Sarah Kostick

Professor Kostick has been a part-time professor of practice at the James E. Rogers College of Law since 2017 where she teaches and directs the Criminal Defense Clinic.

Additionally, Professor Kostick has been a fulltime attorney with the Pima County Public Defender’s Office since 2014. She has handled all levels of felony matters including capital cases, as well as Sexually Violent Person commitment proceedings. In July of 2021 she became a supervisor of a felony trial team, and in May 2022, she was appointed as the Chief Assistant Public Defender for Pima County. Professor Kostick regularly lectures and teaches continuing legal education programming around the state of Arizona. She also provides pro bono consultation on various criminal defense matters with an emphasis on the representation of seriously mentally ill individuals, development of sentencing mitigation, and the representation of youthful offenders.

Prior to joining Pima County, she served as resource counsel for the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program, consulted for the Arizona Capital Representation Project, clerked for Ohio’s Eleventh District Court of Appeals, practiced special education and school law with the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, and clerked for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Professor Kostick is a 2010 graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and a 2005 graduate of Smith College. She was born and raised in Berkeley, CA.

Education

Work Experience