Jacqueline E. Ross

Jacqueline E. Ross is the Prentice H. Marshall Professor of Law at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she directs the Illinois Program in Comparative Criminal Procedure and Policing and co-directs the Pennsylvania-Illinois-Princeton Comparative Law Work in Progress Workshop. A leading scholar in criminal procedure, criminal law, evidence, and comparative law, her research focuses on undercover operations and intelligence-led policing across democratic societies.

Her educational background includes:

• BA, University of Chicago (with honors)
• JD, University of Chicago Law School (with honors)

Professor Ross's research examines comparative criminal procedure through empirical analysis of law enforcement practices in the United States, France, Germany, and Italy. She investigates how legal actors' assumptions, ambitions, and habitual practices shape covert policing systems, with emphasis on transnational cooperation challenges. Her methodology combines archival research with over 300 interviews of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges across four continents.

Her scholarly output reveals a cohesive trajectory from historical analyses of Progressive Era undercover tactics to contemporary studies of anti-terror stings and intelligence-led policing. She consistently bridges legal theory, empirical fieldwork, and practical implications for democratic governance, establishing foundational frameworks for understanding covert operations in comparative context.

Her contributions have been recognized with:

• Wayne LaFave Award for Scholarly Excellence (2024)
• Edward Wise Senior Scholar Prize (2004 and 2007)
• Fulbright Research Fellowship

Professor Ross has secured significant research funding including France's Agence Nationale de Recherche grant and Fulbright support for her transnational projects. While specific advisees aren't documented, her mentorship extends through the Pennsylvania-Illinois-Princeton Workshop and transatlantic seminar series she co-organizes.

She leads the Illinois Program in Comparative Criminal Procedure and Policing and co-organizes a transatlantic seminar series with Thierry Delpeuch of France's National Centre for Scientific Research, fostering ongoing dialogue between American and European legal scholars on intelligence-led policing and security partnerships.