Stephen Simon ’71

  • Clinical Professor of Law Emeritus
433 Mondale Hall

Degrees

  • University of Minnesota, B.A., J.D.

Expertise

  • Clinical Legal Education
  • Criminal Law
  • International Criminal Law

Emeritus Clinical Professor Stephen M. Simon ’71 is recognized for his work in clinical education, judicial education, and DWI research and law reform. He directs the Judicial Trial Skills Training Program and teaches trial practice at the Law School. He also teaches at the National Judicial College and at the New Judge Orientation Program in Minnesota. He was the holder of the 1999-2001 Vaughan G. Papke Clinical Professorship of Law.

Professor Simon received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota. Upon graduation from law school, he practiced law as an associate with the Hennepin County Public Defender's Office and then as a prosecutor in the Criminal Division of the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office. Professor Simon was a partner in the law firm of Simon & Albrecht from 1973 to 1976 and also worked as a Judicial Officer for the Hennepin County Municipal Court. In 1976, he became an assistant city attorney for the City of Minnetonka. In addition to his legal duties for the City of Minnetonka, he was an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law.

He joined the University of Minnesota Law School clinical faculty in 1980. Professor Simon is the founder and director of the Minnesota Criminal Justice System DWI Task Force. He has conducted research and published extensively in the area of DWI and Traffic Safety. He was chair of the 1992 Minnesota Legislature Commission on the Treatment and Confinement of DWI Recidivists. He also founded and continues to direct the Judicial Trial Skills Training Program at the Law School. This program, which introduces new judges to courtroom management skills, was one of the first trial skills training programs for judges in the country. Professor Simon is the creator and editor of the Electronic Bench Book, an online bench book for judges and attorneys. He has presented and participated in numerous continuing legal education programs.

Professor Simon, with Professor Maury Landsman, recently completed administering a multi-year grant to the Law School, which provided funds to train other states' judicial educators in the implementation of the judicial skills training program developed here at the Law School. Professor Simon has been on the faculty of the National Judicial College since 1998. He has trained judges there and throughout the United States in courtroom management and evidence in the courtroom.

Books

Minnesota Misdemeanors and Moving Traffic Violations (Butterworth Legal Publishers, 2d ed., 1990-1998 (looseleaf); Lexis Law Publishing, 3d ed., 1999-2012 (updated by pocket parts))
(with
Martin J. Costello
Trial Practices & Procedures for Judges (University of Minnesota Law School, 2011-)

Journal Articles

Intelligent Transportation Systems: Personal Data Needs and Privacy Law, 39 Transportation Law Journal 97 (2012)
(with
Thomas Garry
and
Frank Douma
)
The Use of Technology to Address Patterns of Risk among Teenage Drivers, 38 Journal of Safety Research 413 (2007)
(with
Shawn Brovold
,
Nic Ward
,
Max Donath
,
Craig Shankwitz
and
Janet Creaser
)
Law Enforcement Actions and The Rate of DWI and DWI Recidivism, Minnesota Police & Peace Officers Association Journal (Winter 2005)
License Plate Confiscation for Persistent Alcohol Impaired Drivers, 28 Accident Analysis & Prevention 53 (1996)
(with
H. Laurence Ross
and
James Cleary
)
Causes and Consequences of Implied Consent Test Refusal, 11 Alcohol, Drugs and Driving 57 (Jan.-Mar. 1995)
(with
H. Laurence Ross
,
James Cleary
,
Ray Lewis
and
Daniel Storkamp
)
Judicial Ethics Simulation Based Training, 58 Law and Contemporary Problems 323 (1995)
(with
Incapacitation Alternatives for Repeat DWI Offenders, 8 Alcohol, Drugs and Driving 51 (Jan.-Mar. 1992)
Judicial Trial Skills Training, 37 Journal of Legal Education 428 (1987)
(with
Bertrand Poritsky
)
D.W.I.: 1982 & 1983 Legislative Changes..., 41 Bench & Bar of Minnesota 35 (Mar. 1984)
The Minnesota Criminal Justice System DWI Task Force, 52 Hennepin Lawyer 13 (May-June 1983)

Other Publications

Swiftness of Adjudication as a Factor in Reducing Drunk Driving, in Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety--T 2000: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs, and Traffic Safety, Stockholm, Sweden, May 22nd-26th, 2000 (Hans Laurell & Frans Schlyter, eds., ICADTS, 2000)
The Breathalyzer: Law and Operation in Minnesota (William Mitchell Forums, 1983)
(with
James Kaster
and
James Nowell
)
The Breathalyzer: Law and Operation in Minnesota (William Mitchell Forums, 1981)
(with
Theodore Abe
and
James Nowell
)