Peter Keane, Visiting Professor

Professor Keane is Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at Golden Gate University Law School. He teaches Evidence, Criminal Procedure, Constitutional Law and Professional Responsibility. He taught at UC Hastings from 1982 until appointed Dean of Golden Gate in 1998. He also taught at The University of San Francisco Law School.

He is former President of the Bar Association of San Francisco and former Vice-President of the State Bar of California. He was the Chief Assistant Public Defender of San Francisco for 20 years. He was counsel in scores of jury trials, many of them homicide and capital cases. He is certified by the State Bar of California as a Criminal Law Specialist and is former Chairperson of both the Criminal Justice Advisory Commission of the State Bar of California and the Criminal Law Advisory Council of the Bar Association of San Francisco. He served as a San Francisco Police Commissioner by appointment of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

He has written numerous articles on scholarly legal topics as well as about the legal profession, law practice, lawyers, judges, trials, juries, law schools and law teaching. He is a frequent presenter at continuing legal education sessions and is moderator of the San Francisco Recorder's "Roundtable" continuing legal education programs.

In 1980, at the request of then Mayor Dianne Feinstein he drafted San Francisco's "Handgun Control Ordinance" which was adopted into law by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. In 1994, at the request of then Speaker of the State Assembly Willie L. Brown, Jr., he authored Proposition 79 which amended California's Constitution to reform and restructure the Commission on Judicial Performance, the agency that oversees California's Judiciary. Prop 79 passed both houses of the legislature with near unanimity and California voters enacted it overwhelmingly in the statewide general election.

He is a frequent legal commentator on local, national, and international media, appearing on CNN, CBS Evening News, ABC Nightly News, NBC News, Good Morning America, Today, Larry King Live, The BBC, Canadian Broadcasting and Dutch Television. He was the host of two legal topic radio programs - Keane on the Law on KPIX Radio from 1995 - 1998 and Legal Incite on CNET Radio from 2000 - 2003.