Alexis Hoag-Fordjour

Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour is an Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Criminal Justice at Brooklyn Law School, where she also holds the title of Dean’s Research Scholar. She specializes in criminal law, criminal procedure, and critical race theory. Her research critically examines the intersection of race, policing, and the right to counsel, with a focus on systemic inequities in the criminal justice system. She has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Derrick A. Bell Award for her contributions to legal education and social justice. Professor Hoag-Fordjour serves on the boards of the Death Penalty Information Center and the Eighth Amendment Project, and is a member of Vera Institute of Justice’s Reform Leadership Council.

Her academic journey includes a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from NYU School of Law. She previously served as a civil rights attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and a practitioner-in-residence at Columbia University’s Eric H. Holder Jr. Initiative. Her scholarship has appeared in leading law reviews such as the New York University Law Review, Michigan Law Review, and Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review.

Professor Hoag-Fordjour’s work bridges academia and public service, advocating for decarceration and abolitionist frameworks. She frequently contributes legal analysis to CNN, MSNBC, and other media outlets, and is an inaugural Constitutional Accountability Center scholar-in-residence for 2024-2025.