Professor Katherine Mattes, key player in Louisiana criminal justice reform, to retire

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans’ criminal justice system, Katherine Mattes, then a professor of the practice with Tulane Law School’s Criminal Justice Clinic, found herself in hazmat gear documenting the ruined evidence rooms of courthouses and police stations. With a BBC crew capturing her efforts, Mattes provided crucial recordings to legal authorities to assess the damage and begin restoring the system.

Under a court order, the Clinic—along with the Loyola Law School Clinic—was appointed to represent the more than 7,000 people who had been incarcerated in Orleans Parish Prison when the storm hit, and subsequently sent to jails and prisons around the state.

 “The public defender’s office had collapsed,” Mattes explained. “We didn’t know who our clients were, where they were, or even the charges against them.  We had no police reports, no court records, the courthouse was closed, the DA’s office had been flooded. We had nothing to work with, just the motivation of knowing that people were in desperate need of help.” 

This Herculean task marked the beginning of Mattes’ emergence as a key figure in criminal justice reform, a journey that inspired a storyline in HBO’s series Treme and earned the Pro Bono award from the Clinic Legal Education Association.

Mattes’ impact over her 23 years at Tulane has been profound. She founded programs to empower jailhouse lawyers, secured sentencing reforms for juveniles sentenced to life without parole, and advocated for victims of intimate partner violence. Her work with the Women’s Prison Project (WPP), which she co-founded, has led to the release of more than 15 women serving life sentences for crimes committed under coercion or while acting in self-defense. The WPP has become a national model for addressing the legal challenges faced by criminalized survivors of intimate partner violence, earning multiple national awards and recognition from the Clinical Legal Education Association.

“Katherine embodies Tulane’s proud leadership in clinical service and education, and her work with our students and on criminal justice reform and other issues nationwide has been a source of tremendous pride for the law school,” said law Dean Marcilynn Burke. “Her extensive experience as a practitioner, educator, and innovator has helped solidify Tulane’s stellar reputation in clinical education. We deeply thank her for her remarkable contributions to Tulane and the legal profession and wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”

A farewell reception is planned for Mattes Jan. 27. 

A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law and former public defender in California, Mattes joined Tulane in 2002. She quickly became a cornerstone of the school’s clinical programs, later serving as the director of the Criminal Justice Clinic, the director of the Criminal Intersession program, co-director of the Women’s Prison Project, and Tulane’s inaugural Faculty Chair of Clinics. Beyond Louisiana, her expertise has had international reach—she’s presented on judicial misconduct, mental competency issues, and clinical legal pedagogy in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and to delegations from countries including Saudi Arabia, Haiti, and Ukraine.

After successfully challenging the constitutionality of the criminal legal systems’ treatment of people with serious mental illness, she worked with legislators and on task forces to improve the treatment of this marginalized population. She is an adjunct member of Tulane’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences where she designed and ran an interdisciplinary program that brought forensic psychiatry fellows together with law students for mock hearings and training sessions. These initiatives have become models for bridging legal and medical expertise in addressing mental illness in the criminal system.

Mattes’ influence also includes landmark sentencing reforms. She worked alongside national coalitions to implement Supreme Court rulings in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana, ensuring that juveniles sentenced to life without parole had pathways to rehabilitation and release. Her advocacy also resulted in legislative changes in Louisiana that reduced harsh habitual offender sentences and expanded parole eligibility.

In addition to teaching hundreds of students, Mattes inspired them to become zealous advocates. 

“She has been a true mentor,” said Drew Lafontant (L’18), now a public defender in Orleans Parish. “She embodies what it means to be a defender and advocate.”

 Professor Stas Moroz, assistant clinical professor in the WPP, added, “Katherine has been a force in the criminal legal system and a role model for students and colleagues alike.”

Catherine Hancock, iconic criminal law professor at Tulane Law and a friend and colleague to Mattes, calls her “an extraordinary teacher.”

“Katherine has supported her students in so many important ways as their confidence grew and they became transformed into ‘practice-ready’ lawyers,” Hancock said. “She also has been unfailingly creative in identifying new practice projects for collaborative teaching by the directors of other law schools. Her positive impact upon the design and ambitions of our clinics will be a tremendous legacy for the law school that will endure for decades to come.”

As Mattes retires to the West Coast to be with her family, her legacy remains deeply rooted in Tulane’s culture of advocacy and reform. Her innovative approaches to legal education and tireless commitment to justice have left an indelible mark on the profession and those she mentored.

“I love my students for their energy and passion,” Mattes said. “Even after decades, their idealism inspires me.” 

Tulane—and the broader legal community—will long benefit from her vision and dedication.