Maya Barak

Maya Barak is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn's College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters. Her research focuses on intersections of law, immigration, and power, with specialties in state-corporate crime, procedural justice, and capital punishment. She holds a PhD from American University (2016), an MA from Eastern Michigan University (2011), and a BA from the University of Michigan (2009).

• Education: Ph.D. Justice, Law, and Criminology (American U), MA Criminology (EMU), BA Social Anthropology (UM)

Her work critiques systemic injustices in immigration courts and death penalty systems. Notable publications include The Slow Violence of Immigration Court (2023) and Capital Defense (2019, with Jon Gould). Her research shows how legal procedures often perpetuate harm rather than ensuring justice.

• Recent focus: Deportation regimes, procedural justice failures, and corporate/state complicity in crimes

Received the 2021 Outstanding Article Award for work on family separation as state-corporate crime. Teaches courses on crimmigration, LGBTQ+ criminology, and criminal justice theory.