John David Bessler (born October 23, 1967) is an American attorney and academic. He is a professor of law at the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

and an adjunct professor at the

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

. He is the husband of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Education

Bessler attended

Loyola Catholic School Loyola Catholic School is located in Mankato, Minnesota. The school is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester and serves students in PreK- Grade 12. History The first Catholic school in Mankato was started at Saints Peter and Pau ...

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

, and received his B.A. in political science from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, M.F.A. in creative writing from

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline ...

and his M.St. in international human rights law from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

. Bessler studied international human rights law at

and wrote articles for the ''Indiana Law Journal'' and the ''Arkansas Law Review''.

Legal career

Bessler previously taught at the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Patent L ...

and The George Washington University Law School, where he specialized in death penalty issues. In addition, Bessler clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Mason of the District of Minnesota and practiced law as a partner at Kelly & Berens, P.A. Bessler currently is a tenured associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he teaches civil procedure, contracts, capital punishment, international human rights law, and lawyering skills.

Writings

He is a leading authority on capital punishment, having written five books and various book chapters and articles on the subject. Two of Bessler's books, ''Death in the Dark: Midnight Executions in America'' and ''Legacy of Violence: Lynch Mobs and Executions in Minnesota,'' were ''

Minnesota Book Award The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. History ...

'' finalists. He also authored ''Writing for Life: The Craft of Writing for Everyday Life.'' His most recent book is ''The Birth of American Law: An Italian Philosopher and the American Revolution'' (Carolina Academic Press, 2014), which discusses the influence of the Italian jurist and philosopher Cesare Beccaria on the founders of the United States. Bessler also has contributed to one event, a teleforum entitled "Execution Methods and Deciding Implementation of the Death Penalty," held by

The Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (abbreviated as FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism ...

, a conservative and libertarian organization.

Personal life

Bessler is married to Amy Klobuchar, a politician and lawyer who currently serves as a U.S. Senator for Minnesota. They have a daughter. On March 23, 2020, Klobuchar announced via Instagram that Bessler had contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

and was later hospitalized.

References

External links

University of Baltimore School of Law Faculty Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessler, John Spouses of Minnesota politicians University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni University of Minnesota faculty Alumni of the University of Oxford Amy Klobuchar Indiana University alumni Minnesota lawyers 1960 births Living people Hamline University alumni George Washington University faculty American legal scholars Georgetown University Law Center faculty Anti–death penalty activists University of Baltimore faculty 21st-century American male writers Minnesota Democrats 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Writers from Minnesota