Sean J. Kealy
Clinical Associate Professor of Law
AB, Hamilton College
MGA, University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government
JD, cum laude, Temple University School of Law
Biography
Sean Kealy graduated from Temple Law School in 1994. He was an assistant attorney general from 1995-1999 where he worked on victim compensation claims and prosecuted insurance fraud. From 1999-2007 he worked as legal advisor to State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton) and counsel to the General Courts Joint Committee on Criminal Justice and the Joint Committee on Revenue. While working for the Legislature, Professor Kealy had the opportunity to work on many notable issues such as: the revised sex offender registry, the creation of buffer zones around reproductive health clinics, drunk driving legislation, modernizing corporate tax laws, creating new tax credits to encourage economic development, legalizing and encouraging stem cell research, and ensuring equal marriage rights.
Professor Kealy has taught criminal justice at Massachusetts Bay Community College and Suffolk University and has written law review articles on a variety of topics dealing with statutory changes to protect victims rights, improve the definition of murder and revise the Federal Posse Comitatus Act. He also co-edits a bi-monthly newsletter on recent changes to the criminal law that is distributed to prosecutors, members of law enforcement, defense attorneys and academics.
- Profile Types
- Faculty, Full-Time Faculty, and Professors & Clinical Instructors
- Areas of Interest
- Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, and Legislative Process
Publications
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Sean J. Kealy, Marijuana Legalization and the Role of the Massachusetts Legislature 101 Boston University Law Review (2021)
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Sean J. Kealy, Legislative Scrutiny in the United States: Dynamic, Whole-stream Revision Theory and Practice of Legislation (2021)
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Sean J. Kealy, American Legislative Practice (2021)
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Sean J. Kealy, Introduction to the Professor Robert Seidman Memorial Issue 20 European Journal of Law Reform (2018)
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Sean J. Kealy & Alex Fomey, The Reliability of Evidence in Evidence-Based Legislation 20 European Journal of Law Reform (2018)
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Sean J. Kealy, A Guide to Gathering and Using Legislative History in Massachusetts 97 Massachusetts Law Review (2016)
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Sean J. Kealy, African Parliamentary Knowledge Network Legislative Handbook: Using Evidence to Design and Assess Legislation (2013)
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Sean J. Kealy, The Second Amendment as Interpreted by Congress and the Court 3 Northeastern University Law Journal (2011)
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Sean J. Kealy, Reexamining the Posse Comitatus Act: Toward a Right to Civil Law Enforcement 21 Yale Law & Policy Review (2003)
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Sean J. Kealy, Hunting the Dragon: Reforming the Massachusetts Murder Statute 10 Boston University Public Interest Law Journal (2001)
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Sean J. Kealy, A Proposal for a New Massachusetts Notoriety for Profit Law: The Grandson of Sam 22 Western New England Law Review (2000)
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Sean J. Kealy, A Proposal for a New Massachusetts Notoriety for Profit Law: The Grandson of Sam 22 Western New England Law Review (2000)
Scholarly Commons
In the Media
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The Regulatory Review December 30, 2024
Top Contributor Essays of 2024
Sean J. Kealy's work is included.
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Federal News Network December 13, 2024
A Better Approach to Dealing with Requests from Congressional Casework
Sean Kealy is interviewed.
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The Regulatory Review November 14, 2024
Congressional Constituent Service Inquiries
Sean J. Kealy pens an opinion.
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The Regulatory Review November 11, 2024
Seeking Continuous Improvement to the Administrative Process
Sean J. Kealy pens an opinion.
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PopVox October 17, 2024
Agency Responsiveness to Congress
Sean J. Kealy is interviewed.
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US News June 29, 2023
How to Build a Career in Public Interest Law
Sean Kealy is quoted.
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BU Today June 19, 2020
Militarization of Policing Risks Turning US Cities into Battlespaces
Sean Kealy authors a POV.
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March 10, 2020
Trump NY Subpoena Must Stand, Ex-DOJ Attys Tell Justices
Sean Kealy and Jim Wheaton are featured in <em>Law360</em>.
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January 26, 2020
Associate Dean of LAW to Testify at Hearing for Hair Discrimination Bill
Anna di Robilant, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, and Sean Kealy quoted in <em>The Daily Free Press<em/>.
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January 17, 2020
States and Cities are Banning Hair Discrimination. Here’s How that’s Affecting Schools
Angela Onwuachi-Willig and Sean Kealy quoted in <em>Chalkbeat.org<em/>.
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December 16, 2019
Make Schools Play Fair on Hair: Stop Allowing Religious Schools to Discriminate against Cornrows and Locs
Angela Onwuachi-Willig and Sean Kealy pen article in the <em>New York Daily News<em/>.
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Activities & Engagements
No upcoming activities or engagements.
Evaluating 303 Creative: Implications for LGBTQIA+ Equality and First Amendment Challenges to Antidiscrimination Laws
View on BU Calendar Get DetailsCourses
Legislative Policy and Drafting Clinic: LAW JD 786
THIS CLASS IS RESTRICTED to students who have formally applied to and been accepted to the Legislative Policy & Drafting Clinic. Students learn about the law-making process through coursework and hands-on experience working with a client seeking to advance a bill or project through the state legislature. Students work on several projects during the semester that highlight different aspects of the legislative process, allowing students to relate and test the theories discussed in class to real life situations. The in-class seminar covers subjects that affect the legislative process including: constitutional interpretation by legislatures, theories of representation, legislative organization and rules, lobbying, legislative oversight powers, and legislature-executive agency relationships. The clinic instructor works with students to select projects in the students' specific areas of interest, if any. In particular, students interested in business and tax, environment law, or health law, may specialize in those areas for the full semester. NOTE: This clinic counts toward the 6 credit Experiential Learning requirement. GRADING NOTICE: This course does not offer the CR/NC/H option.
FALL 2024: LAW JD 786 A1 , Sep 3rd to Dec 5th 2024| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Sean J. KealyCaitlin Glass | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Sean J. KealyCaitlin Glass | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Sean J. KealyCaitlin Glass | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Sean J. KealyCaitlin Glass | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Sean J. KealyCaitlin Glass | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Caitlin GlassSean J. Kealy | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Caitlin GlassSean J. Kealy | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Caitlin GlassSean J. Kealy | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Caitlin GlassSean J. Kealy | LAW | 416 |
| Days | Start | End | Credits | Instructors | Bldg | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon,Wed | 2:10 pm | 4:10 pm | 6 | Caitlin GlassSean J. Kealy | LAW | 416 |