Gerhard Mueller, Criminal Justice Pioneer, Dies At 82

(NEWARK) Rutgers-Newark Professor Emeritus Gerhard O.W. Mueller, died April 20 at the age of 82, in his West Coast residence. The Manhattan, N.Y. resident, regarded by his peers as a pioneer in the discipline of criminal justice, was an internationally known expert on international and comparative criminal justice, the ethnology of criminal justice and international criminal law, and on maritime crime, and its prevention.

So respected was he as a criminal justice expert that Professor Mueller served as Chief of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch from 1974 1982, a post in which he was responsible for all of the United Nations' programs dealing with problems of crime and justice worldwide. He also was executive secretary to United Nations Congresses for the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders in 1975 and 1980, and served the United Nations Social Development Division and Social Affairs Division as assistant director-in-charge and officer-in-charge, respectively. In those roles, Professor Mueller was responsible for United Nations operations involving social and institutional development, social welfare, crime prevention, and working with the aged, youth and the handicapped.

A memorial service will be held June 4 at the United Nations Chapel.

The passing of Gerhard Mueller is a great loss for our school, for Rutgers and for the discipline of criminal justice said School of Criminal Justice Dean Les Kennedy. He provided extraordinary leadership during our formative years, and we will all greatly miss his vision and energy.

Prior to his retirement from the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, Professor Mueller had taught courses in law and criminal justice, constitutional issues and the criminal justice system, criminal justice procedures, selected problems in criminal justice, comparative criminal justice systems and maritime crime and is prevention. His most recent research, in collaboration

with his wife, Dr. Freda Adler, focused on maritime and international crime and terrorism. In conjunction with this research, he entered into a partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard to illustrate the challenges of maintaining coastal security, a partnership that also provided real-life experience for his students.

The professor, a German native, had studied law in both Germany and Switzerland, earning a baccalaureate, degree from the Castle of Ploen College in 1947. He went on to receive his J.D. from the University of Chicago, and his LL.M. from Columbia University in criminal justice.

Professor Mueller came to Rutgers-Newark as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in 1974, but his distinguished teaching career began in 1944, as an associate professor of law at West Virginia University, College of Law. Before coming to Rutgers, he taught at New York University School of Law, West Virginia University and the University of Washington, as well as holding visiting professor appointments at higher educational institutions in the United States, Europe and Sao Paolo, Brazil. He retired from Rutgers as a Professor II in 2005.

During his research career, Professor Mueller published numerous textbooks and hundreds of scholarly articles, many with his wife, Freda Adler. He also presented papers at conferences and meetings around the world.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Mark, Marla and Matthew.