Social Justice, Incarceration
Mar 21, 2017
Adam Benferado
Social Justice, Incarceration

Adam Benforado is a professor, writer, and lawyer.

 

As a legal scholar, his principal interest is in applying insights from the mind sciences—most notably cognitive psychology—to law and legal theory.  He is particularly focused on issues arising in criminal law.

 

Conducting novel experiments and developing existing findings, Professor Benforado's research is dedicated to uncovering how our legal system may reflect unappreciated aspects of our cognitive frameworks and processes, and, as a consequence, how the law may fail to align with our purported values and fall short of meeting our needs.  

 

As an undergraduate, Professor Benforado studied at Yale University and Oxford University.  He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and was a Frank Knox Fellow and Visiting Scholar with the Cambridge University Faculty of Law.  He clerked for Judge Judith Rogers on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  Professor Benforado also worked at Jenner & Block, LLP in Washington, D.C., where he handled trial and appellate litigation matters.  He joined the Drexel University Kline School of Law as an assistant professor in 2008 and was granted tenure in 2013.  He was a visiting professor at Brooklyn Law School in Spring 2013.

 

He has published numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, and his op-eds and essays have appeared in a variety of publications including the New York TimesWashington PostChronicle of Higher EducationAmerican Scholar, and Boston Review.  His bestselling first book, Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice, was published by Crown in June 2015.

 

An active media voice, Professor Benforado has been interviewed by Larry King, Al Sharpton, Melissa Harris-Perry, and Scott Simon, and been featured on Fresh Air.  He regularly speaks to academic audiences, legal practitioners, and the general public about his work.  Although he no longer takes cases, he remains a member of the Washington, D.C. and New York bars.