Mary Kathleen "Kit" Kinports is an American legal scholar who is Professor of Law and the Polisher Family Distinguished Faculty Scholar at
Penn State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
. She has taught there since 2006 and specializes in
feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
,
criminal law
Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...
and
constitutional law
Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a State (polity), state, namely, the executive (government), executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as th ...
.
Biography
Kinports studied at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
, where she received an
A.B.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
in 1976. She attended the
University of Pennsylvania School of Law
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...
, serving as editor-in-chief of the ''
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
The ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'' is a law review published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law journal in the United States, having been publishe ...
'', and graduating with a
J.D. in 1980. After law school, she
clerked for Judge
Abner Mikva
Abner Joseph Mikva (January 21, 1926 – July 4, 2016) was an American politician, federal judge, lawyer and law professor. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Mikva served in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois' ...
of the
, and then for Justice
Harry Blackmun
Harry Andrew Blackmun (November 12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1970 to 1994. Appointed by Republican President Richard Nixon, Blac ...
of the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, from 1981 to 1982. Following her clerkships, she practiced law in Washington, D.C. as an associate of Ennis, Friedman, Bersoff & Ewing.
In 2006, she joined the faculty of Penn State, having previously taught at the
University of Illinois College of Law
The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S. ...
. In 2005, she explained the Battered Woman's defense in criminal law. In 2010, she commented on the nomination of
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 10, 2010, and has served since August 7, 2010. Kagan ...
to the U.S. Supreme Court. In October 2018, she signed a letter opposing the confirmation of
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oc ...
to the U.S. Supreme Court.
She is co-author of a popular case book, ''Criminal Law: Cases and Materials'', now in its fourth edition.
Personal life
Kinports was previously married to Stephen F. Ross, an antitrust scholar who is also a law professor at Dickinson College of Law.
See also
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References
Select publications
Books
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Articles
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External links
Bio Penn State College of Law
Author page SSRN.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinports, Mary Kathleen
Year of birth missing (living people)
1950s births
Living people
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American lawyers
Brown University alumni
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Dickinson School of Law faculty
University of Illinois faculty
American legal scholars
American women academics
American scholars of constitutional law
American feminist writers
21st-century American women