The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law mourns the loss of Professor Emeritus Jerome “Jerry” Deise, 78, who passed away on March 27.
For more than 30 years, Deise (standing, third from left) was integral to Maryland Carey Law’s criminal defense and trial advocacy programs. Joining the faculty in 1991, he taught the Criminal Defense Clinic, along with Evidence, Criminal Law, and Professional Responsibility. Deise was also the founding director of Maryland Carey Law’s National Trial Team, whose members are now honored with the Jerome E. Deise Medallion of Excellence when they graduate.
Deise’s scholarship reflected his dedication to public service and legal education. He authored, with Professor Alan Hornstein, “Greater Than the Sum of its Parts: Integrating Trial Evidence & Advocacy,” which was published in the Clinical Law Review In 2000. The piece reports on what they called the “experiment” of combining Maryland Carey Law’s foundational Evidence and Trial Advocacy courses into one—an innovation consistent with the law school’s long and leading hallmark of integrating doctrinal theory and experiential learning.
Deise’s other writings include the 1996 Clinical Law Review article “Ethical Decisionmaking and Ethics Instruction in Clinical Law Practice,” written with multiple members of the Clinical Law Program faculty; and “More Than a ‘Quick Glimpse of the Life’: the Relationship Between Victim Impact Evidence and Death Sentencing” (with Raymond Paternoster), published in Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, 2013.
Considered a transformative mentor by generations of students he taught and coached, Deise is remembered with deep fondness.
Ben Garmoe ’16 was a student on the National Trial Team under Deise and now directs that same team as the Salsbury Director of Trial Advocacy at Maryland Carey Law. “Jerry changed the entire trajectory of my life,” said Garmoe. “Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today. He was one of the greatest people I have ever known, and I will miss him every day.”
Renowned for his dedication to student success, Deise was the law school’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 1998. In 2004, the Roscoe Pound Institute recognized him with the prestigious Richard S. Jacobson Award, presented to outstanding law professors who exemplify the “best attributes of the trial lawyer as teacher, mentor, and advocate.”
Prior to academia, Deise served as the chief attorney of the Capital Defense Division of the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. In that role, he represented clients charged with capital murder. Passionately anti-death penalty, Deise testified in opposition to capital punishment before the Maryland Senate Judiciary Committee and lectured extensively on the topic.
Previously, he was a public defender, representing clients charged with felony offenses, including non-capital murder.
Following Deise’s retirement, the Maryland Law Review in 2015 published a tribute to him, featuring contributions from the Hon. Paul W. Grimm; Professor Alan D. Hornstein; Professor Michael Pinard; and Stuart M. Salsbury ’71. Their pieces express profound appreciation for Deise’s importance to the Maryland Carey Law community.
“Jerry’s abilities as a trial lawyer transferred perfectly to his role as an academic, clinical professor, and trial team coach,” wrote Judge Grimm. “He had a knack for instilling his attributes in his students, teaching them, mentoring them, encouraging them, and never letting them forget what it means to have the responsibility for the life of a client in your hands.”
Lindsey McCulley ’12, who was coached by Deise, agrees.
“He [Deise] instilled in us that you lead with integrity, you must be the most prepared person in the room, and the real work happens long before you ever stand in front of a jury,” McCulley wrote on LinkedIn in the days following Deise’s death. “Jerry was always clear: the goal was never just to win. It was to become good lawyers and good human beings. The victories would follow as a byproduct of that standard. I know I’ll continue to hear his voice in my head for the rest of my career. That’s the mark of a true mentor. He helped shape generations of Maryland Law students and National Trial Team alumni.”
Born in Baltimore, Deise earned his JD from the University of Baltimore School of Law in 1975 and his BA from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1970. He spent retirement in Massachusetts with his beloved wife of 55 years, Susan (Hall) Deise.