Dan Markel

Dan Markel
Born Daniel Eric Markel
(1972-10-09)October 9, 1972
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died July 19, 2014(2014-07-19) (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 a Canadian[1][2] attorney and 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

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[3] 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,[4] a critique of the use of shaming as punishment published in the Vanderbilt Law Review,[5] and a paper on punitive damages published in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.[6]

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.[7] He also wrote opinion pieces for the New York Times, Slate, and the Atlantic, among other publications.[8]

In addition to his scholarship, he was a consultant for the defense in a federal prosecution in New Jersey involving rabbis accused of extortion by the FBI.[9]

Murder

Markel was shot at his home in Tallahassee, Florida on the morning of July 18, 2014, and died early the next day.[10] He was talking on the phone as he pulled into his garage, and said that he saw someone in his driveway.[11] The Tallahassee Police Department announced that Markel was the "intended victim" and termed his death a murder.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] Adelson had wanted to move to south Florida with the children but Markel succeeded in obtaining a court order prohibiting her from doing so.[15] A highly regarded and popular professor, Merkel was the subject of many tributes from the academic community.[16]

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 Pardes Shalom Cemetery in Maple, Ontario.[17]

Media reports suggested the police investigated the possibility Markel's death was related to online criticism he received[18] or to his legal consulting work.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Markel, Dan (7 June 2011). "One of the best posts on health care I've seen, ever.". Prawfsblawg. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Canadian professor was killed in targeted attack, Florida police say". The Globe and Mail. July 21, 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "State, Be Not Proud: A Retributivist Defense of the Commutation of Death Row and the Abolition of the Death Penalty". ssrn.com.
  5. ↑ "Are Shaming Punishments Beautifully Retributive? Retributivism and the Implications for the Alternative Sanctions Debate". ssrn.com.
  6. ↑ "How Should Punitive Damages Work?". ssrn.com.
  7. ↑ "Catalyzing Fans". ssrn.com.
  8. ↑ Jacob Gershman. "Legal Academic World Shaken by Shooting Death of FSU Professor". WSJ.
  9. ↑ Albert Samaha. "Legal Consultant on Divorce Extortion Cases Murdered in Florida". Village Voice.
  10. ↑ Sean Rossman, Tallahassee Democrat (July 19, 2014). "FSU law professor dies in shooting". Tallahassee Democrat.
  11. ↑ "Law professor was 'on the phone when he saw killer in his driveway who followed him' - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online.
  12. ↑ "Florida Law Professor Dan Markel Was 'Intended Victim' in Slaying". The Forward. July 22, 2014.
  13. ↑ Associated Press, Error Made By Dispatcher in Professor Shooting
  14. ↑ Miami Herald article retrieved July 26, 2014
  15. ↑ Jennifer Portman and Sean Rossman (July 26, 2014). "Friends recall Dan Markel". Tallahassee Democrat.
  16. ↑ Jacob Gershman. "Legal Academic World Shaken by Shooting Death of FSU Professor". WSJ.
  17. ↑ Jennifer Portman and Sean Rossman (July 26, 2014). "Friends recall Dan Markel". Tallahassee Democrat.
  18. ↑ "Are Hostile Blog Posts Clues to Dan Markel Murder Mystery?". The Forward. July 31, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Police Probe Dan Markel Link to 'Get' Extortion Rabbis". The Forward. August 8, 2014.

External links

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