Kathleen M. Burch

Professor

Education

B.A., Rosary College, cum laude
J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude

Courses Taught

Civil Liberties Seminar; Civil Procedure I and II; Constitutional Law I and II; Education Law; Legal Drafting; Legislation; Micronesian Externship Program; Trial Advocacy; Art of Advocacy; The Making of the Constitution; Law and Religion

Career Highlights

Professor Burch practiced commercial litigation with Hopkins & Sutter in Chicago for six years before serving as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. During her six years in Micronesia, Professor Burch was responsible for providing legal services to various agencies, and advised the Governor on economic development and fisheries issues. As Chief of Litigation, Professor Burch supervised all criminal prosecutions and represented the State in international litigation. Before joining the John Marshall faculty in 2003, Professor Burch taught at Roger Williams Law School in Rhode Island. Professor Burch has been awarded the ACLU of Georgia’s Volunteer Attorney Award. Professor Burch has served on the National Association of Women Lawyers Committee for Evaluation of Supreme Court Nominees. Professor Burch is the Chief Legal Counsel for the Fourth Constitutional Convention of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Admitted to Practice

Illinois (1989); U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (1989); U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (1990); Yap State Court, FSM (1995); FSM Supreme Court (1996); U.S. Supreme Court (2009).

Publications

Blasphemy! Constitutional Law Online and Skills Based in LAW TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR A NEW ERA: BEYOND THE PHYSICAL CLASSROOM (Carolina Press forthcoming Summer 2021).

Academic Freedom: Protecting Unpopular Faculty Speech (August 2015) available at http://tbbyayinlari.barobirlik.org.tr/TBBBooks/525.pdf.

Educating the Legal Practitioner: Overcoming Functional Fixedness, (forthcoming 2014/2015).

Protecting Privacy in the Digital Age: Europe and The United States, (Fall 2014).

Academic Freedom: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Protections in the United States and Turkey, 7 Bahcesehir/Kazanci L.J. 65 (2011).

Free Speech in Time of War and Terror in the United States and Turkey, 7 Bahcesehir/Kazanci L.J. 108 (2011).

Going Global: Managing Risk Liability in International Externship Programs – A Case Study, 36 Journal of College and University Law 455 (2010).

Marriage Amendment Violates the U.S. Constitution, Fulton County Daily Report at 5, Oct. 28, 2004.

Due Process in Micronesia: Are Fish Due Less Process?, 8 Roger Williams U. L. Rev. 43 (2002).

Media, Public & Professional Appearances

Tech Literary a Minimum Competency to Practice Law, Transnational Conference on the Future of Legal Education, the Practice of Law, and the Judiciary, sponsored by Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, and Mitchell Hamline Law School, February 2021.

First Amendment, 26th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 17, 2019.

Supreme Court Update: Criminal and Civil, Pacific Judicial Council Conference, Guam, September 2019.

Supreme Court Update: Criminal and Civil, Pacific Judicial Council Conference, Koror, Palau, September 2018.

Judicial Ethics, Pacific Judicial Council Bi-Annual Conference, Kolonia, Pohnpei, September 2015.

Supreme Court Update: Criminal and Civil, Pacific Judicial Council Bi-Annual Conference, Kolonia, Pohnpei, September 2015.

Innovations in Teaching Constitutional Law, Discussion Group, Southeastern Association of Law Schools 2015 Annual Conference, Boca Raton, Florida, July 2015.

Educating the Legal Practitioner: Overcoming Functional Fixedness, The Second International Conference on Legal Education, Hacettepe University Faculty of Law, Ankara, Turkey, November 19, 2014.

Guns in Georgia, Issues Conference, Fayette County Democratic Committee, Fayetteville, GA, June 21, 2014.

Academic Freedom: Protecting Unpopular Faculty Speech, Legal Education in the Twenty-First Century: An International Conference of Legal Educators, Istanbul and Ankara, May 2014.

NSA Surveillance, 20th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 24, 2013.

The Supreme Court and the Election, 19th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 25, 2012.

Empathy in the Jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas, Workshop on Constitutional Law, Discussion Group: Justice Thomas after Twenty Years, Southeastern Association of Law Schools 2012 Annual Conference, Amelia Island, Florida, July 30, 2012.

Democracy Workshop: a comparison of the United States, Germany, and Turkey, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey, April 26, 2012.

Protecting Privacy in the Digital Age, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey, April 25, 2012.

The Role of the Courts in Protecting Religious Freedom and Free Speech: a Comparison of the United States and Turkey, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey, April 24, 2012.

LGBT Youth and the School to Prison Pipeline, ACLU of Georgia Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 12, 2011.

Moderator and Chair, 18th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 28, 2011.

Academic Freedom: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Protections in the United States and Turkey, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey, June 6, 2011.

Free Speech in Time of War and Terror in the United States and Turkey, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey, June 6, 2011.

Supreme Court Update, Pacific Judicial Council Bi-Annual Conference, Koror, Palau, April 2011.

Issues in Constitutional Law: 4th Amendment – Search and Seizure and Warrants, Pacific Judicial Council Bi-Annual Conference, Koror, Palau, April 2011.

International Legal Exchange: Regulatory and Liability Aspects of International Program Development, Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, January 6, 2011.

Moderator and Chair, 17th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 29, 2010.

Moderator and Chair, 16th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, November 6, 2009.

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Enforcement of Foreign-Country Judgments, Guam Bar Association, Tamuning Guam, October 30, 2009.

Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Enforcement of Foreign-Country Judgments, 2009 Pacific Judicial Council Conference, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, October 28, 2009.

U.S. Supreme Court Update: The 2007 and 2008 Terms, 2009 Pacific Judicial Council Conference, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, October 27, 2009.

Partnering with NGOs: Integrating Doctrine, Skills, Writing, and Professionalism, Conference on Promoting the Teaching of Legal Writing in Southern Africa, Academics Promoting the Pedagogy of Effective Advocacy in Law, Pretoria, South Africa, July1-4, 2009.

The Gun Control Debate in Georgia, Georgia’s Interference with Privacy and Property Rights, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School Law Journal Symposium, Feburary 27, 2009.

Opening Pandora’s Box: Heller v. District of Columbia and the Right to Bear Arms, 15th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 31, 2008.

Elements of Successful Mediation Programs and A Brief Overview on Mediator Training, Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, Istanbul, Turkey, August 7, 2008.

The Robert’s Court: Expanding and Contracting First Amendment Protection, 14th Annual Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta, GA, October 2007.

Teaching Students with Different Learning Styles, Nairobi Legal Writing Conference, Nairobi, Kenya, March 15, 2007.

Judicial Independence, Constitution Day, John Marshall Law School, Atlanta GA, September 18, 2006.

Moderator, Drafting the Yap State Charter: An Oral History from the Surviving Delegates to the Yap State Charter Convention, Palau Community College, Yap Branch, July 6, 2006.

Pass the Bar! Strengthening Analytical and Writing Skills to Increase First Time Bar Passage, Legal Writing Institute Conference, Atlanta GA, June 9, 2006.

Multiple Intelligence in Legal Education in Theory and in Practice, Association of Legal Writing Directors: Teaching Lawyers of and for the 21st Century, Chicago IL, July 21-23, 2005.

Moderator, 12th Annual U.S. Supreme Court Update, Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, Atlanta GA, October 6, 2005.

U.S. Strategic Colonialism Versus the Right to Self-Determination: How the Adoption of a Democratic Government Incorporating Feminist Principles Diminished Yapese

Women’s Political Power, Feminism and Legal Theory Project: Across-Legal-Cultures Workshop – “Post-Colonialism”, Emory University School of Law, Atlanta GA, September 10-11, 2004.

Roundtable Discussion: The Election and the Judicial System, 11th Annual U.S. Supreme Court Update, Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, September 9, 2004.