Richard S. Kling received his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois and his law degree in 1971 from Northwestern University. After graduating, he joined the Cook County Public Defender's Office, where from 1976 to 1981 he was a member of the Special Homicide Task Force. Kling has tried hundreds of murder cases, including 18 capital cases, and continues to have an active criminal practice in state and federal courts around the country.
Kling joined the faculty of the law school in 1981, having previously taught trial advocacy at Northwestern University School of Law. He also taught for the Illinois Defender Project's intensive training programs for lawyers, lectured at Northwestern's Short Course for Defense Lawyers, and has been a faculty member of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
Kling has regularly appeared as a professor-reporter for the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts and was recently appointed professor-reporter by the Illinois Supreme Court for the Capital Case Committee. He teaches classes in Evidence, Forensic Sciences and Professional Responsibility at the law school, regularly lectures to lawyers and judges on the Illinois Rules of Evidence, and participates in CLE programs for bar associations and public defender's offices in Chicago and surrounding counties.
Kling is co-editor of a three-volume training manual for the Cook County Public Defender and is the author of Illinois Criminal Defense Motions, a manual of motions for Illinois criminal defense practitioners. He is regularly quoted and interviewed by local and national electronic and print media regarding cases in which he is involved and other cases of note, as well as general criminal justice issues.
J.D., Northwestern University School of Law
B.A., University of Illinois at Chicago
Search Professor Kling's publications on works.bepress.com.
Law Offices of Chicago-Kent
Access to Justice; Appellate Courts; Appellate Procedure; Clinical Education; Complex Litigation; Courts and Judges; Criminal Law and Procedure; Evidence; Juries; Legal Profession and Professional Ethics; Trial Practice; US Supreme Court; White Collar Crime
“The United States Supreme Court has said a defendant who represents [themself] is held to the same standard as an experienced criminal defense attorney,” says Richard Kling, a clinical professor of law at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. “He’s not going to be able to come in later and say, ‘Well, I didn't know what I was doing because I'm not really a lawyer.’”
A&E
“(Attorneys are) thinking, ‘What’s the likelihood they’re going to affirm the decision or they’re going to reverse the decision?'” said Richard Kling, clinical professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. “Obviously they thought it was in their advantage to dismiss it.”
Block Club Chicago
“I think everybody knows intellectually, you have to decide not to do it,” said Chicago-Kent Professor Richard Kling. “You realize if you get caught, you’re going to get in trouble. You see that with governor after governor and other politicians. The bottom line is they know if they get caught they’re in trouble, but like many other people, their thought is, I’m not going to get caught,”
ABC7 Chicago