Andrew Horwitz

Andrew Horwitz
Andrew HorwitzAssociate Dean for Experiential Education

Contact Information

401-254-4612ahorwitz@rwu.eduSSRN Author PageCurriculum Vitae

Education

J.D., New York University
B.A., Haverford College

Dean Horwitz is the Associate Dean for Experiential Education, overseeing the clinical programs, clinical externships, pro bono programs, and various other forms of experiential learning at the law school. As Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic, Dean Horwitz provides students with the real world opportunities they need to help sharpen their legal skills. In the Criminal Defense Clinic second and third year law students represent indigent criminal defendants in Rhode Island District Court and the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal under his direct supervision. Each semester students handle dozens of trial-level cases, including several each semester that are tried to a verdict. The clinic also handles some appellate cases, including cases in which students have argued before the Rhode Island Supreme Court. In addition to his clinic and administrative duties, Dean Horwitz sometimes teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, and interviewing and counseling.

Always active in the community, Dean Horwitz continues his public service by providing pro bono representation on behalf of organizations such as Operation Stand Down, the NAACP, and the United States District Court’s H.O.P.E. Court. He serves on several boards of directors, including the Rhode Island Center for Justice, OpenDoors Rhode Island, and the Transcending Through Education Foundation, and he is a past-president and Executive Committee member of the Rhode Island Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Dean Horwitz has been recognized with community service awards from Rhode Island Legal Services, the Women's Resource Center, the Providence Branch of the NAACP, the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, Operation Stand Down, and the Rhode Island Bar Association. From 2008-10, he served as Distinguished Service Professor at RWU Law. Prior to joining the RWU faculty, Dean Horwitz served as a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of New York City. There, he represented indigent defendants in all areas of criminal litigation including jury trials, suppression hearings, parole and probation violation hearings, and plea negotiations.

Dean Horwitz earned his B.A. from Haverford College and is a cum laude graduate of NYU Law.

Articles

"The Costs of Abusing Probationary Sentences: Overincarceration and the Erosion of Due Process", 75 Brooklyn Law Review 753 (2010)

"Police Prosecution in Rhode Island: The Unauthorized Practice of Law", Rhode Island Bar Journal, May/June 2006, at 5 (with John R. Grasso)

"Mixed Signals and Subtle Cues: Jury Independence and Judicial Appointment of the Jury Foreperson", 54 Catholic University Law Review 829 (2005)

"The Right to Counsel in Criminal Cases: The Law and Reality in Rhode Island District Court", 9 Roger Williams University Law Review 409 (2004)

"Coercion, Pop-Psychology, and Judicial Moralizing: Some Proposals for Curbing Judicial Abuse of Probation Conditions", 57 Washington and Lee Law Review 75 (2000)

"Taking the Cop Out of Copping a Plea: Eradicating Police Prosecution of Criminal Cases", 40 Arizona Law Review 1305 (1998)

"Sexual Psychopath Legislation: Is There Anywhere to Go But Backwards?", 57 University of Pittsburgh Law Review 35 (1995)

Close Course Type Descriptions

Course Types

We have classified RWU Law classes under the following headers. One of the following course types will be attached to each course which will allow students to narrow down their search while looking for classes.

Core Course

Students in the first and second year are required to take classes covering the following aspects of the law—contracts, torts, property, criminal law, civil procedure, and constitutional law, evidence, and professional responsibility.  Along with these aspects, the core curriculum will develop legal reasoning skills.

Elective

After finishing the core curriculum the remaining coursework toward the degree is completed through upper level elective courses.  Students can choose courses that peak their interests or courses that go along with the track they are following.

Seminar

Seminars are classes where teachers and small groups of students focus on a specific topic and the students complete a substantial research paper.

Clinics/Externships

Inhouse Clinics and Clinical Externships legal education is law school training in which students participate in client representation under the supervision of a practicing attorney or law professor.  RWU Law's Clinical Programs offer unique and effective learning opportunities and the opportunity for practical experience while still in law school.