For rising Duke Law 3L Daniela Hernandez-Gil, working with the Wilson Center for Science and Justice has meant standing alongside young people navigating one of the most difficult moments of their lives. As a a member of our McAtee JustScience Lab student supporting Sam Lawrence’s work with incarcerated children, much of Dani’s work centers on […]
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Join Our Webinar: Extreme Risk Protection Orders in Practice: Balancing Risk and Rights, Ensuring Justice
Join us for a webinar and panel discussion Date: Monday May 11 Time: 1pm Eastern Time Register here Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPOs) laws authorize law enforcement with a civil restraining order to temporarily remove and prohibit access to firearms for individuals who pose a significant risk of harming themselves or others. As ERPOs have […]
Work in Progress: Studying Death by Distribution
Michele Easter is currently conducting a comprehensive study of “Death by Distribution” prosecutions in North Carolina with co-authors Rita Grunberg, Madeline Stenger, Lindsay Bass-Patel, Jeffrey Swanson, and Abigail Lee (A.B. ’25). Death by Distribution refers to homicide charges to prosecute a lethal overdose, specifically against the person who shared or sold a drug that led […]
Recap: The Highest Law in the Land: A Conversation with Jessica Pishko
The sheriff is one of the most powerful and least scrutinized figures in American law enforcement. That was the argument at the center of an evening with journalist, lawyer, and author Jessica Pishko, co-hosted by the Duke Justice Project, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice, the Duke Decarceration Project, and the Duke Law chapters […]
Recap: Why People Don’t Appear For Court and What Happens When They Don’t
Part 2 of our Webinar Series “Life on Hold: The Impact of Driver’s License Suspensions” On March 19th, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice hosted the second installment of the three-part Life on Hold series. The discussion focused on “Failure to Appear” (FTAs), why people miss their court dates, how current responses to FTAs […]
From Research to Real-World Impact: Lessons from My Time at the Wilson Center
Samantha Richter Reflects on her Time in Our McAtee JustScience Lab I replayed the same forty-five seconds of audio three times before I realized I’d stopped transcribing altogether. It was 10:30 p.m. on a Tuesday in my second semester of freshman year. My roommate had just gotten home, filling our dorm with the familiar sounds […]
Recap: How License Suspensions Disrupt Daily Life
Part 1 of Our Webinar Series: Life on Hold On February 19th, the Wilson Center for Science and Justice hosted the first installment of the three-part Life on Hold series. The discussion brought together researchers and individuals directly impacted by North Carolina’s driver’s license suspension policies to explore how they affect employment, economic mobility, and […]
Renewing a Commitment to Justice: How the Wilson Foundation Is Sustaining and Advancing the Wilson Center’s Impact
In 2020, Duke alumnus Derek Wilson (A.B. ’86, M.B.A. ’90, P ’15) and the Wilson Foundation provided a $5 million grant to help found the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law. In 2025, they renewed their commitment, enabling the Center to advance its critical research, policy, and educational activities. This partnership has […]
Wilson Center Launches Three Projects Under H.B. 307 to Understand and Strengthen Mental Health Responses Across North Carolina’s Legal System
New research initiatives funded by the NC Collaboratory aim to improve care, reduce criminalization, and support successful reentry The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law is pleased to announce three major research projects examining the intersection of mental health and the criminal legal system in North Carolina. These projects are part of a broader coalition of […]
Watching Closely: Research Assistant Anya Milberg on Bail, Oversight, and Her Work with the Wilson Center
The Case That Started It All In 2016, a woman named Maranda ODonnell was stopped by police while driving to pick up her four-year-old daughter. The charge was driving with a suspended license. A Harris County judge set her bail at $2,500. She couldn’t pay it. She sat in jail, not because she posed any […]