Daniel P. Sheehan is an American constitutional lawyer born in 1945 who graduated from Harvard College in 1967 and Harvard Law School in 1970.
He claims that in 1977, while researching for a Carter administration inquiry, he was shown Project Blue Book photographs depicting a metallic disc-shaped craft recovered by U.S. military personnel in a snowy field.
- Harvard College A.B. 1967; Harvard Law School J.D. 1970
- Co-counsel in New York Times Co. v. United States (Pentagon Papers) 1971
- Chief counsel in Karen Silkwood case against Kerr-McGee 1976
- Special counsel to Congressional Research Service on UFO inquiry for President Carter 1977
- Chief Counsel New Paradigm Institute since 2023 advocating UAP disclosure
- United StatesBorn and practiced law
- Harvard UniversityA.B. 1967 J.D. 1970
- Christic InstituteCo-founder and General Counsel 1980–1995
- Romero InstitutePresident and General Counsel 1993–present
- New Paradigm InstituteChief Counsel 2023–present
- U.S. Jesuit OrderChief Counsel National Office of Social Ministries 1975–1985
Background
Daniel Peter Sheehan was born on April 9 1945 in Glens Falls New York and grew up in Warrensburg New York. He began undergraduate studies at Northeastern University before transferring to Harvard College where he earned an A.B. in American Government with honors in 1967. His thesis examined the historical origins of the Fifth Amendment. Sheehan then attended Harvard Law School earning a J.D. in 1970 and served as co-editor of the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.
After law school Sheehan joined the Wall Street firm Cahill Gordon Sonnett Reindel & Ohl as associate first amendment counsel. In that role he worked on the 1971 Supreme Court case New York Times Co. v. United States known as the Pentagon Papers case. He also handled Branzburg v. Hayes establishing journalists' rights to protect confidential sources. Sheehan left the firm in 1972 to serve as special trial counsel in the Watergate burglary case and later as chief trial counsel for the ACLU Rocky Mountain States office in 1974.
From 1975 to 1985 Sheehan served as chief counsel to the U.S. Jesuit Order National Office of Social Ministries in Washington D.C. In 1976 he filed the Karen Silkwood case against Kerr-McGee alleging nuclear contamination. In 1977 while in that Jesuit role he was appointed special counsel to the Congressional Research Service for a report to President Jimmy Carter on extraterrestrial intelligence and UFO phenomena. During that assignment Sheehan states he reviewed classified Project Blue Book files at a secure facility.
In 1980 Sheehan co-founded the Christic Institute with Sara Nelson and Father William Davis serving as its general counsel until 1995. The institute pursued public interest cases including Avirgan v. Hull challenging the Iran-Contra network. Sheehan also worked on the Greensboro massacre case and represented the Sanctuary Movement. In 1986 he taught constitutional law as a visiting professor at Antioch School of Law.
Since 1993 Sheehan has been president and general counsel of the Romero Institute in Santa Cruz California the successor to the Christic Institute. He served as chief counsel for the Lakota People’s Law Project supporting Standing Rock water protectors. Sheehan represented Harvard psychiatrist John Mack in 1994 when Mack faced faculty review over his book Abduction on alien encounters. He later acted as general counsel for Steven Greer’s Disclosure Project and the Institute for Cooperation in Space.
Sheehan has authored The People’s Advocate published in 2013 detailing his legal career. His involvement with UAP matters began with the 1977 Carter inquiry and continued through legal support for disclosure advocates. He has appeared at conferences and in interviews describing the 1977 photographs of a disc craft approximately 30 feet in diameter tipped at an angle in snow with military personnel and symbols visible on the object.
Sheehan maintains that the photographs showed a metallic seamless craft partially embedded after impact with personnel in winter parkas documenting the scene using motion picture cameras. He has repeated the account in 2001 Disclosure Project events and in 2024 NewsNation interviews. No public copies of the specific photographs have been released by Sheehan or verified independently. Official Project Blue Book records do not contain matching images according to available archives.
Sheehan co-founded the New Paradigm Institute in 2023 as an initiative of the Romero Institute focused on UAP disclosure through litigation policy work and public education. The institute supports the UAP Disclosure Act and citizen organizing via Citizens for Disclosure. Sheehan continues to argue for congressional oversight of alleged crash retrieval and reverse engineering programs citing his 1977 experience and later whistleblower accounts.
Where They Are Now
As of October 25 2026 Daniel Sheehan serves as Chief Counsel of the New Paradigm Institute and President of the Romero Institute in Santa Cruz California.
He continues public advocacy for UAP disclosure legislation and transparency through interviews podcasts and organizational initiatives.
Last updated 25 October 2026