: Fixing the Politics of Death, 94 Va. L. Rev. In Brief 51 (2008).
  • The iPhone Meets the Fourth Amendment, 56 UCLA L. Rev. 27 (2008). SSRN.
  • Imposing a Cap on Capital Punishment: A Proposal for Minimizing the Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty, 72 Mo. L. Rev. 73 (2007). SSRN.
  • Pay Now, Execute Later: Why Counties Should Be Required to Post a Bond to Seek the Death Penalty, 41 U. Rich. L. Rev. 861 (2007). SSRN.
  • Raise the Proof: A Default Rule for Indigent Defense, 40 Conn. L. Rev. 85 (2007).
  • The Invisible Pillar of Gideon, 80 Ind. L.J. 571 (2005). SSRN.
  • The Diffusion of Responsibility in Capital Clemency, 17 J.L. Pol. 669 (2001). SSRN.
  • Note, The Supreme Court's Backwards Proportionality Jurisprudence: Comparing Judicial Review of Excessive Criminal Punishments and Excessive Punitive Damages Awards, 86 Va. L. Rev. 1249 (2000). SSRN.
  • Delaware's Capital Jury Selection: Inadequate Voir Dire and the Problem of Automatic Death-Penalty Jurors, 2 Del. L. Rev. 235 (1999).
Other
  • The One Trap Every Trump Prosecutor Needs to Avoid, Slate, Aug. 25, 2023 (with Jeffrey W. Bellin). Online.
  • Symposium on Riley v. California: Surprising Unanimity, Even More Surprising Clarity, SCOTUSblog, June 26, 2014. Online.
  • Can a Password Stop Police From Searching Your Cell Phone Incident to Arrest?, Search & Seizure L. Rep. 81 (2012).
  • Prosecutorial Misconduct and Supervisory Responsibility, Loy. J. Pub. Int. L. 331 (2012) (invited).
  • Judge's Ill-Timed Ruling Invites Irrationality in Public's Views About Capital Punishment, Hous. Chron. at B10, Mar. 21, 2010, at B10 (op-ed).
  • Searching Cell Phones Incident to Arrest: Can Courts and Legislatures Impose Limits on a Bright Line Rule?, Search & Seizure L. Rep. 9 (2009).
  • The Death Penalty for Child Rape: Why Texas May Help Louisiana, Jurist, May 2, 2007 (op-ed).
  • Supreme Court Nominees and the Fourth Circuit Curse, Findlaw, Mar. 26, 2003 (op-ed).

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