Fiona Doherty
Deputy Dean for Experiential Education and Clinical Professor of Law • fiona.doherty@yale.edu
“The operation of the criminal justice system has shifted dramatically without the change drawing widespread attention.”
Fiona Doherty is Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School. She founded the Criminal Justice Clinic, which defends indigent clients accused of misdemeanor and felony offenses in New Haven. She also teaches courses in Criminal Law and Sentencing. Professor Doherty is a recipient of the Yale Provost’s Teaching Prize.
From 2005 to 2011, Professor Doherty was an Assistant Federal Defender in the Southern District of New York. Before that, she was Senior Counsel at Human Rights First in New York City, working to ensure that U.S. anti-terrorism measures incorporate human rights protections.
Professor Doherty received her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1999 and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She then received a Bernstein Fellowship to work in Northern Ireland, where she focused on cases involving the targeting of defense lawyers during the conflict.
Professor Doherty is the first female graduate of the law school to serve on its tenured clinical faculty. Her current scholarship focuses on supervised release, probation, and parole.