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Colleen Cullen
Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic
Associate Professor of Law
Expertise: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Clinical Education and Experiential Learning
Education
JD, Georgetown University Law Center
BA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, summa cum laude
Experience
- Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic and Associate Professor of Law since 2024
- Lasch Clinical Teaching Fellow, Criminal Defense Clinic, University of Denver Sturm College of Law
- Assistant State Public Defender, Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office, Trial Division
Selected Publications
- The Nonexistent Speedy Trial Right, 51 Pepperdine Law Review 661 (2024).
- Mo Money, Fewer Problems: Examining the Effects of Inadequate Funding on Client Outcomes, 30 Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics 675 (2017).
Significant Accomplishments
- Co-Organizer and Supervising Attorney, Martin Luther King Jr. Day Expungement & Employment Barriers Clinic (Spring 2025)
- Co-Organizer and Supervising Attorney, Cady Day Expungement & Employment Barriers Clinic (Fall 2025)
- Co-Authored the Iowa Criminal Statutes Summary Chart—2024 (with Hon. Michael R. Mullins)
Biography
Colleen Cullen is the Director of the Drake Criminal Defense Clinic and Associate Professor of Law. Prior to joining the faculty at Drake, Professor Cullen was the Lasch Clinical Teaching Fellow for the Criminal Defense Clinic at University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She previously served as an Assistant State Public Defender at the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Milwaukee Trial Office. As an Assistant State Public Defender, Professor Cullen defended clients in 27 jury trials, where her clients faced criminal charges ranging from disorderly conduct to 1st degree reckless homicide. Additionally, she litigated countless motions, negotiated better plea offers, and advocated for clients at sentencing.
Professor Cullen is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, where she participated in the Criminal Defense and Prison Advocacy Clinic. During law school, Professor Cullen participated in externships with the Public Defender Service in Washington, D.C., the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
