Godwin Lewis PC Research Professor, Professor of Law
B.A., Texas Tech University
J.D., Texas Tech University
Areas of Expertise
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure
- Legal Research & Writing
Office: 629T
Amanda Peters joined the South Texas College of Law Houston faculty in 2007. She teaches Legal Research and Writing, Texas Criminal Procedure, and Criminal Litigation Drafting. Prior to joining the faculty, Professor Peters worked at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Houston where roughly half of her career centered on litigation and the other half centered on appellate practice. Over the course of her career, she tried 40 jury trials and authored 182 appellate briefs. Professor Peters also worked as a criminal defense attorney, representing clients at the trial court level and on appeal before beginning her work at South Texas College of Law Houston. She has spoken and written on legal research and writing, criminal law and procedure, mental health law, therapeutic jurisprudence, and human trafficking.
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ARTICLES
The Legal and Credible Limitations of Consensual Police Encounters (forthcoming).
What Torres v. Madrid Reveals about Fact Bias in Civil Rights Cases, 50 Fla. St. L. Rev. 569 (2023).
When Coaching Becomes Criminal, 20 N.H. L. Rev. 1 (2022).
The Case for Replacing the Independent Intermediary Doctrine with Proximate Cause and Fourth Amendment Review in § 1983 Civil Rights Cases, 48 Pepp. L. Rev. 1 (2021).
Mass Arrests and the Particularized Probable Cause Requirement, 60 B.C. L. Rev. 217 (2019).
Reconsidering Federal and State Obstacles to Human Trafficking Victim Status and Entitlements, 2016 Utah L. Rev. 535 (2016).
Improving Insanity Aftercare, 42 Mitchell Hamline L. Rev. 564 (2016) (with Indira Azizi Lex).
New Frontiers for Conditional Release, 34 Behav. Sci. & L. 407 (2016) (co-authored) (peer edited).
Modern Prostitution Legal Reform and the Return of Volitional Consent, 3 Va. J. Crim. L. 1 (2015).
Disparate Protections for American Human Trafficking Victims, 61 Clev. St. L. Rev. 1 (2013).
Resource Problem Solving in Therapeutic Courts, 2 Mental Health L. & Policy J. 117 (2013).
Lawyers Who Break the Law: What Congress Can Do to Prevent Mental Health Patient Advocates from Violating Federal Legislation, 89 Or. L. Rev. 133 (2010).
The Meaning, Measure, and Misuse of Standards of Review, 13 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 233 (2009).
Thirty-One Years in the Making: Why the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ New Single-Method Approach to Lesser-Included Offense Analysis is a Step in the Right Direction, 60 Baylor L. Rev. 231 (2008).
An Analysis of Texas Capital Sentencing Procedure: Is Texas Denying Its Capital Defendants Due Process by Keeping Jurors Uninformed of Parole Eligibility?, 29 Texas Tech L. Rev. 1111 (1998).
BOOKS
Texas Criminal Procedure. 3rd ed. (New York: Wolters Kluwer 2022-23) (forthcoming).
Texas Criminal Procedure and Evidence. 2d ed. (New York: Wolters Kluwer, 2019).
Texas Criminal Procedure and Evidence (New York: Wolters Kluwer Law and Business, 2017).
PRESENTATIONS & PROCEEDINGS
From Foot in the Door to Tenure Track: How to Make the Most of Your Visitor Position, LWI One-Day Workshops, University of Oregon School of Law (December 3, 2021).
- Related short article: From Visiting Professor to Tenured Professor, University of Oregon Proceedings Online Journal (forthcoming).
Mass Arrests, Law Review Symposium, South Texas College of Law Houston (March 12, 2021).
- Related short article: Ethical Issues Related to Mass Arrests, South Texas College of Law Review (forthcoming).
Writing & Publishing Law School Textbooks, Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, University of Arizona Law School, Tucson, AZ (March 13, 2020) (presentation accepted but conference cancelled due to Covid-19).
New Frontiers for Conditional Release, International Congress on Law and Mental Health, Prague, Czech Republic (July 13, 2017).
Rethinking Conditional Release after an Insanity Acquittal, Mental Health Law Symposium, Texas Tech University School of Law, Lubbock, Texas (November 18, 2016).
Legal Writing without Borders: How to Cultivate Your Second Teaching and Research Subject, 2016 Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, Portland, Oregon (July 10, 2016).
Improving Insanity Aftercare, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Invited Participant, Suffolk Law School, Boston, Massachusetts (September 25, 2015).
The Legal Success and Therapeutic Failure of American Sex Trafficking Laws, International Congress on Law and Mental Health, Vienna, Austria (July 16, 2015).
Ethical Consideration in Human Trafficking Cases, Just Ethics CLE, South Texas College of Law Houston (May 9, 2014).
Mental Health Courts, The Study and Practice of Law In A Therapeutic Key:
An Introduction to Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Invited Participant, Suffolk Law School, Boston, Massachusetts (April 11, 2014).
American Legal Writing & Research, Ocean University Law School, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China (May 14, 2013).
Therapeutic Court Troubleshooting, New Voices in Mental Health and Drug Courts Symposium, Invited Participant, University of Memphis Law School, Memphis, Tennessee (October 19, 2013).
Public Biases and Perceptions of Human Trafficking Victims, Just Rights Conference, University of Saskatchewan Law School, Saskatoon, Canada (September 24, 2012).
Disparate Protections for American Human Trafficking Victims, Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Conference, Amelia Island, Florida (July 30, 2012).
What Readers Want and How to Make Writers Care, 2012 Legal Writing Institute Biennial Conference, Palm Desert, California (June 1, 2012).
Teaching Standards of Review More Effectively: Giving Students Context through Standard of Review Policy and History, Rocky Mountain Legal Writing Conference, Arizona State University (March 13-14, 2009).
Embezzlement, White Collar Practice for the Business Lawyer and In-house Counsel, South Texas College of Law Houston (August 2008).