Christian E. Ketter is an Adjunct Professor of Law at University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, teaching legal writing and academic success; an Adjunct Professor of criminal procedure at Morton College; and a member of the American Association of University Professors. He graduated cum laude from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 2018, as a Dean’s Scholar, and received his undergraduate degree from DePaul University, graduating cum laude. While in law school, Christian served as President of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Honors Society and on the Moot Court Board, as a national competitor—winning an award for best oralist. He was the recipient of the DuPage County Bar Association’s Judge William J. Bauer scholarship. Christian is a former prosecutor in Chicago, Illinois, having worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Criminal Prosecutions Bureau. Prior to this, he served as a certified court-appointed mediator in Cook County. He served also in an internship as a judicial clerk at the U.S Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit under the Honorable Judge William J. Bauer. He worked as a 711 Licensed Attorney for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and clerked in the Appellate Division of the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. Christian’s legal scholarship has focused primarily on constitutional theory, American legal history, criminal procedure, Chief Justice John Marshall and the Roberts Court. His scholarship on John Marshall’s treason doctrine was cited in the American Law Reports Federal Registry, and his article about the Heck doctrine was covered by Racism.org: Race, Racism and the Law. He was the 2021 winner of the Illinois Local Government Lawyer’s Association Legal Writing Competition. Christian’s work has been published in The University of Toledo Law Review, Wayne State Law Review, Florida Coastal Law Review, The Arizona State Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, UIC John Marshall Law Review, Campbell Law Review, Illinois Bar Journal, and Cleveland State Law Review. He is the Vice-Chair of the Appellate Law Division for the DuPage Bar Association and serves as the Associate Editor for the DuPage Bar Association’s Journal, the DCBA Brief. Christian is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Society of Scholars, the Will County Bar Association, and the Seventh Circuit Bar Association in which he served on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. He has presented continuing education lectures on legal ethics for the National Business Institute and the Institute of Paralegal Education, and he co-authored a 2021 presentation on jail litigation for the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association Conference for Chief Deputy & Jail Administrators.

On a personal note, Mr. Ketter enjoyed a national career as an operatic tenor, making his Carnegie Hall debut in 2014, covered by The Washington Post. He released an album in 2014 and made his Symphony Center debut in 2015, as the national winner of the American Prize. He sang regularly in concert and opera with the Cook County Bar Association’s Symphony Orchestra and for the Lyric Opera of Chicago Chapters. Christian has appeared as a guest-lecturer at Northwestern State University of Louisiana and has written on employee misclassification and labor abuse in the American performing arts industry, published in The Arizona State Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, and was interviewed by the American Bar Association magazine regarding industry practices. A member of the Itasca Lions, Christian lives in Itasca, Illinois with his wife, a concert-violinist, and their son.

Highlights

• A Second Amendment in Jeopardy of Article V Repeal and A Legislative Proposal: Affordable Mandatory Firearms Insurance & Tax (AMFIT), Maintaining the General Welfare, 64 Wayne State Law Review 473 (2019). Read Article.
• A Jury of Citizens Both Free and Imprisoned: If Voter Rights are Ensured for the Incarcerated, is a Prisoner’s Right to Serve on a Jury Far-Fetched?, 51 University of Toledo Law Review 37 (2019). Read Article.
• “Making Administrative Law Strict Again” In the Era of Trump: The Future of the Chevron Doctrine, According to the Federal Judicial Conference, 19 Florida Coastal Law Review 201 (2020). Read Article.
• Contractual Curtain-Call for the Performing Arts: Nonunionized Stage-Performers Are “Employees” Not “Independent Contractors,” 9, Arizona State Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law, 1 (2020). Read Article.
• The NFL Player, the Schoolchild, and the Entertainer: When the Term, “Free Speech,” is Too Freely Spoken, Exactly “Who’s on First?,” 68 Cleveland State Law Review 421 (2020). Read Article.
• Chief Justice John Marshall’s Judicial Statesmanship: Political Balancing Against Jefferson in Burr’s Treason Case, 53 UIC John Marshall Law Review- 4 (2020). Read Article.

• Did the Freedom from Location Surveillance Act Create a New Defense to the 96-Hour Rule to Execute Search Warrants? DuPage Bar Association Journal: DCBA Brief Vol 34, Issue 2. Read Article.
• The Honorable Judge Demetrios N. Panoushis: Judge’s Robe Fulfills an American Dream DuPage Bar Association Journal: DCBA Brief Vol 34, Issue 2. Read Article.
• Once Similar, Now Disparate: A Reasonable Degree of Possibility, The Illinois Supreme Court Could Follow its Future-Injury Trend for Future-Medical; Illinois Local Government Lawyer’s Association Journal (Grand Prize-Winning Article: 2021 ILGLA Writing Competition). Read Article.
• “Black Lives Matter” and “The Blue Line” Clashed Across the United States in 2020, Raising A Necessary Question for the U.S. Supreme Court: Whether the Heck Doctrine Bars A Convict’s Challenge for Equal Protection Claims, 44 Campbell Law Review 35 (2021). Read Article.
• A Constitutional Ship of Theseus 110 Illinois Bar Journal 40 (2022). Read Article.
• The Honorable Jennifer Martyn: A Voice for Fairness, Respect, and Lifelong Advocacy: DCBA Brief Vol 35, Issue 1 (2022). Read Article.
• Christian Ketter presented on Legal Ethics for Paralegals for the National Business Institute and Institute for Paralegal Education : “Difficult Client Scenarios: An Ethical Guide for Paralegals” for the Institute for Paralegal Education, which you can now watch OnDemand! Use promo code FPDI50B at checkout to get $50 off your purchase. Check it out at https://ipe.nbi-sems.com/ProductDetails/96224SVDM!
• The Honorable Mia McPherson: Recurring Historical Themes on a Path to the Judiciary and a Home Called DuPage County: DCBA Brief Vol 35, Issue 4 (2023).