James Morrow

Professor/Senior Judge
Email: jmorrow01@hamline.edu
Phone: 651-523-2407

B.A., University of Minnesota

J.D., William Mitchell College of Law, magna cum laude 

Areas of legal expertise: Evidence, Judicial Practicum, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Law and Trial Advocacy  

"It is not the critic who counts, not that man who points out how. . . the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by . . . sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those . . . timid souls who know neither victory or defeat." Teddy Roosevelt

Professor Morrow's passion is teaching and he has more than 29 years of experience teaching law students, lawyers and judges. He served as a general jurisdiction trial court judge for 23-1/2 years, and presided and issued decisions/opinions on all types of criminal and civil cases, as well as family, juvenile and probate matters. He is a Senior Judge and actively serves as a trial judge in Minnesota. His background as a trial judge and former U.S. Federal Prosecutor allows Professor Morrow to bring real-life examples to the classroom.

Through the National Judicial College he has taught courtroom procedure, judicial decision making and evidence courses to new and experienced state court trial judges from the United States and other countries since 2001. Since 1991 he has taught at the Minnesota New Judges School, teaching evidence and courtroom management. He has taught attorneys evidence and trial/appellate advocacy at prominent Minnesota law firms since 1989.

As a judge, Professor Morrow has held many leadership positions. He was the co-founder and former chair of The Minnesota Judicial College (for experienced trial judges) from 1989-2006. He was responsible for selecting the faculty and curriculum (civil/civil procedure, family, criminal, court technology, personal development, sentencing and evidence) and for teaching evidence. He was selected  by the Minnesota Supreme Court Education Director to teach Adult Learning Theory to faculty judges and serves as a member of the Minnesota Judges' Criminal Benchbook Committee.

In 2006 he served as a member of the Supreme Court Evidence Advisory Committee and was selected as a faculty member to the 1992 and 1993 National Leadership Institute on Judicial Education. Professor Morrow was selected as the 1999 Trial Judge of the Year by the Minnesota Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and was selected as the 2002 Trial Judge of the Year by the Minnesota Judges Association. In 2002 he was elected to the International Academy of Trial Judges. In 2005 he was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from William Mitchell College of Law.

Professor Morrow is active in the American Bar Association and has served in many capacities. He currently serves as the chair of the board of directors of the Minnesota Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers Group, and is a committee member of the Minnesota District Judges Civil Jury Instruction Guide and the Richard T. Oakes Inn of Court 2004-06.

He has served in the past as president an original member of the Warren E. Burger Inn of Court; past president and board member, William Mitchell College of Law Alumni Association; past board member, William Mitchell College of Law Board of Trustees; past secretary of the MSBA, Civil Litigation Section, Governing Council; former chair-elect of the Minnesota State Bar Young Lawyers Section; and a former volunteer Legal Aid Attorney.

Professor Morrow also has served in many volunteer and mentor capacities. He was the Mock Trial Coach at Meadow Creek High School from 1996-2006, and coached the team to state championships in 2000, 2001 and 2004. He has served as a volunteer Trial Judge for Futures in Learning Law Program, a judge for the National College Mock Trial Tournament, and a volunteer appellate judge for Hamline University School of Law since 1990.

Professor Morrow is an active volunteer in Habitat for Humanity, the Minnesota Adopt-A-Highway program, and the MSBA/LCL 50 mile bike fundraiser. 

 

Publications