Sara Sun Beale

Sara Sun Beale is a Professor of Law at Duke Law School, where she has been affiliated since 1979. Her research focuses on the federal government’s role in the criminal justice system, federal crime laws, criminal procedure, prosecutorial discretion, and the relationship between public attitudes and legislative changes in criminal law.

• Education:
  • B.A. in English, University of Michigan
  • J.D., magna cum laude, University of Michigan

Research Interests span federal criminal law enforcement, comparative analysis of prosecutorial discretion, and socio-political influences on criminal legislation. She has contributed to seminal legal texts and influenced federal rules of criminal procedure through her role as Reporter for the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules.

Scientific Awards include the Charles L. B. Lowndes Professor of Law chair. Her work has been cited extensively by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts.

• Professional Roles:
  • Reporter for the Advisory Committee on Criminal Rules (appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist in 2004)
  • Former member of American Bar Association task force on federalization of criminal law
  • Experienced Supreme Court advocate (six cases argued)
• International Engagement:
  • Lectured or taught in 11 countries, including Australia, Japan, and Spain

Her legal career includes clerkships with Judge Wade H. McCree Jr. and roles in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel and Office of the Solicitor General.