Brent E. Newton

Practitioner in Residence

After graduating from Columbia University School of Law in 1992, where he was a senior editor of Columbia Law Review, Professor Newton clerked for Judge Carolyn King of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He thereafter worked as a public defender in the state and federal court systems in Texas and Florida, including representing several dozens of death row inmates. He handled both trial and appellate cases and, in 2008, argued a case before the Supreme Court of the United States.

In May 2009, Professor Newton was appointed as deputy director of the United States Sentencing Commission, a position he held until January 2019. At the Commission, he worked on several amendments to the sentencing guidelines and was the primary staff author of several Commission publications.

Since 2019, he has practiced civil, criminal, and immigration law in Maryland and Texas. Since 2000, he has been a lecturer, adjunct professor, or visiting professor at several other law schools, including American and Georgetown Universities, the University of Houston Law Center, and Seoul National University in South Korea. He has published three books and many articles and book chapters. He was elected as a member of the American Law Institute in 2010.


Select Publications by Professor Newton

Incentivizing Ineffective-Assistance-of-Counsel Claims Raised on Direct Appeal: Why Appellate Courts Should Remand “Colorable” Claims for Evidentiary Hearings,” 22 Journal of Appellate Practice & Process 107 (2022)

A Partial Fix of a Broken Guideline: A Proposed Amendment to Section 2G2.2 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines,” 70 Case Western Reserve L. Rev. 1 (2019)

The History of the Original United States Sentencing Commission,” 1985-87, 45 Hofstra L. Rev. 1167 (2017) (co-authored with Dawinder Sidhu)

The Supreme Court’s Fourth Amendment Scorecard,” 13 Stanford Journal of Civ. Rts. & Civ. Liberties 1 (2017)

The Real-World Fourth Amendment,” 43 Hastings Const. L. Quarterly 759 (2016)

The Story of Federal Probation,” 53 Amer. Crim. L. Rev. 311 (2016)

Brent Newton

Email  ben5098@psu.edu

Phone  717-240-5143

Curriculum Vitae Curriculum Vitae

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Prof. Newton’s News and Activity

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Faculty Impact


Education
J.D., Columbia University School of Law

B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


Research Interests
Federal criminal law/procedure, sentencing, and legal ethics


Current Courses
Advanced Criminal Law

Civil Procedure

Professional Responsibility

Newton’s Publications

Incentivizing Ineffective-Assistance-of-Counsel Claims Raised on Direct Appeal: Why Appellate Courts Should Remand “Colorable” Claims for Evidentiary Hearings,” 22 Journal of Appellate Practice & Process 107 (2022)

A Partial Fix of a Broken Guideline: A Proposed Amendment to Section 2G2.2 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines,” Case Western Reserve Law Review, Volume 70, Issue 1, 2019

The History of the Original United States Sentencing Commission,” Hofstra Law Review, Vol. 45, 2017

The Supreme Court's Fourth Amendment Scorecard,” 13 Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 1, 2017

The Story of Federal Probation,” American Criminal Law Review, Vol. 53, 2016

The Real-World Fourth Amendment,” 43 Hastings Const. L. Q. 759, 2016

The Ninety-Five Theses: Systemic Reforms of American Legal Education and Licensure,” South Carolina Law Review, Vol. 64, 2012

Law Review Scholarship in the Eyes of the Twenty-First Century Supreme Court Justices: An Empirical Analysis,” Drexel Law Review, Vol. 4, p. 399, 2012

Appendix to ‘Law Review Scholarship in the Eyes of the Twenty-First Century Supreme Court Justices,’” Drexel University Law Review, Vol. 10, p. 101, 2012

Report from South Korea: My Experience Teaching Law at Seoul National University,” Georgetown University Law Center, 2012

Preaching What They Don’t Practice: Why Law Faculties’ Preoccupation with Impractical Scholarship and Devaluation of Practical Competencies Obstruct Reform in the Legal Academy,” 62 S.C. L. Rev. 105 (Fall 2010).