Melissa Lynn Davis joined UNH Law in August of 2020 to direct the Criminal Practice Clinic. As Director, she supervises students as they represent clients in criminal cases in New Hampshire's Circuit and Superior Courts.
She joined the New Hampshire Public Defender in 2005 as a Staff Attorney. She practiced in Strafford, Grafton, and Coos Counties representing indigent clients accused of a range of criminal offenses. In 2017 she became the lead trainer for the New Lawyer Trial Skills Course, a multi-day training in theory driven trial preparation for new NHPD lawyers. In 2018 she became Managing Attorney for the Littleton Office of NHPD.
Professor Davis is a Board Member for the New Hampshire Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where she is Chair of the Committee on Systemic Racism. She is also a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association.
She is a graduate of American University, Washington College of Law (J.D. - '05) and the University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. '99).
Courses Taught
- LCL 917: Criminal Practice Clinic
- LCL 918: Criminal Practice Class
- LCL 924: Adv Criminal Practice Clinic
- LGP 924: Evidence
- LPI 912: Fundamentals of Law Practice
- LRS 905: Independent Study
Research Interests
- Criminal justice
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Statistics
