Brenda V. Smith is a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law and Director of the Community Economic Development Law Clinic. She served as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs from 2018-2020 and has directed The Project on Addressing Prison Rape since 1998. Her work focuses on intersections of gender, crime, and sexuality. Education: B.A., Spelman College (1980, magna cum laude) J.D., Georgetown University Law Center (1984) Professor Smith specializes in gender-based legal scholarship, with expertise in criminal law, prisoners' rights, and community development. Her research analyzes systemic issues in prison rape, masculinity narratives in sexual violence, and policy reforms under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Scientific Awards: Kellogg National Leadership Fellowship (1993) Emmalee C. Godsey Research Award (2003) 2017 Pauline Ruyle Moore Scholar for Outstanding Scholarship in Public Law Inducted into D.C. Women’s Hall of Fame (1998) Notable Contributions: Appointed to the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (2003). Former Senior Counsel for Economic Security at the National Women's Law Center and Director of its Women in Prison Project. Regularly provides expert testimony on criminal justice reform.
Dr. Aleksandra Jordanoska is a Senior Lecturer at King's College London's Dickson Poon School of Law, specializing in corporate law and financial regulation. She holds a PhD from Queen Mary University of London (funded by a Queen Mary Research Studentship) and an MPhil in Criminology from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on financial markets governance, FinTech regulation, and white-collar crime, with recent grants from the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. She has held visiting roles at institutions like UC Berkeley and ANU. Teaching includes undergraduate Company Law and postgraduate courses on FinTech policy and financial crime regulation. Key research projects include the 'Global White-Collar Crime Survey' and studies on NFT regulatory risks. She co-chairs the Law and Society Association's Regulatory Governance Network and collaborates internationally on compliance and crime prevention initiatives. Her work employs interdisciplinary methods, including interviews with industry stakeholders and observational studies of legal proceedings. She is actively involved in funding initiatives through organizations like the ESRC and King's College London.
Dr. Nikolas Roberts serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Pennsylvania Western University, tenured since 2022. He holds appointments in the College of Education, Arts, and Humanities. His roles include teaching courses on correctional systems, criminological theory, research methods, and international conflict resolution. He previously worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, focusing on inmate education and solitary confinement reform. Dr. Roberts is AccessData-certified in digital forensics and authored the 2024 anthology The Law Behind the Wall . Education: B.A., B.S., and M.S. from Pennsylvania Western University M.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania Ph.D. from Saybrook University Research Interests: Dr. Roberts specializes in corrections policy, criminological theory, and conflict resolution. He emphasizes practical applications of research, such as re-entry training and policing strategies. His upcoming work Research Methods for Qualitative Justice Studies (co-edited) underscores his commitment to methodological rigor. Service & Leadership: Elected Co-Chair of the University-wide Tenure Committee (2024–) Title IX Student Advisor and Hearing Board Member (2023–2024) Member of numerous committees, including curriculum development, faculty professional development, and policy review Community Engagement: Dr. Roberts serves as an official prison monitor with the Pennsylvania Prison Society and contributed to the Donora Smog Museum’s historical preservation efforts. His consultancy work with legal institutions includes mediation for federal litigation cases.
Andrea Armstrong is the Dr. Norman C. Francis Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and a 2023 MacArthur Fellow. She joined the faculty in 2010 and is a leading expert on prison and jail conditions, certified by the U.S. Department of Justice as a Prison Rape Elimination Act auditor. J.D., Yale Law School, 2007 M.P.A., Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs, 2001 B.A., New York University, 1996 Her scholarship focuses on the constitutional dimensions of prisons and jails, particularly prison labor practices, the intersection of race and incarceration, public oversight of detention facilities, and healthcare disparities. She integrates law with history, public policy, and the arts to highlight the human costs of incarceration, advocating for systemic reforms through environmental justice and anti-discrimination frameworks. Andrea’s research includes 15 recent articles, spanning public health in prisons, constitutional challenges to labor practices, and environmental justice analyses of death row conditions. Her work emphasizes transparency, government accountability, and the systemic failures in carceral healthcare. Scientific Awards: 2023 MacArthur Fellow 2019 Interdisciplinary Research Leader, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Armstrong has testified before Congress on prison labor and deaths in custody, served on Louisiana legislative committees, and collaborated with museums and foundations to make incarceration law accessible. She founded IncarcerationTransparency.org and leads grant-funded projects requiring IRB approval.
Sharon Dolovich is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law and Faculty Director of the UCLA Prison Law & Policy Program. She also directs the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project, focusing on prison conditions and the Eighth Amendment. Her work addresses systemic issues in corrections, including pandemic impacts on incarcerated populations and sleep deprivation among prisoners and staff. Dolovich has held visiting roles at NYU, Harvard, and Georgetown, and was a Radcliffe Institute fellow. She has authored influential articles on prison law, including Cruelty, Prison Conditions, and the Eighth Amendment (2009). Education: B.A., Queen's University; Ph.D., Cambridge University; J.D., Harvard Law School (UCLA Faculty Since 2000). Research focuses on carceral systems, Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, and social justice advocacy. Her projects include landmark analyses of racial disparities in prison mortality during the pandemic and ongoing studies on sleep deprivation in corrections. She teaches courses on constitutional prison law and criminal law. Her articles consistently examine systemic failures in prison oversight and the human rights implications of mass incarceration. Recent work highlights racial inequities in carceral health outcomes and the impact of overwork on correctional officers' sleep deprivation. Awards: UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award (2021), UCLA Public Impact Research Award (2023), Young Scholar Award (2005). Advising: Hosts Prison Law JD, a listserv for law students advocating for incarcerated individuals. Teams: Directs UCLA’s Behind Bars Data Project and co-leads Criminal Justice Program, fostering collaborative research on policy reforms.
E. Lea Johnston is the Clarence J. TeSelle Professor and Professor of Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. She is a leading expert in mental health law, criminal law, and criminal procedure, with her work appearing in top law reviews and peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journals. Her scholarship has been widely cited by legal scholars, appears in leading treatises, and has received attention from courts and social scientists. Her theory of sentencing forms part of the theoretical framework for the standard textbook for forensic psychiatry fellowship programs. Professor Johnston earned her A.B. from Princeton University and her J.D. (cum laude) from Harvard Law School. Before entering academia, she worked as a litigation associate at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, D.C., served as director of the Maryland Public Interest Research Group, and clerked for Judge Richard Tallman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Johnston's research primarily focuses on the intersection of mental health and criminal justice. Her work examines how mental illness impacts criminal responsibility, competence to stand trial, sentencing, and diversion programs. She has made significant contributions to understanding diminished responsibility doctrines, insanity defenses, mental health courts, and assisted outpatient treatment. Her scholarship often employs interdisciplinary approaches, integrating legal analysis with insights from psychology, psychiatry, and behavioral sciences to develop more humane and just approaches to mentally ill offenders within the criminal justice system. Her publications demonstrate consistent scholarly output with significant impact across multiple disciplines. The trajectory of her work shows an evolution from foundational analyses of legal standards for mentally ill defendants toward more comprehensive reform proposals addressing systemic issues in how the criminal justice system handles mental illness. Elected to American Law Institute (2020) Former Chair of Criminal Justice Section, American Association of Law Schools Former Chair of Law and Mental Disability Section, American Association of Law Schools Member of Legal Scholars Committee, American Psychology-Law Society Professor Johnston has significantly influenced both legal scholarship and practice through her theoretical contributions and practical recommendations. Her work on sentencing theory for mentally ill offenders has been incorporated into forensic psychiatry training materials, demonstrating real-world impact beyond academia. While specific grant information isn't detailed in the provided text, her extensive publication record and leadership roles suggest substantial research support throughout her career. Her scholarship serves as a critical bridge between legal doctrine and clinical mental health practice, offering frameworks that balance therapeutic needs with justice considerations.
Professor Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou holds a dual role as Professor in Human Rights Law and Associate Dean for Internationalisation at the University of Liverpool's School of Law and Social Justice, part of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He joined the university in 2015, following academic appointments at the University of Surrey, University College Dublin, and Gomel State University. His expertise spans European human rights law, comparative law, and the administration of international justice. Prof Dzehtsiarou has authored three books and over 100 academic works, including contributions to Legal Studies , Human Rights Law Review , and International and Comparative Law Review . He advises international organizations and co-leads the European Convention on Human Rights Law Review. His research examines ECHR interpretation, ECtHR reform, and the effectiveness of human rights protection mechanisms. Research Grants: "Challenges to Implementing ECtHR Judgments: Dialogues on Prisoner Voting Rights" (Council of Europe, 2016) "Challenges of Implementation of ECtHR Judgments: Dialogues about Prisoners’ Voting" (Council of Europe, 2015–2016) Professional Roles: Director of the International Law and Human Rights Unit, Chair of the Board of Examiners. He supervises PhD students focusing on ECHR law, comparative human rights, and international justice administration. Teaching includes coordinating modules on European Convention on Human Rights. Labs/Teams: Leads the International Law and Human Rights Unit, fostering interdisciplinary research on global human rights frameworks and judicial accountability mechanisms.
Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra is a Professor and Alice Drysdale Sheffield Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts. His work fundamentally recontextualizes Latin America's role in shaping Western modernity through historical analysis of science, abolitionism, and democratic thought. Education: PhD from University of Wisconsin His research interrogates historiographical categories like the Enlightenment, Scientific Revolution, and Atlantic Age of Revolutions that have obscured Latin America's contributions to modernity. He demonstrates how manuscript petitions, not print culture, drove knowledge production and how colonial scribal practices created alternative cosmopolitanisms. Recent publications include Categories as Prisons (University Pennsylvania Press) challenging Atlantic historiography, and The Radical Spanish Empire (Harvard University Press) co-authored with Adrian Masters, which reclaims Spanish America's role in anti-slavery movements and systematic skepticism. His work appears in Cambridge Companion to Latin American Independence and New World Objects of Knowledge series. Teaching includes courses on Colonial Latin America (LAS 366), Atlantic History (HIS 383M), and Urban Slavery (HIS 347N). He has extensive editorial experience co-editing Princeton Handbook of Atlantic History and Jesuit-Protestant Encounters series.
Professor Rachel Murray is a Professor of International Human Rights Law at the University of Bristol and Director of its Human Rights Implementation Centre. She holds the title of Global Distinguished Professor of Law at the Notre Dame London Law Programme. Additionally, she is a Visiting Professor at the University of Oxford and a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Notre Dame. She serves as a magistrate in Bristol and is affiliated with the Bonavero Institute at Oxford, the Human Rights Centre at Essex, and Doughty Street Chambers. Education: LL.B. (Leicester), LL.M. (Bristol), Ph.D. (West of England). Research Interests: Focuses on the African human rights system, implementation of human rights law decisions, OPCAT, and torture prevention. Engages in strategic litigation, national human rights institutions, and compliance mechanisms for regional/UN treaty body rulings. Grants & Projects: Leads an ESRC grant examining state compliance with human rights decisions. Consultancies include work with the OSCE, UN, Amnesty International, and Open Society Foundations. Developed reparations guidelines for the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and frameworks for monitoring prisons in UK Overseas Territories. Affiliations: Board member of the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, Fellow of the Human Rights Centre (Essex), and Academic Affiliate of the Bonavero Institute (Oxford). Key Contributions: Collaborates with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to develop training for judiciaries. Advises on national preventive mechanisms, including Scotland’s implementation of CPT recommendations and Ireland’s OPCAT ratification.
Dr. Jose R Juan Sanchez is a full Professor at the Faculty of Law, Universitat de València, specializing in Procedural Law within the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Science (ICCP). He serves in the Administrative Department and leads the NCPJ New conflicts and judicial process research group. Doctorate in Law (1997) from Universitat de València Thesis: Autonomous Communities as Parties in Civil Proceedings Supervised by Dr. Manuel Ortells Ramos His research focuses on procedural law, judicial management, and legal reforms. He investigates tribunal jurisdiction, victim rights, and data protection in criminal proceedings. Recent work includes Photovoice analysis of pandemic healthcare systems and efficiency in Spanish criminal justice. Key article trends span judicial reforms (2015-2024), victim rights in EU legal frameworks (2020-2023), digital justice systems (2016-2017), and social justice in legal education (2022-2023). His work bridges law, criminology, and policy analysis. Current affiliations: Universitat de València, ICCP Institute Research group: NCPJ New conflicts and judicial process
Mira Edmonds serves as Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic at the University of Michigan School of Law, with additional appointments in the Pediatric Advocacy Clinic and Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic. Her work centers on holistic advocacy and community lawyering within public interest legal frameworks. Her academic credentials include: Brown University, BA, magna cum laude Harvard University, JD Edmonds' research and practice focus on systemic inequities in criminal justice systems, specifically indigent defense, decarceration strategies, and prisoner reentry challenges. She simultaneously addresses housing justice through analysis of the affordable housing crisis, tenants' rights enforcement, and homelessness prevention frameworks. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges legal theory with community-based advocacy to dismantle structural barriers faced by marginalized populations. Recent scholarship reveals consistent thematic concentration on criminal record relief mechanisms, narrative deconstruction of 'violent offender' labels, and healthcare access restoration for formerly incarcerated individuals. These works demonstrate empirical rigor through survey methodologies while advocating for policy shifts toward restorative justice models. Her professional recognition includes: 2025 Teaching Award from Michigan Law students Friedman Fellowship at The George Washington University Law School Through clinical supervision in juvenile justice, pediatric advocacy, and civil-criminal litigation contexts, Edmonds mentors law students in direct representation of vulnerable clients while navigating complex intersections of housing instability, criminal legal involvement, and healthcare access. Her clinics operate as interdisciplinary incubators for innovative public interest lawyering methodologies. She leads the Juvenile Justice Clinic as its director while maintaining active roles in the Pediatric Advocacy Clinic and Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic, fostering collaborative teams that integrate legal services with social work frameworks to address clients' multifaceted needs within systemic inequity contexts.
Adelle Blackett is a Full Professor and Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labor Law at the Faculty of Law, McGill University. She currently serves on public service leave as Senior Advisor to the Director-General of the International Labour Organization in Geneva. Her academic credentials include a BA in History from Queen's University, civil law and common law degrees from McGill, and an LL.M./JSD from Columbia University. Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2020) Bora Laskin National Human Rights Fellow Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellow Professor Blackett's research focuses on transnational labor law with emancipatory approaches, particularly domestic workers' rights and the intersection between trade and labor standards. She has contributed to international legal discourse through roles as Rapporteur-General for the International Academy of Comparative Law and as an expert for CETA and USMCA trade agreements. Her pedagogical innovations include courses on Slavery and the Law, transnational labor law futures, and labor law development with the African Development Bank. Her scholarly work has appeared in leading journals like American Journal of International Law and International Labour Review . She directs the Labor Law and Development Research Laboratory and has received numerous teaching awards including McGill's Principal's Prize for Teaching Excellence (2020). Professor Blackett has held visiting professorships at Fordham, Cornell, Université catholique de Louvain, and the University of Toronto. 2020 CCIL Scholarly Book Award for Everyday Transgressions 2019 CAPSLE Award for Advancing Legal Pedagogy Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal Bob Hepple Lifetime Achievement Award Honorary Doctorates from three universities Professor Blackett has shaped policy as Chair of Canada's Employment Equity Act Review Task Force and through advisory roles at the ILO's Advisory Committee on Trade and Labor. She founded McGill's Black Faculty and Staff Caucus and co-authored the Scarborough Charter on anti-Black racism in Canadian higher education. Her work bridges academic research, policy implementation, and social justice advocacy.
David M. Studdert is a Professor of Law and Health Policy at Stanford University, holding joint appointments in the Stanford Law School and the School of Medicine. He also serves as the Vice Provost and Dean of Research for Stanford University. His expertise spans health law, medical malpractice, public health law, and empirical studies. Studdert has authored over 250 articles and book chapters, focusing on the intersection of law and public health, including groundbreaking research on medical injury litigation, firearm violence prevention, and pandemic policy. He earned his law degree from the University of Melbourne and a doctoral degree in health policy from Harvard University. His research has been recognized with prestigious awards, including Australian Research Council Fellowships and election to the National Academy of Medicine (2024). Education: LLB, University of Melbourne ScD in Health Policy and Public Health, Harvard School of Public Health Research Interests: Studdert’s work examines how legal systems impact public health outcomes, particularly in domains like medical malpractice, gun violence, and pandemic response. His recent studies on firearm ownership and mortality risks have reshaped policy debates, while his analysis of medical negligence litigation has influenced tort reform discussions. Key Contributions: Launched the LongSHOT cohort study analyzing firearm-related mortality risks at scale. Co-authored seminal papers on physician behavior post-malpractice claims and nursing home negligence litigation. Advocated for evidence-based policy solutions through writings on vaccine passports, AI in healthcare, and pandemic governance. Awards: Alice S. Hersh New Investigator Award (AcademyHealth) Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship (2006) Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship (2011) Elected to National Academy of Medicine (2024) Administrative Roles: As Vice Provost and Dean of Research, Studdert oversees Stanford’s research enterprise, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration (e.g., the Food@Stanford initiative). He previously held faculty roles at Harvard and the University of Melbourne, and advised Australia’s Health Ministry.
Clive Stafford Smith is a Visiting Professor in Law at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he brings his decades of global human rights advocacy into the academic sphere. He is the founder of the legal charity Reprieve and has represented over 300 death row inmates in the United States, achieving a 98% success rate in preventing executions. He has argued five cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, all of which were won. His work has extended to challenging the legality of Guantanamo Bay, where he has helped secure the release of 69 detainees, including every British prisoner. Education: Graduated from Columbia Law School, New York. Legal Practice: Worked with the Southern Center for Human Rights; founded the Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center. Activism: Pioneered legal and public campaigns against the death penalty, torture, and unlawful detention. Mentorship: Empowered hundreds of students through death penalty and Guantanamo projects. Initiatives: Founded 3DC to empower the next generation of human rights advocates. Clive Stafford Smith's research and advocacy focus on human rights law, criminal justice reform, and the ethical foundations of legal practice. His work critically examines systemic biases, judicial misconduct, and the moral implications of state violence. He has written extensively on the psychological and societal impacts of capital punishment and indefinite detention. His publications, including Injustice: Life and Death in the Courtrooms of America and The Far Side of the Moon , reflect a deep engagement with justice, trauma, and personal responsibility. These works reveal a consistent theme: the need to treat all individuals, even the most reviled, with dignity and fairness. His numerous awards include the OBE, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Award, the Gandhi Peace Award, and the Contrarian Prize. He has been recognized as one of Britain’s most powerful lawyers and a leading figure in human rights. OBE for humanitarian services (2000) Soros Senior Fellow (2005) Rowntree Visionary (2005) International Bar Association’s Human Rights Award (2010) Contrarian Prize (2014) Amnesty International Chair (2014) Clive has supervised and mentored numerous students and young lawyers through Reprieve and his academic role. He has not received public grant funding in the traditional academic sense, but his NGO work has been sustained through charitable support and public advocacy. He leads Reprieve’s legal teams and initiatives, including strategic litigation and public education campaigns. His future work is expected to continue focusing on closing Guantanamo, ending the death penalty, and cultivating a new generation of human rights defenders.
Judith Resnik serves as the Arthur Liman Professor of Law at Yale Law School and founded the Arthur Liman Center for Public Interest Law. Her scholarship investigates the intersection of democratic values with judicial systems, prisons, and collective redress mechanisms. She teaches courses on federalism, legal procedure, and punishment studies. Her research focuses include: Democratic accountability in judicial systems Eighth Amendment and prison reform Gender, race, and class in legal representation Privatization of public services Transnational legal comparisons Recent publications analyze court funding dynamics, arbitration system flaws, and solitary confinement ethics. She has received prestigious awards including the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, Margaret Brent Women Lawyers Award, and the Meltzer Lifetime Achievement Award. The Liman Center under her leadership has produced influential reports on prison segregation and economic injustice, collaborating with institutions like UC Berkeley's Policy Advocacy Clinic and the Brennan Center at NYU. Notable scientific awards: Andrew Carnegie Fellowship (2018) Daniel J. Meltzer Lifetime Achievement Award (2024) Order of the Coif award for 'Representing Justice' (2014) PROSE awards for legal scholarship (2012)
