Daniel Scott Harawa

Daniel Scott Harawa’s research explores the ways in which doctrines, institutions, and practices within the criminal legal system undermine criminal defendants’ constitutional rights and perpetuate racial subordination. His work therefore contemplates ways to bolster existing law to better protect defendants’ constitutional guarantees and minimize the influence of race in the administration of justice. Professor Harawa is the director of the appellate clinic, which represents clients in civil rights and habeas cases before federal courts of appeals across the country. Professor Harawa also provides commentary on pressing criminal justice and civil rights issues, with his popular writings appearing in the Washington Post, Politico, Slate, The St. Louis American, and The Appeal.

Before coming to Wash U, Professor Harawa was a civil rights lawyer at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he litigated racial justice issues before the Supreme Court, federal appellate courts, and state supreme courts. He was also an appellate lawyer at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where he represented indigent clients charged with serious crimes before the D.C. Court of Appeals—the District’s highest court.

Professor Harawa received his B.A. from the University of Richmond and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable Roger L. Gregory on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and was a litigation associate at Covington & Burling LLP.