Alan C. Michaels, A.B., J.D.

• AB, Harvard College, Social Studies, 1983 (magna cum laude)
• JD, Columbia University School of Law, 1986

Alan C. Michaels concluded his term in July 2019 after 11 years of service as dean of the Michael E. Moritz College of Law. Professor Michaels graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude in 1983 and from Columbia University School of Law in 1986. Following graduation from law school, Professor Michaels clerked for Chief Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then Associate Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Professor Michaels spent three years in private practice representing the Major League Baseball Players Association and then served for four years as a prosecutor in New York County before joining Ohio State in 1995. From 2001 to 2003, he served Moritz as associate dean for faculty and also has been a visiting professor at the University of Michigan.

Professor Michaels’ research, primarily in the area of the mens rea of crimes and in the adjudicatory portion of criminal procedure, has been published in a variety of leading journals, including the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, and the Southern California Law Review.

He is coauthor with Professor Joshua Dressler of Understanding Criminal Procedure (4th edition) and serves as co-managing editor of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. Dean Michaels was the recipient of the 1998-99 Outstanding Scholarly Paper Award from the Association of American Law Schools. He was chosen as the Outstanding Professor by the graduating classes of 1999 and 2000. Professor Michaels has taught Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure: Adjudication, White Collar Crime, and Sports Law.