Fiona Doherty

Fiona Doherty is the Deputy Dean for Experiential Education and Nathan Baker Clinical Professor of Law at Yale Law School. She founded the Criminal Justice Clinic, which defends indigent clients in New Haven, and teaches courses on Criminal Law and Sentencing. Her research focuses on supervised release, probation, and parole, with a focus on reforming carceral system practices. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School (1999) and a B.A. from the University of Virginia (1996).

Her career includes roles as an Assistant Federal Defender in New York (2005–2011), Senior Counsel at Human Rights First, and a Bernstein Fellowship in Northern Ireland. She is the first Yale Law graduate to serve on its tenured clinical faculty.

• Education: J.D., Yale Law School (1999); B.A., University of Virginia (1996)
• Key Roles: Deputy Dean for Experiential Education, Director of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization

Her scholarship critiques probation’s role in mass incarceration, advocating for alternatives that reduce reliance on carceral systems. Notable works include analyses of probation conditions, supervised release, and judicial practices. She has been cited in U.S. Supreme Court rulings and contributes to policy reforms in Connecticut and beyond.

• Awards: Yale Provost’s Teaching Prize, Yale Law Women Faculty Excellence Award
• Grants/Advising: Led the Parole Revocation Project; advised on Connecticut’s parole defense programs

Her lab, the Samuel Jacobs Criminal Justice Clinic, focuses on reducing incarceration through advocacy and policy. Recent work includes critiques of probation’s punitive nature and proposals for public health-oriented alternatives to incarceration.