David N. Dorfman, Assistant Professor at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, David N. Dorfman

David N. Dorfman

Assistant Professor of Law
Supervisor, Barbara C. Salkin Criminal Justice Clinic
Elisabeth Haub School of Law
Criminal Justice
Legal Theory
(914) 422-4259
ddorfman@law.pace.edu
White Plains
Preston Hall, 313 |
Contact Professor Directly to Schedule an Appointment
Administrative Assistant
Susie Della Ruffa
sdellaruff@law.pace.edu
(914) 422-4259

Biography

Professor David Dorfman teaches and supervises the Barbara C. Salken Criminal Justice Clinic, which represents indigent defendants charged with misdemeanor crimes in the County of the Bronx. He also teaches doctrinal courses, specializing in Criminal Law and Procedure.

Before joining the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University (then called “Pace Law School”) in 1995, Professor Dorfman taught Lawyering skills and techniques at New York University School of Law. From 1987-1993, he was a criminal defense trial attorney at the Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Division in Brooklyn, NY. Professor Dorfman brought many cases to jury and bench verdict, while defending many other criminal clients through pre-trial hearings and final dispositions. He wrote numerous motions, briefs and memoranda of law.

Prior to law school, he received an Art Critics Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. As a freelance writer, he wrote both for publication and for grants, specifically on art criticism and aesthetic theory topics.

Education

  • IBA, City University of New York-Queens College
  • MA, University of Chicago
  • JD, Chicago-Kent College of Law

Courses Taught

Publications

View all of Professor Dorfman’s publications on SSRN, Digital Commons or download his CV (PDF).

  • New York Criminal Procedure: Cases and Materials (unpublished manuscript, used for teaching course in New York Criminal Procedure)
  • Tribute to Al Bronstein, 27 Correctional Law Reporter 69 (2016) (with Michael Mushlin)
  • “Federal Sentencing from Booker to Gall/Kimbrough: is the Sixth Amendment a ‘Head Fake’?” (in progress)
  • “Loss of the Ritual: the Secularization of Criminal Sentencing” (in progress)
  • Proving the Lie: Litigating Police Credibility, 25 Am. J. of Crim. Law 455 (1999)
  • Fictions, Fault And Forgiveness: Jury Nullification in a New Context, 28 U. Mich. J. of Law Reform 861 (1995)
  • Out of the Picture: A Biography of Milton Resnick (unpublished co-authored book with Geoffrey Dorfman written for NEA in 1981)
  • Milton Resnick and the Search for the Whole, ArtForum Magazine XVI (April 1978) pp. 42-45
  • Re-Affirming Painting: A Critique of Structuralist Criticism, ArtForum Magazine XVI/2 (October 1977) pp. 59-65

Honors & Awards

  • National Endowment for the Arts – Washington D.C., received art critics grant, 1978

Areas of Interest

Criminal Defense Clinic, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure/Investigation, Topics in Legal Theory, Legal Aid

Related News and Stories

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Professor David Dorfman
Faculty and Staff

Faculty Focus: Professor David Dorfman

Whether you walk into Professor Dorfman’s office or classroom, you will leave having learned more about the world and society then you even knew was possible. Professor David Dorfman has been a faculty member at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University for 28 years. When Professor Dorfman first started teaching at what was then known as Pace Law in 1995, he was teaching Criminal Law Research and Writing. Today, Professor Dorfman teaches Criminal Procedure and Investigation, First Year Criminal Law, and New York Criminal Procedure - a course he designed himself. In the past he has also taught Lawyering and Professional Responsibility. In addition to his doctrinal teaching, Professor Dorfman has been running the Law School’s Criminal Defense Clinic since 2010.