Dr. Raoul Schonemann

Biography

Raoul Schonemann is a Clinical Professor and co-director of the Capital Punishment Clinic at Texas Law. He has represented clients facing death penalty trials, appeals, and post-conviction cases for over 30 years. Before joining the faculty in 2013, he was the managing attorney at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta and served as a deputy public defender in San Francisco. Prof. Schonemann teaches courses focused on capital punishment, capital defense advocacy, and contemporary criminal justice issues. Throughout his career, he has been actively involved in efforts to improve the quality of legal representation in capital cases, contributing to important changes in defense practices in Texas. This includes co-authoring the “The Fair Defense Report,” which analyzed the state’s indigent defense system and was influential in the passage of the Texas Fair Defense Act in 2001. Additionally, he has served as a consultant for the American Bar Association on guidelines for the appointment of counsel in death penalty cases and was the training director for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Prof. Schonemann holds a B.A. in history from Washington University, a J.D. from New York University School of Law where he was the articles editor for the Law Review, and an L.L.M. from Georgetown University.

Research Interests