Kit Kinports Explained

Kit Kinports
Known For:Expert on feminism and criminal law
Birth Name:Mary Kathleen Kinports
Occupation:Law professor
Education:Brown University (BA)
University of Pennsylvania (JD)
Nationality:American

Mary Kathleen "Kit" Kinports is an American legal scholar who is Professor of Law and the Polisher Family Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Pennsylvania State University. She has taught there since 2006 and specializes in feminism, criminal law and constitutional law. In 2024, Kinports announced her retirement from Penn State Law after nearly two decades of service.

Biography

Kinports studied at Brown University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in 1976. She attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, serving as editor-in-chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and graduating with a J.D. in 1980.[1] [2] After law school, she clerked for Judge Abner Mikva of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and then for Justice Harry Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court, from 1981 to 1982.[3] Following her clerkships, she practiced law in Washington, D.C. as an associate of Ennis, Friedman, Bersoff & Ewing.

In 2006, she joined the faculty of Penn State, having previously taught at the University of Illinois College of Law.[4] [5] In 2005, she explained the Battered Woman's defense in criminal law.[6] In 2010, she commented on the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.[7] In October 2018, she signed a letter opposing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.[8]

She is co-author of a popular case book, Criminal Law: Cases and Materials, now in its fourth edition. In early 2023, Kinports was invited to contribute as an author to the McCormick treatise on Evidence, hailed as a standard text among law students and scholars.[9]

Personal life

Kinports was previously married to an antitrust scholar and fellow law professor at Dickinson College of Law.[10]

See also

Select publications

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External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Class of 1976 . Brown University . May 2018. June 21, 2019.
  2. Alumni Recruiters Aid in Admissions Process . Law Alumni Journal, University of Pennsylvania Law School . Spring 1984 . XIX . 1 . 2 . June 21, 2019.
  3. News: Greenhouse . Linda . The Evolution of a Justice . June 21, 2019 . New York Times . April 10, 2005.
  4. Web site: Leiter . Brian . Kinports & Ross from Illinois to Penn State . Brian Leiter's Law School Reports . June 21, 2019 . February 14, 2006.
  5. Web site: Previous Recipients of Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction . Office of the Provost . University of Illinois . June 21, 2019.
  6. News: Reutter . Mark . Battered women who kill in non-beating situation have self-defense right . June 21, 2019 . University of Illinois News Bureau . August 15, 2005.
  7. Web site: Professor Kit Kinports Looks at Kagan Nomination . Penn State Live . June 21, 2019 . June 28, 2010.
  8. News: Opinion: The Senate Should Not Confirm Kavanaugh . June 21, 2019 . New York Times . October 3, 2018.
  9. Web site: Faculty Spotlight . . 6 January 2023 . 11 November 2023.
  10. Web site: Bio of Stephen F. Ross . 8 April 2010 . Penn State Law Review . June 21, 2019.