A.B., 2002, magna cum laude, Harvard University J.D., 2005, magna cum laude, University of Minnesota Web: Twitter: @MeghanJRyan
Professor Ryan teaches and writes at the intersection of criminal law and procedure, torts, and law & science. Her current research focuses on the impact of evolving science and technology on criminal convictions and punishment, as well as on civil remedies.
Professor Ryan received her A.B., magna cum laude, in Chemistry from Harvard University in 2002. In 2005, she earned a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and received the American Law Institute-American Bar Association Scholarship and Leadership Award. She was a member of both the Minnesota Law Review and the Minnesota Journal of Global Trade.
After graduation, Professor Ryan clerked for the Honorable Roger L. Wollman of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She also worked as an associate in the trial group at the Minneapolis-based law firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where she focused her practice on commercial and intellectual property litigation. Additionally, Professor Ryan has conducted research in the areas of bioinorganic chemistry, molecular biology, and experimental therapeutics at the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the SMU faculty, Professor Ryan was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, where she taught Criminal Law, Criminal Process, and Sales.
Underneath Toxic Causation (work in progress). Capital Competency and the Right Not to Know (work in progress). Juries and the Criminal Constitution (work in progress). Science and the New Rehabilitation (work in progress). Death and Rehabilitation, 46 U.C. Davis. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2013).
The Missing Jury: The Neglected Role of Juries in Eighth Amendment Punishments Clause Determinations, 64 Fla. L. Rev. 549 (2012). Proximate Retribution, 48 Hous. L. Rev. 1049 (2012).
Remedying Wrongful Execution, 45 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 261 (2012).
Judging Cruelty, 44 U.C. Davis L. Rev. 81 (2010).
Does Stare Decisis Apply in the Eighth Amendment Death Penalty Context?, 85 N.C. L. Rev. 847 (2007).
Can the IRS Silence Religious Organizations?, 40 Ind. L. Rev. 73 (2007).
Role of Carboxylate Bridges in Modulating Nonheme Diiron(II)O2 Reactivity, 42 Inorganic Chemistry 7519 (2003) (with Miquel Costas, et al.).
Juries and the Criminal Constitution, American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section Fifth Annual Fall Institute, Washington, D.C. (Oct. 25, 2012). Interview, Seeking Supreme Court's Help, Dallas Morning News (Sept. 25, 2012). Tortious Intentions, Pre-Law Scholars Program, SMU Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dallas, TX (Sept. 12, 2012). Science and the New Rehabilitation, Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting, Amelia Island, FL (July 31, 2012). Television Interview, CBS-DFW, June 12, 2012 (“Lawsuit Filed Against Apple’s Siri Technology”), available at http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/06/12/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against-apples-siri-technology/, quoted in Erik Kain, Why the Class Action Siri Lawsuit Against Apple Is Patently Absurd, FORBES, June 14, 2012, available at http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/06/14/why-the-class-action-siri-lawsuit-against-apple-is-patently-absurd/. Death and Rehabilitation, 2012 International Conference on Law and Society, Honolulu, HI (June 8, 2012). Science and the New Rehabilitation, 2012 International Conference on Law and Society, Honolulu, HI (June 5, 2012). The Landscape of the New Rehabilitation, SMU Dedman School of Law Executive Board Meeting, SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas, TX (May 14, 2012). Breakthrough Science and the New Rehabilitation, Interdisciplinary Law Workshop, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, Indianapolis, IN (Mar. 23, 2012). Breakthrough Science and the New Rehabilitation, Fifteenth Annual Conference for the Association of the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, Fort Worth, TX (Mar. 16, 2012). Science and the New Criminal Rehabilitation, Law Faculty Research and Development Exchange, University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville, AR (Feb. 3, 2012). The New Utility and Morality of Stem Cell Research, What Every Student Should Know About Cloning & Human Stem-Cell Research, SMU Federalist Society, Dallas, TX (Jan. 18, 2012). Interview, Halloween 2011: Staying Safe, DALLAS MORNING NEWS: NEIGHBORSGO.COM, Oct. 28, 2011. Interview, Execution Watch, KPFT 90.1 FM, Sept. 15, 2011. Interview, Recording of Execution in Georgia Likely to Lead to Similar Requests in Texas, Dallas Morning News, July 27, 2011. A Jury’s Interpretation of Cruelty, Southeastern Association of Law Schools 2011 Annual Conference, Hilton Head, SC (July 26, 2011). Television Interview, Fox 4 News, KDFW-TV, July 5, 2011 (“Casey Anthony Acquitted of Murder”), available at http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/070511-Casey-Anthony-Acquitted-of-Murder.
Law and Science, 2011 Appellate Judges Certificate Program, Santa Fe, NM (June 27, 2011 – July 1, 2011).
Television Interview, WFAA-TV, June 6, 2011 (“Could YouTube Lead Cops to Bikers Who Halted Traffic?”), available at http://www.wfaa.com/home/Riders-Evidence--123279288.html. Total Retribution, 2011 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (June 2, 2011). Science and Rehabilitation, Sixth Annual Conference on Catholic Legal Thought, University of Oklahoma College of Law, Norman, OK (May 18, 2011). Accounting for Wrongful Execution, International Innocence Network Conference, Cincinnati, OH (Apr. 9, 2011). Palsgrafian Torts, Pre-Law Scholars Program, SMU Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dallas, TX (Mar. 23, 2011). Total Retribution, Southwest Junior Law Professors Workshop, Arizona State University College of Law, Tempe, AZ (Mar. 14, 2011). Total Retribution, Fourteenth Annual Conference for the Association of the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities, University of Nevada–Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV (Mar. 12, 2011). Moderator, “Dallas County Exonerees Share Their Stories,” SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas, TX (Mar. 3, 2011). Remedying Wrongful Execution, Criminal Justice Forum, SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas, TX (Dec. 13, 2010). Total Retribution, Junior Faculty Forum, SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas, TX (Nov. 5, 2010). Proximate Retribution, Central States Law Schools Association, University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, ND (Sept. 25, 2010). American Criminal Law and Procedure, U.S. Department of State’s Rule of Law and Judicial Reform of Iraq Program, SMU Dedman School of Law (May 5, 2010). Judging Cruelty, Thirteenth Annual Conference for the Association of the Study of Law, Culture, and the Humanities, Brown University (Mar. 27, 2010). Panelist, “The Impact of the Lisbon Treaty,” Supreme Court Summit, Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg (Feb. 2010).
Death, Drugs, and Desert, Rule of Law Forum, SMU Dedman School of Law (Oct. 3, 2009). Does the Eighth Amendment Punishments Clause Prohibit Only Punishments That Are Both Cruel and Unusual?, Faculty Works in Progress, University of Minnesota Law School (Sept. 4, 2008).