Dan Markel

Dan Markel
Born Daniel Markel
October 9, 1972
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died July 19, 2014 (aged 41)
Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death
 Gunshot wound
Residence Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Occupation Law Professor, Author
Spouse(s) Wendi Jill Adelson (2006-2013)
Children 2

Dan Markel (October 9, 1972 – July 19, 2014) was an American legal academic who wrote important works on retribution in criminal law and sentencing, with a focus on the role of punishment in the criminal justice system. A Toronto native, he was murdered in Tallahassee, Florida in 2014. The crime remains unsolved.

Legal career

Prof. Markel was the D'Alemberte Professor of Law at Florida State University College of Law and was a co-founder of a blog for law professors, PrawfsBlawg. He held a J.D. and B.A. from Harvard University, and an M.Phil. from Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Before entering teaching, he clerked for Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and was a white collar criminal defense attorney with Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel in Washington, D.C. He co-authored a 2009 book[1] exploring the intersection between crime, punishment and family. His law review articles included an argument for the abolition of the death penalty published in the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review,[2] a critique of the use of shaming as punishment published in the Vanderbilt Law Review,[3] and a paper on punitive damages published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.[4] Also interested in sports law, he and his co-authors proposed a method of giving fans an opportunity to participate in the management of sports teams.[5] He also wrote opinion pieces for the New York Times, Slate, and the Atlantic, among other publications.[6] In addition to his scholarship, he was a consultant for the defense in a federal prosecution in New Jersey involving rabbis accused of extortion.[7]

Prof. Markel's Murder

Prof. Markel was shot at his home in Tallahassee, Florida on the morning of July 18, 2014, and died early the next day.[8] He was talking on the phone as he pulled into his garage, and said that he saw someone in his driveway.[9] The Tallahassee Police Department announced that Markel was the "intended victim" and termed his death a murder.[10] On August 1, 2014, the Associated Press reported that emergency medical response was delayed because a dispatcher erroneously classified the call as less serious than it was.[11] At the time of his death Markel, who had two young sons, was involved in contentious post divorce proceedings with his ex-wife Wendi Adelson, also a law professor at Florida State University.[12] Adelson had wanted to move to south Florida with the children but Markel succeeded in obtaining a court order prohibiting her from doing so.[13] Markel, a highly regarded and popular professor was the subject of many tributes from the academic community.[14] The day after his death a memorial service was held at the synagogue he had attended, Congregation Shomrei Torah in Tallahassee. Markel is buried in Toronto.[15]

Media reports suggested the police investigated the possibility Prof. Markel's death was related to online criticism he received,[16] or to his legal consulting work.[17]

References

  1. ↑ Markel, Dan; Collins, Jennifer; Lieb, Ethan (April 2009). Privilege or Punish: Criminal Justice and the Challenge of Family Ties. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0195380061.
  2. ↑ Dan Markel, State, Be Not Proud: A Retributivist Defense of the Commutation of Death Row and the Abolition of the Death Penalty, 40 Harv. Civ. Rts.-Civ. Libs. L. Rev. 407 (2005)
  3. ↑ Dan Markel, Are Shaming Punishments Beautifully Retributive? Retributivism and the Implications for the Alternative Sanctions Debate, 54 Vand. L. Rev. 2157 (2001)
  4. ↑ Dan Markel, How Should Punitive Damages Work, 157 U. Pa. L. Rev. (2009)
  5. ↑ Dan Markel, Michael McCann & Howard Wasserman, Catalyzing Fans, Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law
  6. ↑ The Wall Street Journal article retrieved July 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ Albert Samha, Legal Consultant on Divorce Extortion Cases Murdered in Florida, Village Voice, July 30, 2014
  8. ↑ Tallahassee Democrat article retrieved July 19, 2014
  9. ↑ Ashley Collman & James Nye, Law professor was 'talking on the phone when he saw killer in his driveway who followed him into garage and shot him dead', Daily Mail Online
  10. ↑ The Jewish Daily Forward article retrieved July 22, 2014
  11. ↑ Associated Press, Error Made By Dispatcher in Professor Shooting
  12. ↑ Miami Herald article retrieved July 26, 2014
  13. ↑ Friends Recall Dan Markel, Tallahassee Democrat, July 27, 2014
  14. ↑ The Wall Street Journal article retrieved July 23, 2014
  15. ↑ Tallahassee Democrat article retrieved July 27, 2014
  16. ↑ Are Hostile Blog Posts Clues to Dan Markel Murder Mystery?:Trolls Threatened Florida Law Prof on Web Sites, Jewish Daily Forward, July 31, 2014
  17. ↑ Hody Nemes, Police Probe Dan Markel Link to 'Get' Extortion Rabbis, Jewish Daily Forward, August 8, 2014

External links