Research Programs
Criminal Justice Policy Program
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Forgiveness in an age of ‘justified resentments’
November 6, 2019
At a recent Harvard Law School Library book event, Martha Minow and panelists discussed her recent release, "When Should Law Forgive?", which explores the complicated intersection of the law, justice, and forgiveness.
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New report by Harvard Law scholars presents road map for court fee and fine reform
September 23, 2019
A new report released earlier this month by researchers at Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Policy Program argues for eliminating court fees and making fines proportionate to offense and ability to pay.
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Matters of life or death
September 12, 2018
Led by Carol Steiker, the Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Criminal Justice Policy Program, the Capital Punishment Clinic at Harvard Law School tests the complex body of constitutional law that regulates the death penalty and its troubled history.
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On the way to the Super Bowl, a visit to Harvard Law
February 1, 2018
On Jan. 5, New England Patriots Defensive Captain Devin McCourty, teammates Johnson Bademosi, Matthew Slater and Duron Harmon, and team president Jonathan Kraft participated in a 'Listen and Learn' event at HLS, organized by the Fair Punishment Project and the Office of Public Interest Advising, featuring panel discussions on inequities in the criminal justice system.
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On the Bookshelf: HLS Authors
December 14, 2017
This fall, the Harvard Law School Library hosted a series of book talks by HLS authors, with topics ranging from Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts to a Citizen's Guide to Impeachment. As part of this ongoing series, faculty authors from various disciplines shared their research and discussed their recently published books.
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Veterans of service, with a belief in the law
November 8, 2017
Each year, as we honor military veterans nationwide for their service, Harvard Law Today profiles students in the incoming class who have held positions in the Armed Forces. The Class of 2020 includes the largest number of former or current service members in Harvard Law's recent history.
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As a JAG officer, Jenna Reed prosecuted some of the most serious cases in the U.S. Marine Corps
November 8, 2017
As a JAG officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for more than six years, Jenna E. Reed LL.M. ’18 prosecuted and defended some of the most serious cases in that branch of the military, focusing on violent and special victims crimes, including shaken-baby cases and others involving children.
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Students help advance forensic science reform in Massachusetts
October 17, 2017
Over a year ago, a group of students in Harvard Law School's Criminal Justice Policy Program (CJPP) began working to propel forensic science reform in Massachusetts. On Oct. 2, the students' work culminated in a Wrongful Conviction Day event at the Massachusetts State House.
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Deputy Attorney General says criminal justice reform likely to continue in Trump Administration
January 11, 2017
With just under two weeks left in the presidency of Barack Obama ’91, Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates spoke at Harvard Law School about recent strides in criminal justice reform and why she is optimistic that progress will continue in the new presidential administration.
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Harvard Law School: 2016 in review
December 22, 2016
A look back at 2016, highlights of the people who visited, events that took place and everyday life at Harvard Law School.
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Regulated to Death
November 22, 2016
In their latest collaboration, Professor Carol Steiker ’86 and her brother, Jordan Steiker ’88, a law professor at the University of Texas, have co-written a new book, “Courting Death: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment,” in which they argue that the Court has failed in its efforts to regulate the death penalty since Gregg v. Georgia, its 1976 decision that allowed capital punishment to resume.
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Fair Punishment Project’s new Legal Advisory Council issues brief on sentences for juveniles
November 21, 2016
The HLS Fair Punishment Project’s Legal Advisory Council has issued an issue brief arguing that a sentencer may impose a life without parole sentence upon a juvenile only after concluding that the child is “the rare juvenile offender who exhibits such irretrievable depravity that rehabilitation is impossible.”
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70 Years Later: The Nuremberg Legacy and The Crime of Aggression
October 19, 2016
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, Harvard Law School Professor Alex Whiting moderated a conversation between Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, permanent representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, and Harold Hongju Koh ’80, who served as legal adviser of the U.S. Department of State.
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Harvard Law students help win presidential clemency for inmates
October 6, 2016
Last spring, the Criminal Justice Policy Program developed an initiative to provide representation to incarcerated people petitioning President Obama for clemency. Twenty-six Harvard Law students volunteered to work with a team of pro bono attorneys to represent clemency petitioners, in what has become the largest law student-based clemency initiative in the country.
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Report equips advocates to work together to tackle challenges of Criminal Justice Debt
September 8, 2016
Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Policy Program and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) have released Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Comprehensive Project for Reform, a collaborative project that focuses on the financial costs of the criminal justice system.
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Fifth in a Harvard Gazette series on what Harvard scholars are doing to identify and understand inequality, in seeking solutions to one of America’s most vexing problems.
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During HLS visit, Attorney General Lynch makes the case for criminal justice reform
January 19, 2016
In a recent talk at Harvard Law School, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch ’81, J.D. ’84 discussed criminal-justice reform “a transformative issue of our generation.”
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For law students, a cautionary tale
November 24, 2015
Accompanied by his lawyers Lisa Kavanaugh '00 and Andrea Petersen, Victor Rosario--a man who served 32 years in prison for a crime he said he didn’t commit--discussed his case, the state of criminal forensics, and innocence litigation at Harvard Law School.