Focus Area: Fairness in Criminal Outcomes

This article argues federal gun crimes reflect a unique dynamic in which legislation is shaped by three forces: (1) aggressive interest group lobbying that leads to compromise on harsh punishment; (2) a dichotomizing of gun users into either “law-abiding citizens” or “thugs” and “gangsters”; and (3) prosecutorial power that is magnified in this area. By: […]

This article examines the problem of criminal debt and addresses law and policy reforms and the constitutional question of whether such debt can be imposed on persons who lack ability to pay, and what Equal Protection, Due Process, Excessive Fines Clause, and other requirements must be satisfied to constitutionally impose criminal debts. By: Brandon Garrett […]

This article questions a two-Americas framing of criminal justice and instead suggests that American attitudes have long been far more complex, but also more unified, than often supposed. Most people in fact care about both criminal control and due process. As a result, a range of reform approaches may bridge social, partisan, and identity-based divides […]

This article provides a legislative roadmap for habeas reform through Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) repeal. By: Brandon L. Garrett and Kaitlin Phillips — Cornell Law Review (2022). Read the article

This article published in Justice Evaluation examines the impact of driver’s license suspensions. The authors surveyed people in North Carolina (N = 853) and found that 18% of respondents had a suspended license, with race and low income predicting higher suspension rates, and increased difficulty for daily activities and ability to pay for housing. The authors also […]