Dean Cunningham joined St. John’s as an Associate Professor of
Legal Writing in 2008, was appointed Assistant Dean of Students in
2010, and was promoted to Associate Dean for Student Services in
2011.
As Associate Dean, Dean Cunningham oversees the Career
Development Office, the Center for Professional Skills, the Public
Interest Center, and the Registrar's Office. He counsels
students regarding academic and curricular rules and regulations,
ensures compliance with state and federal requirements regarding
bar admission, oversees student academic accommodations pursuant to
the Americans with Disabilities Act, plans orientation, organizes a
variety of programs to enhance student wellness, provides students
with financial counseling and assistance in receiving mental health
counseling, and works with student organizations to maximize their
effectiveness.
Dean Cunningham received his B.S., summa cum laude,
from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and his J.D., magna
cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was
elected to the Order of the Coif, served on the law review, and was
executive director of the moot court and mock trial
organization. After graduating from Georgetown, he clerked
for the Honorable Claude M. Hilton, then-Chief Judge of the U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Dean Cunningham had extensive practice and teaching experience
before coming to St. John’s. He served as an Assistant
District Attorney in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office
where, as a member of the office’s Appeals Bureau, he litigated
post-conviction matters in state and federal court. He was
also the Mental Health Coordinator, supervising approximately
fifteen lawyers litigating post-adjudication insanity review
proceedings, and he served on felony-homicide duty, where he
responded to crime scenes, questioned suspects, and prepared search
warrants. Dean Cunningham was previously an Assistant
Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Alexandria, Virginia, where
he prosecuted juvenile delinquency offenses and gang
cases.
Dean Cunningham was a professor for three years at Texas Tech
University School of Law, where he taught criminal justice-related
courses and directed a criminal litigation clinic. During that
time, he was pro bono counsel in a successful, high-profile appeal
challenging the prosecution of pregnant women for delivering
controlled substances to their fetuses. His work on the case
led to the reversal of several convictions. He has also
taught as a visiting professor at Texas Wesleyan University School
of Law and Stetson University College of Law and as an adjunct
professor at Brooklyn Law School.
Dean Cunningham has published widely in the fields of criminal
justice, juvenile justice, animal law, appellate litigation, and
legal education. His articles have appeared in the
Georgetown Law Journal, Syracuse Law Review,
Quinnipiac Law Review, and the peer-reviewed journal
Criminal Justice Ethics, among others. He has been a
frequent speaker on legal education and other topics before bar
associations, law schools, and other organizations. In June
2008, he testified before the United States Senate Judiciary
Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, on the legality of
laptop searches at the international border.
In 2008, Dean Cunningham established a blog on New York Criminal Law
and Procedure. The blog provides summaries of recent
decisions from New York's appellate courts, analysis of important
issues in New York criminal practice, and news of interest to
practitioners and judges about the criminal justice system.
Dean Cunningham teaches Legal Writing and Analysis; Legal
Research, Writing, and Analysis; Criminal Law; and New York
Criminal Practice.