The rich intellectual environment at University of Wisconsin Law School is driven by a faculty of renowned legal scholars and innovative thinkers. They are the thought provokers. The idea generators. The pathbreakers who ask tough questions.
This stellar scholarly tradition makes UW Law the vibrant institution it is today.
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John Gross Named Faculty Speaker for UW Law Hooding Ceremony
John Gross was named faculty speaker for UW Law School’s 2026 Hooding Ceremony. He, along with student speakers, will join keynote speaker Michelle Behnke ’88 in addressing Law School graduates, family and friends at the event. Gross is a clinical associate professor and director of the Public Defender Project. Since arriving at UW Law in 2020, he has taught Introduction to Substantive Criminal Law, Defense Function, Ethical Issues in Criminal Defense and Trial Practice. Gross began his legal career in 1999 as a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society in New York City. After eight years as a public defender, he joined the faculty of Syracuse University College of Law as a practitioner in residence and became director of the Criminal Defense Clinic. In 2011, he took the role of Indigent Defense Counsel for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Three years later, he joined the faculty at University of Alabama School of Law, where he directed the criminal defense clinic for several years. Before joining UW Law, he worked briefly as the Defender Association of Philadelphia’s director of policy and practice.
Arti Walker-Peddakotla on 'Resisting Surveillance Procurement'
Arti Walker-Peddakotla recently published "Resisting Surveillance Procurement." The paper argues that modern policing relies on expansive, often opaque surveillance systems enabled through local government purchasing decisions. It introduces the concept of “acquiescence through obfuscation” to describe how key choices about adopting surveillance technologies are made behind the scenes, limiting public awareness and accountability. While existing scholarship tends to focus on regulating surveillance after deployment, this piece identifies municipal procurement itself as a critical — and overlooked — point of intervention. Drawing on interviews, municipal records, public meeting materials and company documents, the paper identifies four strategies used by private surveillance firms to increase the likelihood that their technologies are adopted. By exposing these mechanisms, the author shows how communities and local officials can disrupt or resist procurement efforts. Ultimately, the article reframes surveillance governance by emphasizing prevention rather than mitigation, arguing that blocking adoption can better protect vulnerable populations and preserve collective privacy. The paper is forthcoming in the 74.3 Buffalo Law Review.
Keith Findley Interviewed on Unshaken Truth Podcast
UW Law Professor Emeritus Keith Findley spoke extensively this year (Part 1 and Part 2) about the history around shaken baby syndrome with two exonerated men who launched the “Unshaken Truth” podcast. Josh Burns and Andrew Roark were both falsely accused of child abuse and freed in the same week of November 2024; since then, they have been advocating for others facing what they call a “flawed, non-scientific theory.” The goal of the podcast is to examine the intersections between the justice system and the medical community in determining innocence or guilt and speak with guests from many different backgrounds, including elected officials, subject matter experts, exonerees, attorneys and advocacy groups. Findley co-founded the Wisconsin Innocence Project in 1998 and served as co-director for many years. In 2018, he co-founded a nonprofit, the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences, dedicated to improving the reliability and safety of criminal prosecutions through strengthening forensic sciences.
UW Law Names Teachers of the Year for 2025 Instruction
Each spring, University of Wisconsin Law School celebrates excellence in teaching through its Teacher of the Year awards. “One of the distinct pleasures I have as dean is working with some great faculty and seeing the transformative effect they have on our students,” said Dean Dan Tokaji during an awards ceremony in April. The honorees for outstanding classroom, clinical and adjunct instruction in 2025 include: Emily Cauble, Classroom Teacher of the Year: Emily Cauble is associate dean for Academic Affairs and Thomas G. Ragatz Professorship in Tax Law. Her research focuses on business taxation, tax administration and other aspects of tax policy. Ryan Poe-Gavlinski, Clinical Teacher of the Year: Ryan Poe-Gavlinski is director of the Economic Justice Institute, clinical associate professor, director of the Restraining Order and Survivor Advocacy Clinic and director of the Lawyering Skills Course at UW Law School. Nicholas J. McNamara, Adjunct Teacher of the Year: Judge Nicholas J. McNamara rejoined the UW Law adjunct faculty in 2020 to teach Evidence and present lectures in criminal procedure, advanced criminal practice seminars and clinical internship programs.
