Professor Sam Kamin Elected to American Law Institute

Professor Sam Kamin was elected to the American Law Institute (ALI), the nation's leading independent organization dedicated to clarifying and improving the law. Membership in the ALI is a distinct honor, reserved exclusively for a select group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars who have demonstrated excellence in their fields.

“The election of new members is among the most important responsibilities of the Institute because it renews and strengthens the exchange of ideas that makes our work possible,” said ALI President Wallace B. Jefferson. “As I welcome my first class of new members as President, I do so with optimism and appreciation for the perspectives they will bring to the Institute. I look forward to seeing the meaningful ways these distinguished lawyers, judges, and scholars will contribute to the Institute's projects, ensuring that ALI continues to serve the legal profession and the public.”

A member of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law faculty since 1999, Professor Kamin is a nationally recognized scholar in criminal law, criminal procedure, constitutional law, and marijuana regulation. He is a co-author of West Academic Publishing’s Investigative Criminal Procedure: A Contemporary Approach and Cases and Materials on the Death Penalty and has published scholarly articles in the Virginia Law Review, the UCLA Law Review, the Boston College Law Review, the William & Mary Law Review, the Journal of Constitutional Law, and many others. He is also one of the nation’s leading experts on the regulation of marijuana; in 2012 he was appointed to then-Governor John Hickenlooper’s Task Force to Implement Amendment 64 and served on the blue-ribbon panel to study marijuana legalization chaired by then-Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom of California. Professor Kamin currently serves on the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Standards Committee, which he chaired from 2021 to 2024. He was also recognized for his impact in the classroom earning the Robert B. Yegge Excellence in Teaching Award as a DU Law Star honoree in 2024.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Kamin on this significant achievement.