As the Director of the Villanova Sentencing Workshop and Co-Director of the newly formed Pennsylvania Institute on Criminal Sentencing at Villanova Law, Steve Chanenson brings an innovative approach to the study of sentencing and criminal law.

Professor Chanenson teaches courses on sentencing, criminal procedure and white-collar crime.  He writes primarily in the area of sentencing and criminal procedure.  His recent publications include Write On!, 115 Yale L.J. Pocket Part 146 (2006); Guidance From Above and Beyond, 58 Stan. L. Rev. 175 (2005); The Next Era of Sentencing Reform, 54 Emory L. J. 377 (2005); Hoist With Their Own Petard?, 17 Fed. Sent. Rep. 20 (2004); and Get the Facts, Jack! Empirical Research and the Changing Constitutional Landscape of Consent Searches, 71 Tenn. L. Rev. 399 (2004).

Professor Chanenson’s scholarship and work on criminal sentencing has gained him national recognition.  For example, he recently spoke on sentencing at the annual Judicial Conference for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit where he shared the dais with such other sentencing experts as Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Chairman of the United States Sentencing Commission, Judge Ricardo Hinojosa.  He serves on the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, appointed first by Governor Schweiker and then twice reappointed by Governor Rendell.  He is also the Chairman of the Commission’s Research Committee, and serves as the Liaison from the National Association of Sentencing Commissions to the American Law Institute’s efforts to revise the sentencing portions of the Model Penal Code.  In addition, Professor Chanenson is an Editor of and frequent contributor to the Federal Sentencing Reporter (University of California Press/Vera Institute of Justice), the leading professional journal of brief commentary on sentencing law, theory and reform. 

Professor Chanenson’s career demonstrates his unwavering commitment to public service.  Professor Chanenson received his B.A. (economics) and M.S. (criminology) from the University of Pennsylvania, and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.  At Chicago, he was a comment editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.  He began his career as a clerk to the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.  He later clerked for the Honorable William J. Brennan, Jr. of the United States Supreme Court.  While at the Supreme Court, he also served in the Chambers of the Honorable David H. Souter.  As a litigation associate at Jenner & Block in Chicago, he helped defend a pro bono client charged with murder in state court.  Professor Chanenson also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to the Criminal Division in Chicago before joining the Villanova Law faculty in 2000.  At Villanova Law, he chairs the Public Interest Programs Committee, is active in the Auction for Public Interest and is on the selection committee for the Public Interest Scholars Program. 

In a June 2005 ceremony at the United States Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas, on behalf of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, presented Professor Chanenson with the Judge Joseph Stevens Award for Outstanding Public Service in the Field of Law.  Professor Chanenson was chosen as a Truman Scholar in 1986 in recognition of his commitment to public service.  For much of the past decade, he has been active in the Truman Scholar selection process, serving on both the Finalist Selection Committee and regional Selection Panels. 

Professor Chanenson is on the Board of Directors of JEVS Human Services, a non-profit, nonsectarian social service agency with a multi-million dollar annual budget.  JEVS provides a broad range of services – from health and rehabilitation to skills training and job placement – that help people from all walks of life across the Greater Philadelphia community achieve their personal and employment goals.