Elizabeth
Dineen
, JD
Chair, Criminal Justice Department; Assistant Professor
Department:
Criminal Justice
Degrees
BA, College of Our Lady of the Elms; JD, Western New England College School of Law
Contact
Phone: 413.565.1172
Email: edineen@baypath.edu
Profile
Appointed Chair of the Criminal Justice Department at Bay Path College in 2009, Elizabeth G. Dineen, JD, is primarily responsible for advancing the development of the criminal justice program and teaching courses in the undergraduate criminal justice programs. She advises undergraduate students interested in pursuing an education in criminal justice, plays an active role in the appointments of faculty members, and develops curricula and innovative events for the criminal justice department. Previously, Attorney Dineen served as a supervising assistant district attorney in the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office for 25 years.
In 1984, Dineen received her juris doctorate from Western New England College School of Law, where she also served as a legal writing instructor and was a recipient of an American Jurisprudence Awards. Prior to completing her law degree, she interned with the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office. She accepted a position with the District Attorney’s Office following her graduation, and ultimately pursued a law career helping women and children who were victims of abuse. As an attorney with the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, Dineen provided tremendous service to the community as a supervisor of the Public Protection Unit and Trial Prosecutor for key felony cases, such as murder, rape, child abuse, armed robbery, home invasion, mayhem, burglary, arson, narcotics, and firearm offenses. In addition to her role as supervisor, Dineen has written and argued appeals before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
Dineen is as an author and instructor for the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education on such topics as interviewing child witnesses, special problems with privileged information, and difficult and complex forensic evidence, among other areas of interests. She is co-author of “Specific Issues with Respect to Children,” which appeared in the Massachusetts Superior Court Criminal Practice Manual’s 1999 and 2003 supplements, and she remains an instructor with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy—the premiere trial advocacy training body in the United States. As a prosecutor, she was an instructor for numerous criminal justice-related organizations, including Massachusetts State Police Training Academy, Hampden County Criminal Justice Training Center, and Baystate Medical Center.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors with the Hampden County Bar Association and on the Pioneer Valley American Inns of Court as Master of the Bench, the senior mentor to junior trial attorneys selected from the Western Massachusetts legal community. Dineen has been an organizer, workshop committee member and presenter on the subjects of DNA, victimology, and case studies on difficult or complex sex crime and child abuse cases, among others, at the Western Massachusetts Women in Criminal Justice Conference. She was also among the 40 individuals who attended the United States Army War College – Strategy Implementation Seminar in 2008. The interagency seminar brought together officials from academia, media, government, business and the military to discuss U.S. National Security strategy and policy and the development of strategic leadership at the national level.
The first woman to be named Prosecutor of the Year by the Massachusetts Bar Association in 2003, Dineen has been recognized with numerous awards and certificates for her outstanding community service and accomplishments from the City of Holyoke Mayor Michael J. Sullivan and such organizations as the Springfield Police Department, YWCA, and the United States Postal Service. She was recently named a State House Honoree by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation for her significant contributions to enhance the quality of life of individuals with disabilities through advocacy, service and example.
In 2005, Dineen joined the Bay Path community as an adjunct professor in legal ethics and evidence in Bay Path’s traditional undergraduate school and the One-Day-A-Week Saturday College. From 1984 to 1997, she served Elms College as an adjunct faculty member, teaching courses in criminal law, constitutional law, and civil litigation.
