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Teressa Ravenell

Professor of Law
Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development

Biography

Teressa Ravenell joined ÎÞÂëרÇø Law in 2006 and began serving as associate dean for faculty research and development in June of 2019. She teaches Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Civil Rights LitigationÌý²¹²Ô»å Police Conduct. Her scholarshipÌýfocuses on § 1983, the federal civil remedy for constitutional deprivations, andÌýexamines the points at which § 1983 jurisprudence converges with other areas of the law. She is an expert on qualified immunity, municipal liability and federal civil rights litigation against police officials. In 2020, she contributed to the American Constitution Society’sÌýWhat’s the Big Idea?Ìýproject, a collection of essays by leading scholars in the legal field recommending policy changes to incoming federal and state administrations. Her scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in Temple Law Review, North Carolina Review, Texas Law Review and other leading journals.ÌýÌý

Ravenell received her BA from the University of Virginia and her JD from Columbia University School of Law.Ìý While at Columbia, she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. Following law school, Ravenell was an associate with Wilmer, Cutler, & Pickering in Washington, DC and clerked for the Honorable Raymond A. Jackson of the United StatesÌýDistrict Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, before joining the College of William and Mary law faculty as a visiting assistant professor.

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Practice Experience

  • Judicial Clerk forÌýthe Honorable Raymond A. Jackson of the United Stated District Court for the Eastern District of VirginiaÌý
  • Wilmer, Cutler, & Pickering (Washington, DC)
  • Member of the Virginia Bar since 2002ÌýÌý

Recent Publications

  • The Elephant in the Dark Room: A Response to Fair Notice, the Rule of Law, and Reforming Qualified Immunity, Article, Florida Law Review Forum, January 2024

  • Disconnecting Rights from the § 1983 Remedy, Article, American Constitution Society, September 2022

  • Article, Texas Law Review, May 2022

  • Article, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 2022

  • Article, Loyola University of Chicago Law Journal, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 2022

Recent Presentations

  • 'Deconstructing Dobbs: Understanding the Scope and Implications', Deconstructing Dobbs: Understanding the Scope and Implications, Philadelphia Bar Association, Virtual. May 2024

  • 'Civil Rights Symposium 2023', Hot Topics in Civil Rights Before the Supreme Courts: A Year in Review, PBI, Philadelphia, PA. December 2023

  • 'Dreams and Nightmares: Representing Civil Rights Clients with Criminal Pasts and Presents', The Evolving Path through Heck, National Police Accountability Project, Philadelphia, PA. October 2023

  • 'Affirmative Action: What's Next', Affirmative Action: What's Next, AcceptU, Online. July 2023

  • 'Where do we Go From Here? A Discussion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decisions in the ‘Affirmative Action’ Cases.', Where do we Go From Here? A Discussion following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decisions in the ‘Affirmative Action’ Cases., NALP, online. July 2023

Office:ÌýRm 344, John F. Scarpa Hall
Phone:Ìý610-519-7078

Courses and Seminars

  • Civil Procedure
  • Civil Rights Litigation: Enforcing the Constitution
  • Criminal Procedure: Investigations
  • Police Conduct Seminar
  • Race and the Law

Education

  • Columbia University School of Law, JD
  • University of Virginia, BA