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Mark Osler
Born1963 (age 60–61)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Scholar, lawyer, professor, author
Known forJesus on Death Row

Mark William Osler (born 1963) is an American legal scholar and a former state and federal prosecutor. Osler currently serves as a law professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota, holding the Robert and Marion Short Distinguished Chair in Law at St. Thomas and the Ruthie Mattox Chair of Preaching at First Covenant Church, Minneapolis.[1] He began work as a law professor at Baylor University[2] in 2000 before leaving for St. Thomas in 2010.[3] At St. Thomas, he founded the nation's first law school clinic on federal commutations,[4] and he has advocated for an expansive use of the presidential pardon power.[5] His work has been profiled by The American Prospect,[6] Rolling Stone[7] and CBS News.[8]

Background, education and early career

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Born in Detroit, Michigan, Osler's family later moved to Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. He attended Grosse Pointe North High School, where he worked on the school newspaper with future AP White House reporter Ron Fournier.[9] He subsequently matriculated at the College of William & Mary, graduating in 1985.[10] Osler received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1990 and clerked for District Court Judge Jan E. DuBois for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania before returning to Detroit. There, he worked from 1992-1995 for the law firm of Dykema Gossett, and then as an Assistant United States Attorney from 1995-2000.

Baylor Law School (2000-2010)

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Osler's scholarship and advocacy at Baylor focused on capital punishment and narcotics policy. Some of Osler's work addressed sentencing issues involving crack cocaine.[11] In 2009, Osler won the case (through a 6-3 summary and per curiam decision) of Spears v. United States[12] in the United States Supreme Court, which reversed the Eighth Circuit and clarified a prior sentencing decision, declaring that sentencing judges could "categorically" reject the 100-to-1 ration between powder and crack cocaine which was then embedded in the federal sentencing guidelines. The character of "Professor Joe Fisher" in the film American Violet is based on Osler's work with the ACLU and former student David Moore in confronting unjust crack prosecutions in the city of Hearne, Texas.[13] While at Baylor, Osler published Jesus on Death Row (Abingdon, 2009),[14] which critiques capital punishment in the United States through an examination of the biblical account of Jesus Christ's trial and execution.

Osler was named the 2009 Wacoan of the Year.[15]

University of St. Thomas School of Law (2010-present)

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Moving to St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Osler's work moved increasingly towards clemency. He was chosen as "Professor of the Year" in 2016, 2019, and 2022.

Following up on Jesus on Death Row, between 2011 and 2014, Osler and collaborators produced a dramatic[16] "Sentencing of Jesus"[17] in eleven states: Texas,[18] Colorado,[19] California,[20] Oklahoma,[21] Tennessee,[22] Massachusetts,[23] Illinois,[24] Virginia,[25] Louisiana,[26] Arizona, and Minnesota.[27] His 2016 book, Prosecuting Jesus[28] recounts that project.

Osler's most recent work[29] has focused on clemency[30] and narcotics policy. His opinion pieces (some co-authored) appeared in The New York Times in 2014,[31] 2016,[32] 2021,[33] and 2024, and in the Washington Post in 2014,[34] 2018,[35] August, 2020,[36] and November, 2020,[37] while his arguments in favor of narcotics policy reform appeared in law journals at Harvard,[38] Stanford,[39] Georgetown,[40] Rutgers,[41] and DePaul.[42] An article Osler co-authored with Rachel Barkow for the University of Chicago Law Review was highlighted in a lead editorial in The New York Times, in which the Times' editorial board expressly embraced Barkow and Osler's argument for clemency reform.[43] In 2020, the Times again described the Barkow/Osler plan in a staff editorial.[44] He and Barkow also co-founded the Clemency Resource Center[45] at NYU, a pop-up law firm which hired and trained lawyers for a one-year stint representing clemency petitioners during the heart of the Obama Clemency Initiative.

In 2020, 2022 and 2023, Osler testified before subcommittees of the United States House Judiciary Committee on various aspects of clemency.

He has also commented on the death penalty and other issues for CNN,[46] MSNBC,[47] NPR,[48] ESPN,[49] and the Huffington Post.[50] Osler appeared as a critic of narcotics policy in the 2013 National Geographic series "The 80's,"[51] and as a commentator in the 2014 National Geographic series "The Jesus Mysteries."[52] He is a founding member of Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration, a national group of former and current prosecutors and police chiefs.[53]

Osler was also the lawyer for Weldon Angelos, who was freed in 2016 after serving 12 years of a 55-year sentence on a marijuana and gun possession conviction.[54] His criminal law casebook, Contemporary Criminal Law (West) was published in 2018, with a second edition released in 2021.[55]

In 2023, Osler was part of a coalition seeking clemency reform in Minnesota. Their effort was successful. Among other reforms, the required vote for approval of a clemency petition went from 3-0 to 2-1 with the governor in the majority.[56]

In August of 2023, Osler began a leave of absence from St. Thomas to serve as Deputy Hennepin County Attorney and Director of the Criminal Division under Mary Moriarty.[57] He returned to St. Thomas in July of 2024. In August of 2024, Osler promoted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as a potential running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

References

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  1. ^ "Professor Mark Osler Named Ruthie Mattox Preaching Chair at First Covenant Church". 9 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Point Person: Our QandA with Mark Osler". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  3. ^ "Baylor law professor bids dramatic farewell to school, students". Waco Tribune. 2010-04-21. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  4. ^ "Federal Commutation Clinic at School of Law the First in the Nation - Newsroom". Stthomas.edu. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  5. ^ Mark Osler (2012-06-08). "Only half-way there on mercy". Msnbc.com. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  6. ^ "The Quality of Mercy". Prospect.org. 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  7. ^ Jones, Andrea (2014-10-07). "The Nation's Shame: The Injustice of Mandatory Minimums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  8. ^ "iPad exclusive: Finding mercy in the justice system - 48 Hours Videos". CBS News. 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  9. ^ Journal, Ron Fournier, National (2015-12-09). "On Matter of Mercy, Obama Can't Blame GOP for Gridlock". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-04-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Stamm, Alan (21 September 2017). "'A New Era For The City:' Homecoming Visit Reflections By A Son Of Detroit". Deadline Detroit. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  11. ^ Kumar, Gautam S. (2013-07-07). "Drug Crime Expert Criticizes Sentencing Policies". The Harvard Crimson. Harvard University. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  12. ^ "Steven Spears v. United States" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. 21 January 2009. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  13. ^ "American Violet". Baylor Magazine. Baylor University. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  14. ^ Osler, Mark (2009). Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment. Abingdon Press. ISBN 9780687647569.
  15. ^ "Mark Osler". Wacoan® | Waco’s Magazine™. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  16. ^ "Jesus On (Mock) Trial In Virginia". PerezHilton.com. 2011-04-23. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  17. ^ "Jesus on trial: What would a modern jury do?". Belief Blog. CNN. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  18. ^ "Drama asks audience to consider Christ, death penalty". www.statesman.com. 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  19. ^ Bishop, Jeanne (2013-03-24). "Death and Christ". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  20. ^ "Death Penalty for Jesus - Maurice Possley". God's Politics Blog. Sojourners. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  21. ^ Hinton, Carla (2012-03-17). "Oklahoma City church will host 'Trial of Jesus Christ' dramatization". News OK. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  22. ^ "News - Carson-Newman". Cn.edu. 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  23. ^ "The Trial of Christ" (PDF). Boston College. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  24. ^ "Baptism of the Lord" (PDF). Jazz at Four. Fourth Presbyterian Church. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  25. ^ Cherry, Emily (2011-03-11). "Episcopal News Service - CHURCHWIDE". Archive.episcopalchurch.org. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  26. ^ "Death penalty opponents put 'Jesus on Trial': Jarvis DeBerry". NOLA.com. 9 November 2013. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  27. ^ "The Trial of Jesus | University of St. Thomas". YouTube. 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  28. ^ Mark Osler (2016). Prosecuting Jesus. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. ISBN 9780664261856.
  29. ^ "Professor Mark Osler : CV" (PDF). Stthomas.edu. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  30. ^ Osler, Mark (April 2016). "Opinion : Obama's Clemency Problem". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  31. ^ Osler, Mark (4 May 2014). "Opinion : We Need Al Capone Drug Laws". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  32. ^ Osler, Mark (2016-04-01). "Opinion | Obama's Clemency Problem". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  33. ^ Barkow, Rachel E.; Osler, Mark (2021-07-13). "Opinion | We Know How to Fix the Clemency Process. So Why Don't We?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  34. ^ Barkow, Rachel E. (2014-11-26). "The president's idle executive power: pardoning". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  35. ^ "Opinion | Presidential pardons for friends are legal — but they're wrong". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  36. ^ "Opinion | Trump's failed promise of criminal justice reform gives Biden an opening". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  37. ^ "Opinion | Trump abused the clemency power. Will Biden reform it?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  38. ^ Mark Osler. "SYMPOSIUM: DRUG POLICY REALITY AND REFORM : ASSET FORFEITURE IN A NEW MARKET-REALITY NARCOTICS POLICY" (PDF). Harvardjol.com. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  39. ^ Osler, Mark William (2014-11-02). "Narcotics Prosecutors as Problem Solvers by Mark William Osler". SSRN 2517675.
  40. ^ Osler, Mark William (20 March 2009). "Seeking Justice Below the Guidelines: Sentencing as an Expression of Natural Law by Mark William Osler :: SSRN". SSRN 1365938.
  41. ^ Osler, Mark William (2014-09-30). "1986: AIDS, Crack, and C. Everett Koop by Mark William Osler". SSRN 2502909.
  42. ^ Osler, Mark William; Bennett, Mark W. (2014-09-01). "A 'Holocaust in Slow Motion?' America's Mass Incarceration and the Role of Discretion by Mark William Osler, Mark W. Bennett". SSRN 2489640.
  43. ^ "Opinion : It's Time to Overhaul Clemency". The New York Times. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  44. ^ The Editorial Board (2020-12-23). "Opinion | Trump Corrupted the Presidential Pardon. Biden Must Repair It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  45. ^ "Center on the Administration of Criminal Law launches Clemency Resource Center | NYU School of Law". Law.nyu.edu. 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  46. ^ Osler, Mark (19 May 2012). "My Take: The Christian case for gay marriage". Belief Blog. CNN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  47. ^ "Mark Osler". MSNBC. 2013-08-31. Archived from the original on 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  48. ^ "People - Mark Osler". Thetakeaway.org. 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  49. ^ "OTL: Griner And Baylor - ESPN Video". Espn.go.com. 2013-09-26. Archived from the original on February 15, 2014. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  50. ^ "Mark Osler". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  51. ^ "Explore the '80s". National Geographic. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  52. ^ "The Jesus Mysteries - National Geographic". Natgeotv.com.au. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  53. ^ "Members".
  54. ^ "Utah man whose long drug sentence stirred controversy is released". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-06-28.
  55. ^ "Osler's Contemporary Criminal Law, 2d". West Academic SCA. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
  56. ^ Osler, Mark (2023-12-16). "The Forgotten Tradition of Clemency". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
  57. ^ Tribune, Rochelle Olson Star. "Minnesota Pardons Board grants first non-unanimous pardons in state history". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
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