Mark Totten
Assistant Professor of Law
334 Law College Building
Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
517-432-6935
tottenm@law.msu.edu
Degrees
J.D. 2006, Yale Law School; Ph.D. (Ethics) 2006, Yale University; M.Th. 1997, University of Aberdeen, Scotland; B.A. 1996, Cedarville College
Curriculum Vitae (PDF)
Bar Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Michigan
Courses
Constitutional Law I, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure I, Lawyers & Ethics, National Security Law
Biography
Prior to joining the MSU College of Law in 2008, Mark Totten was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Appellate Staff, where he drafted numerous briefs on a variety of statutory and constitutional issues. Totten clerked for Judge Thomas Griffith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He earned his J.D. from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in Ethics from Yale University.
Totten’s current work is in the area of consumer protection. He is particularly focused on the role states should play in the fight against mortgage fraud and predatory lending following the 2008 economic crisis.
At MSU College of Law, Totten teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure I, Constitutional Law I, State Constitutional Law, National Security Law, and Lawyers & Ethics.
In addition to teaching and writing, Totten carries a strong commitment to community service. In 2005, he helped found, and then for many years served as legal counsel for, a nonprofit working to build a hospital in Indonesia and save that country’s largest remaining rainforest. Totten currently serves as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney handling criminal matters.