David A. Harris
Professor of Law
- daharris@pitt.edu
- (412) 648-9530
- LAW 511
David Harris studies, writes and teaches about police behavior and regulation, law enforcement, and national security issues and the law. Professor Harris is the leading national authority on racial profiling. His 2002 book, Profiles in Injustice: Why Racial Profiling Cannot Work, and his scholarly articles in the field of traffic stops of minority motorists and stops and frisks, influenced the national debate on profiling and related topics. His work led to federal efforts to address the practice and to legislation and voluntary efforts in over half the states and hundreds of police departments. He has testified three times in the U.S. Senate and before many state legislative bodies on profiling and related issues. His 2005 book, Good Cops: The Case for Preventive Policing, uses case studies from around the country to show that citizens need not trade liberty for safety; they can be safe from criminals and terrorists without sacrificing their civil rights if law enforcement uses strategies based on prevention. He gives speeches and does professional training for law enforcement, judges, and attorneys throughout the country, and presents his work regularly in academic conferences.
Professor Harris also writes and comments frequently in the media on police practices, racial profiling, and other criminal justice and national security issues. He has appeared on The Today Show, Dateline NBC, National Public Radio, and has been interviewed by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times, among many others. In 1996, Professor Harris served as a member of the Civil Liberties Advisory Board to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. Before he began teaching in 1990, Professor Harris was a public defender in the Washington, D.C. area, a litigator at a law firm in Philadelphia, and law clerk to Federal Judge Walter K. Stapleton in Wilmington, Delaware.
Professor Harris also writes and comments frequently in the media on police practices, racial profiling, and other criminal justice and national security issues. He has appeared on The Today Show, Dateline NBC, National Public Radio, and has been interviewed by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times, among many others. In 1996, Professor Harris served as a member of the Civil Liberties Advisory Board to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. Before he began teaching in 1990, Professor Harris was a public defender in the Washington, D.C. area, a litigator at a law firm in Philadelphia, and law clerk to Federal Judge Walter K. Stapleton in Wilmington, Delaware.
Currently Teaching
- Criminal Justice & Homeland Security Seminar (Fall 2008)
- Criminal Procedure (Spring 2009)
- Evidence (Spring 2009)
Selected Publications
Books:
- David A. Harris, Good Cops: the Case for Preventive Policing (New Press 2005).
- David A. Harris, Profiles in Injustice: Why Racial Profiling Cannot Work (New Press 2003).
Articles:
- David A. Harris,The Importance of Research on Race and Policing: Making Race Salient to Individuals and Institutions Within Criminal Justice, 6 Criminology & Public Policy 5 (2007). Available on SSRN.
- David A. Harris,How the Commander in Chief Power Swallowed the Rest of the Constitution, 26 Criminal Justice Ethics 44 (2007).Available on SSRN.
- David A. Harris,Law Enforcement and Intelligence Gathering in Muslim and Immigrant Communities After 9/11, 34 New York University Review of Law & Social Change, Vol. 34, No. 1. Available on SSRN.
- David A. Harris,How Accountability-Based Policing Can Reinforce - Or Replace - The Fourth Amendment Exclusionary Rule, Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, Vol. 7, 2009.Available on SSRN.
- David A. Harris, The War on Terror, Local Police, and Immigration Enforcement: A Curious Tale of Police Power in Post-9/11 America , 38 Rutgers L. J. 1 (2006).Available on SSRN.
- David A. Harris, Using Race or Ethnicity as a Factor in Assessing the Reasonableness of Fourth Amendment Activity: Description, Yes: Prediction, No (Symposium: The Permissibility of Race or Ethnicity as a Factor in Assessing the Reasonableness of a Search or Seizure) , 73 Miss. L. J. 423 (2003).
- David A. Harris, New Risk, New Tactics: An Assessment of the Re-Assessment of Racial Profiling In the Wake of September 11, 2001, 2004 Utah L. Rev. 913 (2004).
- David A. Harris, Teaching Criminal Law in the Post-9/11 World: If Everything Has Changed, So Must We, 48 St. Louis U. L. J. 1249 (2004).
- David A. Harris, The Reality of Racial Disparity in Criminal Justice: The Significance of Data Collection, 66 Law & Contemp. Probs. 71 (2003).
- David A. Harris, Racial Profiling Redux, (Symposium: New Approaches to Ensuring the Legitimacy of Police Conduct), 22 St. Louis U. Pub. L. Rev. 73 (2003).
Awards and Honors
- Excellence in Teaching Award (2009)
Links
Specialization
- Police Behavior and Regulation
- Law Enforcement
- National Security Issues and the Law
- Racial Profiling
Education
- LL.M, Georgetown University
- JD, Yale Law School
- BA, Northwestern University