Department of Justice, Law & Society Faculty

Associate Professor

Professor Addington’s research interests include the nature of violent crime and its impact on victims, measurement of crime, and utilization of U.S. crime statistics. She is currently on leave as a Visiting Fellow at the Bureau of Justice Statistics... [More]

Assistant Professor

Professor

Professor Bennett's research interests include comparative criminology, comparative criminal justice, and police organization and procedures. He has published extensively in the area of cross-national crime, policing and comparative police systems. H... [More]

Assistant Professor

Dr. Bill Davies is a legal historian, focusing on the transnational nature of legal ideas and systems. His particular field of expertise lies in the law and institutions of the European Union. His work examines the consolidation of the European publi... [More]

Professor

Professor Dreisbach's principal research interests include American constitutional law and history, First Amendment law, church-state relations, and criminal procedure. He has written extensively on these topics. He has authored or edited five books ... [More]

Associate Professor

Professor Fagelson's research interests include global ethics, constitutional rights, law and development, political theory and human rights. He has published a book and numerous articles in journals of law and politics concerning the meaning and mor... [More]

Professor

Brian Forst joined the American University faculty in 1992, following three years on the George Washington University faculty. Before that, he was director of research at the Institute for Law and Social Research (1977-85) and the Police Foundation (... [More]

Associate Professor

Professor Golash's research interests center on the philosophy of law, particularly the moral justification of criminal punishment. She has published numerous articles on these subjects. Before coming to American University, Professor Golash served a... [More]

Professor

A lawyer and social scientist, Professor Gould combines empirical research with policy advocacy to advance government reform and administration. His work focuses on civil rights and liberties, justice policy, and legal change, helping to make academi... [More]

Professorial Lecturer

Professor

Professor Johnson's areas of expertise include the prison and other institutions of punishment and confinement, the death penalty, institutional violence, and race and justice in America. He has published extensively in these areas. He has testified ... [More]

Assistant Professor

Kristine Kalanges is an assistant professor of Justice, Law and Society in the School of Public Affairs, where she studies the intersection of law, religion and politics. Her first book, Religious Liberty in Western and Islamic Law: Toward a World Le... [More]

Professorial Lecturer

Associate Professor

Currently, I am Assistant Professor of Justice, Law and Society at American University. I have both a PhD in modern European history and a JD in law from Stanford University. My approach to issues of law and policy reflects this inter-disciplinary ba... [More]

Department Chair, Justice, Law and Society

Ed Maguire is Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Justice, Law & Society at American University. He has held previous positions at George Mason University, the University of Nebraska, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the United Nati... [More]

Assistant Professor

Professor Marr, an Assistant Professor of Justice, Law and Society, was named Director of the SPA Leadership Program in April 2008. The Leadership Program is a four-year certificate Program established in 1990 to give students the knowledge, skills a... [More]

Associate Professor

Professor Savage currently teaches History and Philosophy of Criminology and Introduction to Justice Methods. She is interested in a variety of topics related to criminological theory and in particular to violent crime (cross-national variation in cr... [More]

Assistant Professor

Professor Schaler’s work is focused on the “therapeutic state”—the union of medicine and state. He completed his doctoral and master’s degrees in human development at the University of Maryland College Park, where the major emphasis of his research w... [More]

University Professor

Professor Simon's research interests and primary areas of concentration in academic work are law and society; the jury system; immigration policies and public opinion; trans-racial adoption; women and the criminal justice system; women's issues; and ... [More]

Acting Assistant Professor

Stephen Tankel is an Assistant Professor at American University and a non-resident scholar in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His research focuses on terrorism, insurgency, the evolution of violent non-state ... [More]

Professor

A pioneer in the field of victimology, victims rights, and an expert in the field of transnational crime, Professor Viano is recognized internationally for his contributions to justice and human rights. He has authored countless articles and books, t... [More]

Assistant Professor

Jessica Waters is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Justice, Law and Society teaching Introduction to Law, Justice, Law and the Constitution, and Reproduction and the Law. Her research focuses on reproductive rights law, exploring questions... [More]

Instructor

Kevin Wozniak is a doctoral candidate in the School of Public Affairs. His concentrations are justice, law, and society and American politics. His research interests revolve around the politics of punishment in modern America. Under this broad umbrel... [More]

Assistant Professor

Professor Young's interests relate to the cross-national causes and consequences of terrorism. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles across academic disciplines, including political science, economics, criminology, and international studie... [More]

Research Assistant Professor

Julia Carrano is the supervisor for the Preventing Wrongful Convictions Project, a federally funded, multi-year research study. The project employs a distinctive social science research methodology, matched case comparison, that will allow the resear... [More]

Research Professor

Caroline Cooper has been involved with the provision of technical assistance, evaluation, and training services to courts and other adjudication system agencies engaged in judicial improvement efforts. She has also been a practicing attorney, an assi... [More]

Research Professor

Joseph Trotter, an attorney, is a Research Professor on the faculty of American University's School of Public Affairs, and is the founder, in 1989, and director of SPA's Justice Programs Office. He received a BS in International Relations from the Ge... [More]

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Adjunct Associate Professor

Professor Dennis is presently the Senior Policy Advisor for Corrections in the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance in Washington, D.C. Prior to assuming this position, Dr. Dennis was a Senior Associate with... [More]

Adjunct Instructor

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Gregory A. Hunt, a member of the adjunct faculty of the Department of Justice, Law and Society, works in the conduct and development of research and training programs in the field of community corrections. During his 20 year tenure as a US Probation ... [More]

Adjunct Professor

Professor Kaplan has had extensive experience in the administration, management, and evaluation of public policy, housing, and community mental helth programs in the public and non-profit arenas. He is currently Director of the Resident Services Divi... [More]

Adjunct Associate Professor

Professor Kimble’s interests include comparative legal practice, judicial decision making, and principles of local government law. He has been a practicing lawyer for 34 years with private law firms and local governments. He is a member of the Suprem... [More]

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Aaron J. Lucas, III started his criminal justice career in the federal probation system at the Washington, D.C., United States District Court probation office in 1973. During the first 17 years in the criminal justice system, he worked in federal pro... [More]

Adjunct Instructor

Adjunct Professor

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Judge Patti Mitchell is a member of the Montgomery County, Maryland bench. She is an AU alumna (SPA ’76) and has been an adjunct JLS professor for over ten years. In her more than thirteen years as a sitting judge, Judge Mitchell has heard criminal, ... [More]

Adjunct Associate Professor

Matthew Pascocello is an Adjunct Professor at both American University’s School of Public Affairs and at the Washington College of Law, where he serves as the Director of Career Development & Alumni Counseling in the Office of Career & Professional D... [More]

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Adjunct Associate Professor

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Adjunct Professorial Lecturer

Professor Emeritus

Professor Ronald Weiner has taught at AU since 1972. He is an expert on violent sex offenders and is regularly called as an expert witness by both prosecutors and defense attorneys across the country. He is currently the executive director of Clinica... [More]

Adjunct Instructor

Keith L. Williams has over 20 years of experience in private security and municipal law enforcement. His policing career has included stints in patrol operations, recruiting, homicide investigations, and at the executive level focusing on risk manage... [More]