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Areas of Interest
Civil procedure, courts, and administration of estates
Profile
Ann Anderson joined the School of Government faculty in 2007. Prior to that, she was an associate for six years with the law firm of Kennedy Covington in Raleigh and Durham, where she specialized in real-estate litigation and quasi-judicial proceedings. Anderson earned a BA in history with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a law degree with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, where she was a member of the North Carolina Law Review.
Areas of Interest
Law of judicial administration; courts and judicial education; constitutional law; voting rights; alcoholic beverage control law
Profile
Michael Crowell joined the School of Government faculty in 2007 following more than 20 years in private law practice and a previous stint at the Institute of Government. While his primary focus is judicial authority and administration, he has experience in election disputes, redistricting, voting rights, local government, civil penalties, legislation, ABC law, and other areas, including appeals in both state appellate courts and the Fourth, Ninth and D.C. federal circuit courts. In the mid-1990s Crowell also served as executive director of the Commission for the Future of Justice and the Courts in North Carolina. He holds a bachelor's degree from UNC and a law degree from Harvard University.
Areas of Interest
Motor vehicle law, including legal aspects of impaired driving and driver’s license revocations
Profile
Shea Denning joined the School of Government in 2003. Prior to that, she was an assistant federal public defender for the Eastern District of North Carolina and practiced law with the firm of King and Spalding in Atlanta, Georgia. Denning began her career as a law clerk to the Honorable Malcolm J. Howard, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar. Denning earned an AB in journalism and mass communication and a JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
James C. Drennan
Areas of Interest
Court administration; legal responsibilities of clerks of court; pattern jury instructions; North Carolina constitution
Profile
Jim Drennan joined the School of Government (then the Institute of Government) in 1974. He teaches and advises on court administration issues, judicial ethics and fairness, criminal sentencing, and judicial leadership. Drennan is also responsible for the School’s educational programs for clerks of superior court and court administrators.While on leave from 1993 through 1995, he served as director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. He is a member of the North Carolina State Bar, the American Bar Association, and the National Association of State Judicial Educators. Drennan earned a BA from Furman University and a JD from Duke University, where he served on the editorial board of the Duke Law Journal.
Areas of Interest
Criminal law and procedure; police attorneys; evidence
Profile
Bob Farb retired from full-time work at the School of Government in 2007 after a distinguished 31-year career on the faculty. While no longer active with School of Government teaching and advising, Farb continues to serve the School with research and writing on criminal law and procedure. Farb’s prior faculty work included conducting educational programs for North Carolina prosecutors and regularly teaching judges, magistrates, police attorneys, law enforcement officers, and others who work in the criminal justice system. He was a prolific scholar, and his publications include Arrest, Search, and Investigation in North Carolina; North Carolina Capital Case Law Handbook; North Carolina Prosecutors' Trial Manual; North Carolina Crimes; and Arrest Warrant and Indictment Forms. Farb earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Cheryl Daniels Howell
Areas of Interest
Courts; family law; judicial education
Profile
Cheryl Howell joined the School of Government (then the Institute of Government) in 1992. Prior to that, she practiced law in Winston-Salem and Fayetteville and worked as a research assistant to Chief Judge R.A. Hedrick of the NC Court of Appeals. Currently, Howell works with the NC Association of District Court Judges in planning and coordinating their judicial education programs. She is a member of the NC Bar Association and the NC Association of Women Attorneys. She also has served as a member of the Family Court Advisory Committee, appointed by the Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court, since its creation in 1998. Her publications include articles and bulletins relating to family law and family court, as well as chapters created for the Trial Judges’ Bench Book, District Court edition. Howell earned a BA, magna cum laude, from Appalachian State University and a JD, with honors, Order of the Coif, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Areas of Interest
Magistrates' issues (non-criminal law), including summary ejectment, small claims procedure, performing marriages, and appointment and removal matters
Profile
Dona Lewandowski joined the faculty of the Institute of Government in 1985 and spent the next five years writing, teaching, and consulting with district court judges in the area of family law. In 1990, following the birth of her son, she left the Institute to devote full time to her family. She rejoined the School of Government in 2006. Lewandowski holds a BS and an MA from Middle Tennessee State University and a JD with honors, Order of the Coif, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After law school, she worked as a research assistant to Chief Judge R.A. Hedrick of the NC Court of Appeals.
Areas of Interest
Juvenile court; delinquency; child welfare law; adoption
Profile
Janet Mason joined the School of Government (then the Institute of Government) in 1982. Prior to that, she practiced law for seven years with legal services programs in North Carolina. Before law school she worked as a social worker in Baltimore and as a juvenile court counselor in Orange County. She works in the area of juvenile law with district court judges and attorneys who practice in juvenile court. Her publications include a book on the child abuse reporting law and articles and bulletins relating to juvenile delinquency; child abuse and neglect; termination of parental rights; and North Carolina marriage law. She has served on a variety of university committees. Mason earned a JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Areas of Interest
Criminal law and procedure; public defender training; evidence; indigent defense; domestic violence; subpoenas
Profile
John Rubin joined the School of Government in 1991. He previously practiced law for nine years in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. At the School, he specializes in criminal law and indigent defense education. He has written several articles and books on criminal law; teaches and consults with judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and other officials in the criminal justice system; and manages the School’s indigent defense education program. He is a frequent consultant to the Office of Indigent Defense Services, which is responsible for overseeing and enhancing legal representation for indigent defendants and others entitled to counsel under North Carolina law. In 2008, he was awarded a two-year distinguished professorship for faculty excellence. In 2012, he was named Albert Coates Professor of Public Law and Government. Rubin earned a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and a JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Areas of Interest
Criminal law and procedure; judicial education; bail and pretrial release; evidence; post-conviction procedure
Profile
Jessie Smith joined the Institute of Government in 2000. Prior to that, she practiced law at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. She also clerked for U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and for Senior U.S. Circuit Judge J. Dickson Phillips Jr. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. At the School of Government, Smith teaches and consults with judges and other public employees involved in the criminal justice system. She is the 2006 recipient of the Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Term Professorship for Teaching Excellence. Smith earned a BA, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she was managing editor of the Law Review.
Profile
Susan Jensen joined the School of Government in 2008. In her role as program manager, she works with magistrates and new District Court judges. Jensen holds a BA from UNC-Chapel Hill in radio/TV/motion pictures and in political science, and an MA in political science from Appalachian State University.
Profile
Cindy Lee joined the School of Government in 2007. Prior to that, she was a program manager at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. In her role at the School of Government, she works primarily with District Court judges, but she also works with Superior Court judges, magistrates, clerks and assistant clerks of Superior Court, and district attorneys. Lee earned a bachelor's degree from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Profile
Audrey Williams joined the School of Government in 2003 as a program manager, and in 2011 she was named courts group manager. Prior to joining the School, Williams was a professional development coordinator for Carolina Biological Supply Company. Williams holds a bachelor's degree in early education and a master's degree in liberal studies, both from UNC-Greensboro.
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