Victoria L. Brown-Douglas joined St. John's University
School of Law faculty in May 2005 as Assistant Director of the
Professional Skills Program and Assistant Professor of
Law.
Professor Brown-Douglas received a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a
Juris Doctor Degree from Hofstra University School of Law in
1991. She is also a 1999 graduate of the New York State
Capital Defenders Training Program.
Hofstra awarded her a Graduate and Professional Opportunities
Scholarship and a Public Interest Fellowship which allowed her to
intern at Prisoner’s Legal Services and the Legal Aid Society's
Criminal Division while attending law school. While at Hofstra, she
also participated in the Criminal Law Clinic and the Long Island
Moot Court Competition. Interestingly, Professor Keri Gould, the
Dean of Professional Skills at St. John’s Law School, was her
Clinical Professor at Hofstra.
Professor Brown-Douglas began her legal career in public
service, as an Assistant District Attorney in the trial division of
the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where for four years she
tried a variety of misdemeanor and felony cases. Upon leaving the
District Attorney’s Office she served as an Assistant Attorney
General in the New York State Attorney General’s Office, Labor
Division, before pursuing her interest in private
practice.
For the past eight years, Professor Brown-Douglas specialized in
criminal law and family law as a sole practitioner. Just
prior to joining our faculty, she was a member of the adjunct
faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice teaching
Constitutional Law and Criminology, the City University of New York
at York College teaching Criminal Law, and St. John’s University
School of Law where she taught Trial Advocacy.
Professor Brown-Douglas’ career in public service began prior to
attending law School when from 1984 to 1988, while at the
Administration of Children’s Services, she supervised the
investigation of child sexual abuse in Queens County. Practicing
law in the area of criminal and family law has allowed her to
continue a commitment to public service. Two crowning
moments as a sole practitioner demonstrate that commitment.
The first was the exoneration of Fabian X., a sixteen-year-old
African-American male charged as an adult with the murder of a
Manhattan politician. Fabian signed a full confession because
he was afraid of being brutalized by police. “I went out on the
street and found witnesses to the murder and to the brutality of
the police. When I brought this evidence to the Queens
District Attorney's Office, they dismissed the case and Fabian was
free. His family paid me fifty dollars a week for
years. But it was his freedom that went into my account.”
The second was her Pro Bono participation as a member of the
criminal defense team in the first Death Penalty case tried in
Queens County. Under the leadership of Christopher Renfroe, a
prominent Queens Attorney, she was able to assist in ultimately
saving the life of James Gordon, in People v. James Gordon.
Actively participating in Gordon’s defense required shutting down
the rest of her practice for three months. “Gordon
suffered tremendously as an abused child, grew up and became a mass
murderer. We connected, he trusted and we saved him. He
exemplifies my reasons for becoming an attorney specializing in
criminal and family law. I love the law and I believe dedication to
excellence in advocacy makes justice possible.”
She is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the United
States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the
United States District Court for the Eastern District of
New York, and the New York State Bar. Professor Brown-Douglas
is a member of the Queens Bar Association, the National Association
of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Macon B. Allen Black Bar
Association, and a founding member of the Allen African Methodist
Episcopal Lawyer’s Guild.