Professor Byron L. Warnken

OVERVIEW OF PROFESSOR BYRON L. WARNKEN

Byron L. Warnken is a graduate of McDonogh School, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Baltimore (UofB) School of Law. Prior to becoming a law professor, he served in the United States Army, clerked for the Honorable Basil A. Thomas on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, and was an attorney in the Office of Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service.

As a family man, Professor Warnken has been married to Bonnie Lee Angevine Warnken for 38 years. They have a 29-year-old son, Byron Brandon Warnken, who is a member of the Maryland Bar and is an internet marketer in St. Paul, Minnesota. They have a 26-year-old daughter, Heather Bronwyn Warnken Vallarelli, who is a second-year law student at Suffolk University School of Law in Boston, is Vice-President of Students in Public Interest, will work for Children’s Legal Services this summer, and will clerk for the Honorable Joseph F. Murphy, Jr., on the Court of Appeals of Maryland, in 2009.

As an academic, Professor Warnken has been a member of UofB’s full-time law faculty for 31 years and currently teaches Criminal Law, Constitutional Criminal Procedure I & II, and Judicial Process. He is (1) Director of the Judicial Internship Program, having placed 2,500 law students with judges; (2) Director of Region III of the National Moot Court Competition (16 law schools in a four-state region); and (3) Director of the Judicial EXPLOR Program, which, for 15 years, has guaranteed every first-year UofB law student experience with a federal or state trial or appellate judge. In 2008, UofB renamed its Annual Consolidated Moot Court Competition, which Professor Warnken established in 1991, as “The Byron L. Warnken Annual Consolidated Moot Court Competition.”

As a scholar, during 2007-08, Professor Warnken has thus far published a law review article, eight other articles, materials for 15 continuing legal education (CLE) programs, a text for attorneys, and four texts for law students. Outside the Law School, he has provided CLE lectures and served on CLE panels on more than 500 occasions in 18 states and Great Britain. Since 1995, he has provided “in-service” training for the Baltimore County Police Department.

As a legislative expert, Professor Warnken has drafted federal, state, and local legislation. He has testified more than 40 times before Congress, the Maryland General Assembly, and the Baltimore City Council. Professor Warnken has been invited to the White House for his legislative work.

As an appellate practitioner, Professor Warnken has been involved in more than 175 appeals. He has had three cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, including (1) appointment by the Supreme Court in Maryland v. Wilson in 1996 to brief and argue against United States Attorney General Janet Reno and Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr.; (2) preparation of the Respondent’s Brief in Maryland v. Craig in 1990; and (3) co-counsel on the Amicus Brief of the National Association of Police Organizations, Inc., in Koon & Powell v. United States in 1995 (better known as the Rodney King case).

As a licensed attorney, Professor Warnken is a member of six bar associations (two national, two state, and two local). He has served on (1) the Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee (since its inception in 1981, including 24 years as “Reporter,” and publishing 11 editions), and (2) the Maryland Criminal Code Revision Committee (since 1991). Professor Warnken’s elected positions include the (1) Maryland State Bar Association Criminal Law & Practice Section Council (since 2003), (2) Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys’ Association Board of Governors (since 2005), (3) Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center Board of Directors (since 2004), (4) Wednesday Law Club (since 1998), and (5) J. Dudley Digges Inns of Court (since 2004).

As a media consultant, Professor Warnken has had more than 1,000 local, national, and international media appearances and interviews, including Larry King Weekend, C-Span’s Washington Journal, CNN Crossfire, Court TV’s Cochran & Co., MSNBC, ABC National News, Hannity & Colmes, CBS Sunday Morning, Geraldo Rivera Live, and News Talk Television.

As a bar review lecturer, Professor Warnken has prepared candidates for state and multistate bar exams in ten states since 1979. From 1979 to 1997, he owned or directed the SMH Maryland Bar Review (1979-95) and the West Bar Review of Maryland (1995-97). When counting his Law School teaching, his CLE lectures and panels, and his bar review lectures, Professor Warnken has taught or lectured to more than 40% of Maryland’s 35,000 lawyers.

In 2000, Professor Warnken was selected (1) academic “Mentor of the Year” among 9,400 professors in Maryland, and (2) attorney “Mentor of the Year” for Baltimore City. In 2006, he was voted (1) the University of Baltimore School of Law “Alumnus of the Year,” and (2) the Maryland Crime Victims Resource Center “Champion for Crime Victims.” In 1990, Professor Warnken received the University of Baltimore “Spirit of Excellence” Award. From 1994 to 2001, he served as Director of Legal Programs for the National Law Enforcement Officers’ Rights Center, and, in 1996, he received the Pete Lawer Award, given annually to one “non-cop” who has made the greatest contribution to the law enforcement community.

Selected Links:

Professor Warnken
University Law Courses
Maryland Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions