Deborah Tuerkheimer
Class of 1940 Research Professor of Law
Deborah Tuerkheimer is a nationally recognized criminal law scholar who brings both academic rigor and real-world prosecution experience to her teaching and research. After graduating from Yale Law School, she served for five years as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA's office, specializing in domestic violence prosecution. Her book Credible provides a groundbreaking framework for understanding why accusers are systematically doubted. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute and joined Northwestern Law in 2014.
Teaching Style
Professor Tuerkheimer is an engaging and passionate teacher who draws on her experience as a former prosecutor specializing in domestic violence. She uses the Socratic method to push students to examine the assumptions embedded in criminal law doctrines, particularly around credibility, gender, and power. Her Evidence and Criminal Law classes are known for their intellectual rigor and their attention to how legal rules operate in practice, especially in cases involving intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
Cold Call Tips
- 1Be prepared to critically examine how criminal law doctrines treat different types of victims and defendants
- 2For Evidence, master the Federal Rules of Evidence and be ready to apply them to fact patterns
- 3Think about how credibility assessments are shaped by gender, race, and social position
- 4Read her book Credible for insight into the analytical framework she brings to class discussions
Areas of Expertise
Education
- J.D., Yale Law School
- A.B., Harvard University, cum laude
Notable Publications
- Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers
- Flawed Convictions: Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Inertia of Injustice