Jeffrey S. Gutman
Professor of Clinical Law; Director, Public Justice Advocacy Clinic
Contact:
Prior to coming to the law school in 1994, Professor Jeffrey S. Gutman served as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice (DOJ). His work at the DOJ principally involved representing the federal government in constitutional and administrative challenges to federal statutes and regulations in federal courts throughout the country.
Professor Gutman directs the Public Justice Advocacy Clinic and, for over twenty years, taught Civil Procedure. The Clinic has engaged in impact civil rights litigation, public benefits advocacy, representation of low wage workers in employment law matters and now represents individuals and non-profits in federal and local Freedom of Information Act litigation. He served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2000 to 2008.
Professor Gutman was the editor in chief of the Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys, served on the Board of Governors of the District of Columbia Bar and mediates civil cases in the DC Court of Appeals and the DC Superior Court Multi-Door Dispute Resolution program. After representing four men exonerated of crimes by DNA evidence who spent decades in jail on civil claims against the District of Columbia government, he turned his scholarship to the area of wrongful conviction compensation. Professor Gutman is a special contributor to the National Registry of Exonerations and serves on the Board of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.
"Compensating people who are wrongfully convicted is a hard sell in some states"
The Associated Press cited data from Jeffrey Gutman that 1,328 out of 1,739 people who have filed wrongful compensation claims under state laws since 1989 have received compensation.
"City Hall scrambling to cover Chicago police misconduct payouts"
The Chicago Sun-Times quoted Jeffrey Gutman on the $82 million set aside in 2025 for CPD to cover misconduct settlements and judgements.
"Hawaiʻi Passed A Law To Pay The Wrongfully Convicted. No One Has Been Paid"
Civil Beat quoted Jeffery Gutman on Hawai’i’s more stringent wrongful conviction laws than most other states.
BA, Stanford University; JD, Harvard University
