Edith Georgi
Adjunct Professor of Law
B.A., Wellesley College
M.S., Indiana University
J.D., University of Miami

Edith Georgi joins the adjunct faculty of St. Thomas University Law School in January of 2017. After 35 years in the Miami-Dade County Public Defender’s Office litigating death penalty and other major crimes cases, she is looking forward to sharing her knowledge and practical experience with the students, especially as this is a critical time in the history of death penalty law is Florida.

After receiving her B.A. at Wellesley, she taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for several years while studying Chinese. She then received her Master’s in Chinese Studies from Indiana University. After working on a volunteer basis with children in abusive family relationships, Professor Georgi entered law school and received her J.D. from University of Miami Law School and chose to go directly to the Public Defender’s Office. Within a few years, she was trying homicide cases, including capital cases. In the mid-1980’s she was chosen to create and lead the office’s Capital Litigation Unit, which has become a model unit in Florida as well as nationwide.

Professor Georgi has been honored for her work by the Dade County Bar Association, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, as well as the statewide Florida Public Defender’s Association. She has been teaching in the Litigation Skills Department at University of Miami Law School for over 20 years and has recently been instructing there in the field of Death Penalty Litigation.

Professor Georgi believes in teaching theory with an emphasis on practical applications. “As we face the challenges of an ever complex world, our students need to be prepared to understand the rulings of the higher courts as well as to navigate as an advocate in our multi-disciplined society. The study of capital punishment is one example. It is as much a study of our religious, social, and cultural values as it is about our constitutional system.”