Reforming Arizona Criminal Justice

A collaborative project between the Academy for Justice and the Arizona State Law Journal.

Reforming Arizona Criminal Justice (RACJ) is a collection of accessible articles on Arizona criminal law written by the nation’s leading scholars.

Criminal justice reform is a frequent topic of conversation in Arizona, and for good reason. In a nation that leads the world in incarceration, Arizona has the country’s fifth highest imprisonment rate. And the situation is even worse than it seems. Because a disproportionate number of those trapped in the Arizona criminal justice system are also among the most vulnerable: the poor, the underserved, and minorities. So now, more than ever, Arizonans believe that the state needs to rethink its approach to criminal justice. But even with this groundswell of support for change, it’s proven difficult to find consensus on reforms. Here’s an idea: what if we ask some of the nation’s leading scholars to see what evidence-based solutions they would recommend for Arizona? Welcome to RACJ, a collaborative project from the Academy for Justice and the Arizona State Law Journal.

Goals of Reforming Arizona Criminal Justice

The overarching goal of RACJ is to help bridge the gap between academia and criminal justice reform in Arizona. To achieve this goal, RACJ is organized around three main objectives:

These objectives respond to the call from the National Research Council’s groundbreaking 2014 report, The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences:

Valena Beety

Professor of Law
Deputy Director, Academy for Justice
Arizona State University

Douglas A. Berman

Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law
Executive Director – Drug Enforcement and Policy Center
The Ohio State University

Jenny E. Carroll

Wiggins, Childs, Quinn
& Pantazis Professor of Law
University of Alabama

Michele Deitch

Distinguished Senior Lecturer
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
The University of Texas at Austin

Henry F. Fradella

Professor, Associate Director
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Arizona State University

Christine S. Scott-Hayward

Associate Professor of Law, Criminology, and Criminal Justice
School of Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Emergency Management
California State University, Long Beach

Kristin Henning

The Blume Professor of Law
Director – Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative
Georgetown Law

Alex Kreit

Assistant Professor of Law
Director – Center for Addiction Law & Policy
Northern Kentucky University

Tamara Rice Lave

Professor of Law
Director – Litigation Skills Program
University of Miami School of Law

Ben A. McJunkin

Associate Professor of Law
Associate Deputy Director – Academy for Justice
Arizona State University

Rebba Omer

Program Manager & Staff Attorney
Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative
Georgetown Law

John F. Pfaff

Professor of Law
Fordham University School of Law

Cassia Spohn

Foundation Professor
Director – School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Arizona State University

Sonja B. Starr

Professor of Law
The University of Chicago Law School