George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Judicial Symposium on Using the Law and Economics to Reform the System of Criminal Justice: Theory, Empirical Evidence, and Some Applications


Event Details

  • Date:
  • Venue: Turnberry Isle Resort
  • Division: The Judicial Education Program

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