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. He is the husband of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minne ...

Education

Bessler attended Loyola Catholic School in Mankato, Minnesota, and received his B.A. in political science from the University of Minnesota, J.D. from Indiana University Maurer School of Law, M.F.A. in creative writing from Hamline University and his M.St. in international human rights law from Oxford University. Bessler studied international human rights law at Oxford University 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 and The George Washington University Law School, where he specialized in

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

issues. In addition, Bessler clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Mason of the

District of Minnesota The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (in case citations, D. Minn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Minnesota. Its two primary courthouses are in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Cases are al ...

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 The Saint ...

'' 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 Cesare Bonesana di Beccaria, Marquis of Gualdrasco and Villareggio (; 15 March 173828 November 1794) was an Italian criminologist, jurist, philosopher, economist and politician, who is widely considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Age of ...

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 conservative and libertarian legal organization that advocates for a textualist and originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Headquartered ...

, a conservative and libertarian organization.

Personal life

Bessler is married to

, 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 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