Megan Annitto

Megan Annitto is an Assistant Professor of Law at Charlotte School of Law where she teaches and researches in the areas of criminal procedure and juvenile justice. Her research interests include the development of the law relating the role of age and youth in the criminal justice system, such as the effect of youth on legal questions of consent, waiver of rights, and juvenile justice reform. As a public defender for juveniles at the Legal Aid Society of New York, Professor Annitto represented numerous youth, specializing on issues common for young females in the juvenile justice system. Later, as a legislative attorney, she continued to focus on improving conditions and services for vulnerable youth in New York. Before joining Charlotte Law, Professor Annitto was the Director of the Center for Law and Public Service at the West Virginia University College of Law. She previously served as a law clerk to Judge Anne E. Thompson, United States District Court in the District of New Jersey.

Her research discusses sex trafficking of domestic youth and their prosecution for prostitution, advocating for a more legally coherent and rational approach by courts and legislatures. She has also studied the dramatic absence of access to appeals for juveniles charged with crimes and its effect on the development of the law. Her articles have appeared in the Yale Law and Policy Review and the University of Miami Law Review. Professor Annitto remains active in juvenile justice issues. She was appointed in 2011 by the Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court to serve as a commission member to review conditions of confinement and rehabilitation for juveniles. She is a Policy Advisor to the Polaris Project in Washington, D.C. on legislative issues related to trafficking of minors and has served as a Board Member of the Mid Atlantic Juvenile Defender Center (a subsidiary of the National Juvenile Defender Center).

Professor Annitto received her law degree and Master of Social Work from the Catholic University of America where she graduated magna cum laude. She received a B.A. from Boston College.