The tools of law and economics can help to identify problems with the system of criminal justice as it is administered in the United States and to suggest reforms. The Judicial Symposium on Using the Law and Economics to Reform the System of Criminal Justice: Theory, Empirical Evidence, and Some Applications, covered such questions as whether criminals can really be deterred and whether the way US law actually selects behavior for criminal punishment makes sense in terms of societal and legal objectives. The discussion focused on the criminal as a rational actor; the economic theory of crime and punishment; the human and systemic costs of overcriminalization; the use and abuse of prosecutorial discretion; and data-analytic approaches of the criminal justice administration, such as optimizing pretrial detention decisions.
Are Criminals Rational Actors?
Speaker:
Speaker:
Daniel D. Polsby, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
The Economics of Crime and Punishment
Speaker:
Jonathan Klick, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Empirical Work on Crime and Punishment
Speaker:
Jonathan Klick, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Luncheon Keynote: The Economics of Prison Gangs
Speaker:
David Skarbek, Senior Lecturer in Political Economy and Undergraduate Exam Board Chair, Department of Political Economy, King’s College London
Overcriminalization: An Economic Perspective
Panelists:
Paul J. Larkin, Senior Legal Research Fellow, Center for Legal & Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation
Ellen S. Podgor, Gary R. Trombley White-Collar Crime Research Professor and Professor of Law, Stetson University College of Law
Paul H. Robinson, Colin S. Diver Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Jay Stephens, Chairman, Legal Policy Advisory Board, Washington Legal Foundation
Moderator:
Daniel D. Polsby
Prosecutorial Discretion
Panelists:
R. Alexander Acosta, Dean, Florida International University College of Law
Megan F. Chaney, Associate Professor of Law, Shepard Broad Law Center, Nova Southeastern University
Robert Frommer, Attorney, Institute for Justice
Kathleen M. Ridolfi, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law, Co-Founder and Former Director, Northern California Innocence Project
William N. Shepherd, Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
Moderator:
Dennis M. Black, Acting Director of Education, Law & Economics Center
Pre-Trial Decision Making
Panelists:
Matt Alsdorf, Director of Criminal Jusice, Laura and John Arnold Foundation
Marie Vannostrand, Justice Project Manager, Luminosity
Michael Wilson, Associate, Justice System Partners
Incarceration and Alternatives
Panelists:
Jamie Allen, Public Protection Coordinator, Louisville Criminal Justice Commission
Lisa Daugaard, Interim Deputy Director, King County Department of Public Defense
Alexes Harris, Associate Professor, University of Washington