John Kroger, professor of criminal law and jurisprudence, won the election for state attorney general in Oregon on November 4 in a landslide victory. While Kroger ran on the Democratic ticket, he also won the nomination the Republican party through write-ins in the primary. He has named Oregon Solicitor General and Lewis & Clark Law School alumna Mary Williams ‘90 deputy attorney general.
Kroger has taught at Lewis & Clark Law School since 2002. He has won the Leo Levenson Award for Teaching three times during his tenure at the law school, a unique honor bestowed on one faculty member each year by the graduating class.
“John came to Lewis & Clark Law School with a long, distinguished resume as a top-notch federal prosecutor,” Law School Dean Robert Klonoff said. “But even outside of the courtroom, he has proven himself to be a stellar leader. We are fortunate to have had his legal expertise shared so enthusiastically and diligently with our students. We hope that John will be able to remain involved in some capacity in the life of the law school after assuming his position.”
Before joining the faculty, Kroger was a federal prosecutor. Kroger successfully prosecuted over 200 federal criminal cases involving the mafia, public corruption, white- collar crime and narcotics trafficking. Kroger also argued frequently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 1999, Kroger received the Director’s Award from Attorney General Janet Reno for convicting two mafia captains of multiple murders. In 2001, Kroger worked on the emergency response to the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. From 2002 to 2003, Kroger served as a prosecutor on the U.S. Justice Department’s Enron Task Force.
Kroger has also worked as an economic and domestic policy adviser to a number of political leaders. He was Deputy Policy Director of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, a legislative assistant to Speaker of the House Thomas Foley and to Congressman (now senator) Chuck Schumer, and a senior policy analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department. Kroger served in the United States Marine Corps for three years prior to college. He clerked for the Honorable Judge Anthony Scirica, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Kroger is the author of Convictions: A Prosecutor’s Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves which details the inner workings of his life as a federal prosecutor. He received a BA and MA from Yale University and a JD from Harvard.
Read more about Kroger’s career in the Lewis & Clark Chronicle: Kroger v. Crime.
