Widener Law - Law professor taking leave to serve as chief counsel to U.S. senator

News & Events: Delaware Campus

Law professor taking leave to serve as chief counsel to U.S. senator

Public Relations - Published: March 22, 2009

Widener University School of Law Dean Linda L. Ammons today announced that Associate Professor Geoff Moulton will take a leave of absence from his teaching duties on the Delaware campus to serve as chief counsel to U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware.

Moulton will be based in Washington, D.C. for the new position, which will involve advising Kaufman on pending matters, particularly issues facing the Senate Judiciary Committee on which Kaufman sits. Moulton’s leave from the law school begins in May.

“While we will miss Geoff as he assumes this new role, Widener Law is also proud to share him with Sen. Kaufman and the people of Delaware, because we know how well served they will be by his talents, intellect and insight into the law,” Law Dean Linda L. Ammons said. “Geoff embodies the Widener spirit of civic engagement and his work for Sen. Kaufman and the First State make him a role model for our students. When he returns to Widener, Geoff’s experience in Washington will undoubtedly enrich the experience of our students. I wish him well.”

Former Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner named Kaufman in January to fill the senate vacancy created when Vice President Joe Biden resigned to serve with President Barack Obama. Kaufman served on Biden’s staff for 22 years, including 19 years as Biden’s chief of staff.

“Geoff’s combination of experience and knowledge of the law will be an asset to my office and the citizens of Delaware,” said Sen. Kaufman. “While I know he will be missed in Widener’s classrooms, I am pleased that Geoff’s newest avenue of public service leads him to the Senate.”

It will not be the first time Moulton leaves teaching for an opportunity in public service. He took a four-year leave from Widener Law beginning in 2001 to work as first assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Moulton joined the Widener faculty in 1993 and teaches and writes in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, white collar crime and evidence. He has a law degree from Columbia University School of Law and he clerked for former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist at the U.S. Supreme Court from 1985-86. Other career highlights include jobs as a special counsel at the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, a federal prosecutor and a private practitioner, both in Philadelphia. Moulton served as project director of the Waco Administrative Review for the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 1993, before coming to Widener.

“I am thrilled and honored to be given this opportunity by Sen. Kaufman and by Widener,” Moulton said. “I have always been drawn to public service and I can’t imagine a more interesting or important time to serve in Washington.”