Michael P. Lawlor, J.D.

As a member of Governor Malloy’s administration, Prof. Lawlor developed and implemented initiatives including juvenile justice, bail, and drug policy reforms; post Sandy Hook gun control legislation, and repeal of the death penalty, as well as initiatives that addressed racial disparities in the criminal justice system and mass incarceration.

Those initiatives helped lead to a 41 percent drop in arrests in the state from 2008 to 2017, a decrease in violent crime, and a 65 percent decrease – from 2009 to 2018 – of 18 years old committing crimes, getting arrested and ending up in the prison system. The state’s prison population also decreased from 20,000 inmates in 2008 to 13,000 in 2019.

Prof. Lawlor current focus is on is researching, writing, and collaborating with students on policy reforms, including new criminal justice policies for adults ages 18 to 21; developing initiatives to help prosecutors categorize offenders; and creating new sanctions that could help lead low-level offenders away from further criminal activity.

In 2020, Mayor Justin Elicker appointed Prof. Lawlor to be a member of the New Haven Board of Police Commissioners. In 2021, Governor Ned Lamont appointed him to be a member of the statewide Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council.

Prof. Lawlor, who has been a faculty member at the University since 1995, teaches courses in criminal law and criminal procedure. He wasappointed to serve as the Acting Associate Dean of the Henry C. Lee College in August, 2024.

Prof. Lawlor received his J.D. from George Washington University, his M.A. in Soviet area studies from the University of London, and his B.A. in Slavic and Eastern European studies from the University of Connecticut. He also previously earned a Fulbright-Hays scholarship that enabled him to study in Hungary.