Center for Justice, Law and Society

News

CJLS has recently completed work on a project funded by the Open Society Institute. The project examined judicial diversity in the state courts with a particular focus on the question of whether or not judicial selection mechanisms impact diversity. CJLS, Justice at Stake and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have published Improving Diversity on the State Courts: A Report from the Bench.

A copy of that report may be found here.

The Center for Justice, Law and Society has released its report, "A Blueprint for the New Administration: Five Priorities to Improve Law, Justice, and Security." Using evidence-based practices, CJLS faculty offer five recommendations to improve practices in law, justice and security policy.

A copy of that report may be found here.

CJLS recently received grants from the Embassy of Canada, the State of Tennessee, and the Open Society Institute to conduct evaluation projects on the Federal Court of Canada, judicial districting, and the diversification of state judiciaries. In these projects, CJLS is fortunate to work with a number of partner organizations, including the Justice Management Institute, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Justice at Stake.

CJLS Professor James Willis and his co-authors have won the 2008 best article award from the Law and Society Association. Professor Willis was lead author with Professors Stephen Mastrofski and David Weisburd of the article, "Making Sense of COMPSTAT: A Theory-Based Analysis of Organizational Change in Three Police Departments," which was published in the Law and Society Review in 2007. Professor Willis will receive the award at the annual meeting of the Law and Society Association.

CJLS Professor Linda Merola has won the 2008 Harold N. Glassman Dissertation Award in the Social Sciences at Georgetown University. The Glassman Awards are intended to honor truly distinguished dissertations in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, with one award available in each of these three broad disciplinary areas. Professor Merola's dissertation was titled, "A Culture of Crisis: Information and the Scope of American Civil Liberties in an Era of Terrorist Threat." Professor Merola joined CJLS in the Fall of 2007.

Susan Hirsch, CJLS faculty member and an associate professor of conflict analysis, will deliver the 2008 Vision Series lecture at George Mason University. Professor Hirsch will speak on "Satisfying Victims and Healing Societies: The Promises of Justice After Extreme Violence." The talk will take place March 17th at 8pm in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

Jo-Marie Burt, CJLS faculty member and an associate professor of public and international affairs, will speak on her recent book, "Silencing Civil Society: Political Violence and the Authoritarian State in Peru." The talk will take place April 3rd at 6pm in Mason Hall, Room D3 at George Mason University. Coletta Youngers of the Washington Office on Latin America will comment on the book as well.

CJLS Professor Jo-Marie Burt served as international observer to the trial of former Peruvian President Fujimori. Her report may be found at http://www.wola.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=viewp&id=624&Itemid=2

CJLS faculty member Jo-Marie Burt has just published the book, Political Violence and the Authoritarian State in Peru: Silencing Civil Society. Just released by Palgrave Macmillan, the book explores the effects of insurgent violance by the Shining Path and the state's brutal response under Alberto Fujimori. Professor Burt served as a research consultant for the Peruvian Truth and Justice Commission in 2002-2003.

John Dale, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology and a faculty member in the Center for Justice, Law and Society, has been featured in the national press commenting upon the future of Burma. A sample of his commentary may be found at the following links:

Susan Hirsch, associate professor of conflict resolution and anthropology and a faculty member in the Center for Justice, Law and Society, won the 2007 Herbert Jacob Award from the Law and Society Association for the best book published in 2006. Hirsch’s book, In the Moment of Greatest Calamity: Terrorism, Grief, and a Victim’s Quest for Justice, has been praised from many quarters for its moving, thoughtful and insightful account of the embassy bombings and the aftermath of seeking justice through the U.S. legal system.

Mark Goodale, assistant professor of conflict analysis and anthropology and a faculty member in the Center for Justice, Law and Society, recently published the book, The Practice of Human Rights: Tracking Law Between the Global and the Local. Co-edited with Professor Sally Merry of New York University, the book is a compelling anthropological study of human rights work around the world.

Jon Gould, associate professor of Administration of Justice and Director of the Center for Justice, Law and Society, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the American Judicature Society. AJS is a national nonprofit organization working to maintain the independence and integrity of the courts and increase public understanding of the justice system.