SpearIt

Professor of Law
SpearIt is an internationally recognized scholar and teacher and is a Professor of Law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. His most recent book is entitled, Muslim Prisoner Litigation: An Unsung American Tradition (University of California Press 2023), which examines the history of Muslim prisoner litigation through the lens of OutCrit jurisprudence.
 
As an instructor, SpearIt has taught a range of courses in the law school curriculum, including Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law, Sentencing, Corrections Law, and Professional Responsibility. Most recently he taught in the course, The Law of the Police, a free online course by the American Bar Association that is offered online at the University of Arizona. He has taught at several law schools, including Saint Louis University, Seattle University, Texas Southern University, the University of Arkansas, and Gonzaga University. In addition, he has taught undergraduates as instructor of record and taught at San Quentin State Prison. Most recently, he taught for the OSHER Lifelong Learning Program at Pitt, where he taught the course, Comparing World Religions.
 
SpearIt graduated with a B.A. in philosophy, magna cum laude, from the University of Houston. He also earned a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and JD from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
Currently, he is a Contributing Editor at JOTWELL Criminal Law, an Affiliated Faculty member at the Center for Security, Race, and Rights at Rutgers University, and an Affiliated Faculty member in the Religious Studies Department at the University of Pittsburgh.
 
His recent scholarship showcases cutting edge research and topics, including How Defund the Police Diminishes the Fourth Amendment, JOTWELL Criminal Law (4/23/26)(reviewing Shawn Fields, (Non)Police Brutality (2025)); “Religious Rights and the State of Disposing Deceased Prisoners,” in The State of Criminal Justice 2026 (American Bar Association, forthcoming 2026); “Digital Genocide and Disaffection Among the Religious Right: America’s Great Reckoning with Israel and Christian Zionism” in Palestine: Critical Concepts (Ed. Mojtaba Mahdavi, forthcoming 2027).
 
Professor SpearIt also maintains a profile as a public intellectual and has authored numerous commentaries including:
 

 

    Education & Training

  • JD, University of California Berkeley School of Law
  • PhD, University of California Santa Barbara
  • MTS, Harvard Divinity School
  • BA, University of Houston
Recent Publications

Key Publications: Top 20 articles by download on SSRN.com

Research Interests
  • Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Law 
  • Law & Religion 
  • Corrections