Kate Stith, also known as Kate Stith-Cabranes, is the Lafayette S. Foster Professor of Law and the former acting dean of

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

. Her appointment was announced on March 23, 2009, by

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

President Richard Levin, when former dean Harold Koh was nominated to serve as

Legal Adviser of the Department of State The Legal Adviser of the Department of State is a position within the United States Department of State. The legal adviser provides legal advice on all issues (domestic and international) arising in the course of the department's activities. ...

. Stith is a former

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gov ...

for the

Southern District of New York The Southern District of New York is a federal judicial district that encompasses the counties of New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, and Sullivan. Federal offices or agencies operating in the distri ...

Education

Stith received a B.A. degree from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1973, a J.D. degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

and a Masters of Public Policy from

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

, both in 1977. She clerked for Judge Carl McGowan of the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

and for

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Justice Byron R. White.

Career

From 1979 to 1980, Stith was a staff economist for

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the president of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...

. From 1980 to 1981, she served as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at DOJ. From 1981 to 1984, Stith was an

in the

under John S. Martin Jr. and

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

, and focused on white collar and organized crime. Stith began teaching at Yale Law School (YLS) in 1985. Her interest in criminal procedure has led her to serve as an adviser to the American Law Institute's Model Penal Code Sentencing and, following an appointment by the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

, on the Advisory Committee for the

Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are the procedural rules that govern how federal criminal prosecutions are conducted in United States district courts and the general trial courts of the U.S. government. They are the companion to the F ...

. She has also participated in the National Research Council's Committee on Law and Justice, the state of Connecticut's Professional Ethics Committee; the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women in Connecticut
the Women's Campaign School at Yale
and the Connecticut Bar Foundation (as President). Stith served on the

Board of Directors and as Deputy Dean of Yale Law School. On March 23, 2009, Stith wa
named Acting Dean of the Yale Law Schoolthe first woman ever to be appointed
to lead YLS. She was one of the witnesses who testified in favor of

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...

during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings. She served on the

Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College The Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College is the governing body of Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. , the Board includes twenty-three people. The current Chair of the Board is Stephen M ...

from 1989 to 2000.

Works

Stith has published extensively in law journals. Her book, ''Fear of Judging'', written with her husband, José Cabranes, won a Certificate of Merit from the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

in 1999.

Personal life

Stith is married to Judge José A. Cabranes of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory covers the states of Connecticut, New York (state), New York, and Vermont, and it has ap ...

, and is the sister of Laura Denvir Stith, who served on the

Missouri Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitutio ...

from 2001 to 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stith, Kate Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American academic administrators American women lawyers American lawyers American legal scholars American legal writers Assistant United States attorneys Dartmouth College alumni Deans of Yale Law School Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Women deans (academic) American women legal scholars Yale Law School faculty American women academics 21st-century American women

Education

Career

Works

Personal life

See also

References