George Thomas, One of the Nation’s Foremost Criminal Justice Scholars, Named Rutgers University Board of Governors Professor

Criminal law and procedure is one of the broadest fields in legal education and those teaching and writing in the area generate a substantial number of books and articles each year. George C. Thomas III, Professor of Law and Judge Alexander P. Waugh, Sr. Distinguished Scholar at Rutgers School of Law–Newark, is acknowledged by internationally distinguished experts as one of the very top scholars in his field, a prolific writer of unassailable quality and irrefutable influence. Today Rutgers University recognized the excellence and significance of his contributions to the many areas of criminal procedure by naming Thomas a Board of Governors Professor, one of the university’s highest honors. 

“In his scholarship, George Thomas demonstrates an expansive curiosity about criminal law and criminal procedure,” said Dean Stuart L. Deutsch, “effectively and engagingly exploring some of the most challenging issues in the criminal justice field.” The resolution naming Thomas Board of Governors Professor of Law notes that he has written the definitive work on Miranda and confessions and that his insightful analysis of the concept of double jeopardy has shaped the debate on the issue since the early 1990s. The resolution also cites his exceptionally far-reaching impact on rising generations of legal scholars through his widely-used criminal procedures textbook.

Professor Thomas is the author of the books The Supreme Court on Trial: How the American Justice System Sacrifices Innocent Defendants and Double Jeopardy: The History, the Law and the co-author of The Miranda Debate (with Richard Leo) and Criminal Procedure: Principles, Policies and Perspectives (with Joshua Dressler). His next book, The History and Future of Confessions (with Richard Leo), will be published in 2010 by Oxford University Press. Thomas has also published more than 60 articles, 10 in the last three years alone. Some placements include the law reviews of Michigan, Virginia, Texas, UCLA, NYU, California, and Northwestern.   

Professor Thomas has a B.S. from the University of Tennessee, an M.F.A. (creative writing) and J.D. from the University of Iowa, and an LL.M. and J.S.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining the Rutgers faculty in 1986, he practiced law in Tennessee and was a member of the University of Tennessee faculty.

Media Contact: Janet Donohue
973-353-5553
E-mail: jdonohue@andromeda.rutgers.edu