Richard Kling

Richard S. Kling

Clinical Professor of Law

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Professor Kling received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and his law degree in 1971 from Northwestern University. After graduating, he joined the Cook County Public Defender's Office, where from 1976 to 1981 he was a member of the Special Homicide Task Force. Professor Kling has tried hundreds of murder cases, including 18 capital cases, and continues to have an active criminal practice in state and federal courts around the country.

Professor Kling joined the faculty of the law school in 1981, having previously taught trial advocacy at Northwestern University School of Law. He also taught for the Illinois Defender Project's intensive training programs for lawyers, lectured at Northwestern's Short Course for Defense Lawyers, and has been a faculty member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.

Professor Kling has regularly appeared as a professor-reporter for the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts and was recently appointed professor-reporter by the Illinois Supreme Court for the Capital Case Committee. He teaches classes in Evidence, Forensic Sciences and Professional Responsibility at the law school, regularly lectures to lawyers and judges on the Illinois Rules of Evidence, and participates in CLE programs for bar associations and public defender's offices in Chicago and surrounding counties.

Professor Kling is co-editor of a three-volume training manual for the Cook County Public Defender and is the author of Illinois Criminal Defense Motions, a manual of motions for Illinois criminal defense practitioners. He is regularly quoted and interviewed by local and national electronic and print media regarding cases in which he is involved and other cases of note, as well as general criminal justice issues.

Education

J.D., Northwestern University School of Law
B.A., University of Illinois at Chicago

Publications

Search Professor Kling's publications on works.bepress.com.

Affiliations

Law Offices of Chicago-Kent

Expertise

Access to Justice; Appellate Courts; Appellate Procedure; Clinical Education; Complex Litigation; Courts and Judges; Criminal Law and Procedure; Evidence; Juries; Legal Profession and Professional Ethics; Trial Practice; US Supreme Court; White Collar Crime

Contact Information

Available for media interviews on the following topics:

For media inquiries, please contact

Petra Kelly

  • Communications Director

Media Appearances

Law Professor Richard Kling Breaks Down Ex-Alderman Burke's Sentence, Possible Implications for Other Politicians

“I think everybody knows intellectually, you have to decide not to do it,” said Chicago-Kent Professor Richard Kling. “You realize if you get caught, you’re going to get in trouble. You see that with governor after governor and other politicians. The bottom line is they know if they get caught they’re in trouble, but like many other people, their thought is, I’m not going to get caught,”

ABC7 Chicago

Chicago-Kent Law Professor Richard Kling Explains Recent Spike in Smash-and-Grabs

“People are desperate,” said Richard Kling, a clinical professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law. “They want things. They see things on TV that you and I may be able to afford to buy and they're not able to afford to buy it. So they decide they want to take it. I think part of it is the educational system. I think part of it is parental control.”

CBS2 Chicago

Chicago-Kent Professor Richard Kling Explains How O’Neill Burke Campaigned in the Primary, What That May Mean for State’s Attorney’s Office

Should Democratic primary victor Eileen O’Neill Burke ultimately win the state's attorney's office, she would quickly face formulating her own reform agenda, making cases to tamp down Chicago’s persistent gun violence, and running an office struggling with morale issues. “As much as numbers have gone down, the amount of street crime is extraordinarily high and has a tremendous impact on the community,” said Richard Kling, a clinical professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Chicago Tribune