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Raff Donelson

Associate Professor of Law

Chicago-Kent College of Law


Professor Donelson is an interdisciplinary scholar, whose research grapples with questions in law, in philosophy, and at the intersection of these two fields. In philosophy, his research focuses on the foundations of ethics and on questions about the nature of law. His legal doctrinal work centers on constitutional protections for incarcerated persons and the accused. He teaches courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, constitutional law, and legal theory. Professor Donelson was recently appointed as an editor at the Journal of Legal Philosophy.

Before joining Chicago-Kent, Donelson held an appointment at Penn State Dickinson Law and prior to that, he held a joint-appointment with the Paul M. Hebert Law Center and the Department of Philosophy at Louisiana State University. Donelson earned a doctoral degree in philosophy as well as a juris doctor from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in humanities from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from Williams College.