James Duane (professor)


James Joseph Duane is an American law professor at the Regent University School of Law, former criminal defense attorney, and Fifth Amendment expert. Duane received his AB magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1981 and his JD cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1984. Duane was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society while at Harvard.
He received online attention for his "Don't Talk To Police" video of a lecture he gave to a group of law students with Virginia Beach Police Department Officer George Bruch, in which they explain in practical terms why citizens should never talk to police under any circumstances. The lecture continues to be popular on YouTube and received support from security expert Bruce Schneier. By January 2020, the official release of the video had received over four million views. A copy of the video received over six million views before it was taken down for copyright infringement.
Using former Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson as support of his "Don't Talk to Police" advice, Duane says, inter alia, that:
Duane has also written about his views that there are bizarre legislative drafting errors in the Virginia Statute on Privileged Marital Communications as well as issues involving the introduction of hearsay evidence at trial. Duane, a member of the advisory board of the Fully Informed Jury Association, has also written in defense of jury nullification.
Professor Duane is a descendant of Revolutionary-era leader Judge James Duane.

Selected bibliography