Mello's expertise adds diversity

Mello's expertise adds diversity

Mello, Michael

Vermont Law School

This article discusses Mello's criminal justice resume, his fields of expertise and how he is beneficial as a professor at Vermont Law School.

Aspland, Tricia

The Forum

HIST 298, University of Mary Washington

1989-02-17

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The faculty at Vermont Law School offers students a wide variety for legal study. Michael Mello, an Assistant Professor at VLS, brings both extensive research and work experience in the field of criminal law.

Having graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in May, 1982, Professor Mello clerked with the Honorable Robert S. Vance, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Following this, Professor Mello worked as an Assistant Public Defender in the Office of the Public Defender, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. His duties included all facets of capital litigation in state and federal courts in addition to being lead counsel in three capital cases and associate counsel in ten others.

While working as Assistant Public Defender, Professor Mello represented death row inmates. His recent publication, “Facing Death Alone: The Post- Conviction Attorney Crisis on Death Row”, 37 American University Law Review 513 (1988), provides a definition of the counsel crisis in the post-conviction process of death row inmates and explores one state’s (Florida) legislative solution. The question of access to the courts in the post-conviction process is a complex one with which Professor Mello is continually involved.

Florida’s death row population and the lack of counsel for the condemned became a crisis of epidemic proportions, especially in the mid-1980’s. Consequently, Florida experimented with a resource center known as the Office of the Capital Collateral Representative in Tallahasee, Florida. This agency had a statutory mandate to represent all indigent inmates on Florida’s death row. As Senior Assistant, Professor Mello was lead counsel in approximately 30 death row cases. His duties consisted primarily of crisis litigation in cases with imminent execution dates.

Currently, Professor Mello teaches courses in criminal law and criminal procedure as well as a seminar on the death penalty and a section in the VLS General Practice Program on pretrial civil litigation. Professors Mello and Apel are also lead counsel in several capital cases including being principal drafters of the the Brief of Petitioner in High v. Zant, No. 87-5666 in the United States Supreme Court.

Professor Mello is enthusiastic about his experience here at VLS and, with his extensive background and interests in criminal law, VLS students have invaluable resource from which to learn. In addition to his busy schedule, Professor Mello will be conducting a Facul-tea on Tuesday, March 14, 1989 at 3:30 p.m. at the South Royalton House. His talk will address the Ted Bundy case, of which Professor Mello is very familiar. All students and faculty are encouraged to attend this seminar. The seminar is a perfect opportunity for students to meet Michael Mello and learn about his interesting background and the many complexities facing our criminal justice system today.

Newspaper article

Emma Olson

Williams, Megan