Judge Karen Morris
Town Justice in Brighton, New York, a Distinguished Professor of Law at Monroe Community College (MCC), and an author.
She co-authors Criminal Law in New York, a treatise for lawyers. She has written several textbooks including New York Cases in Business Law, and Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Law. Judge Morris writes a column for Hotel & Motel Management Magazine, as well as occasional newspaper commentaries on various legal issues for the Democrat & Chronicle, the Brighton Pittsford Post, and other periodicals.
Among the courses she has taught are Constitutional Law, Business Law, Hotel and Restaurant Law, Movies and the Law, Michael Jackson and the Law, and "O.J. Simpson 101: Understanding our Criminal Justice System." Her course offerings include some in traditional classroom settings and others online. She received a grant to study the Holocaust and infuse related topics into existing courses. In 2006 she was elevated to the rank of Distinguished Professor by the Chancellor of the State University of New York, the first time a community college professor was so designated.
Judge Morris is a past president of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, Alternatives for Battered Women, Inc., Brighton Kiwanis, the Northeast Academy of Legal Studies in Business, and Text and Academic Authors Association, a national organization that advances the interests of academic authors, and the Faculty Senate at MCC.
Her favorite current volunteer activities include being a Big Sister in the Big Brother program, which she has done for fourteen years, and being a Girl Scout leader at Anthony Square located in downtown Rochester.
She received her Juris Doctor degree from St. John's University and earned a Masters of Law (LL.M.) from New York University. She previously was in-house counsel for Macy's Department Stores, an Assistant District Attorney in Monroe County, and an attorney in private practice.