Nathan Goetting

Professor, George Romney Institute for Law and Public Policy Director

Degrees

• Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Juris Doctor (Constitutional Law & Civil Rights Concentration)
• Western Michigan University, Master of Arts in Philosophy
• Aquinas College, Bachelor of Arts in General Education

Biography

Professor Goetting joined the faculty of Adrian College in 2008 and currently serves as a Professor of Criminal Justice and Jurisprudence, as well as the Director of the George W. Romney Institute for Law and Public Policy.

He began teaching at the University of Toledo College of Law in 2016 and received a Prestige Faculty appointment in 2025. His scholarship focuses on constitutional law and civil liberties. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in General Education from Aquinas College, a small liberal arts school in Grand Rapids, MI, before obtaining a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Western Michigan University. While a student at Thomas M. Cooley Law School, he interned with the Cooley Innocence Project, spending two terms working on several rape and murder cases.

Professor Goetting has taught at three law schools, served as faculty advisor to The University of Toledo Law Review, and published dozens of writings on legal issues—primarily concerning the rights of the accused and freedom of expression.

He has twice received Adrian College's Creative Activity, Research, and Scholarship Award (faculty-wide, for best contribution to one's field). His 2025 book, The Supreme Court's Actual Innocence Problem, argues that the Supreme Court has failed to adequately respond to data on DNA exonerations and has, in every major area where reform is needed, continued to minimize and perpetuate miscarriages of justice.

Professor Goetting lives in Adrian, Michigan, with his wife, Amanda; his sons, Lucas and Samuel; and his dogs, Francie and Stewart. Outside the classroom, he enjoys reading, classic movies, and sports.