Prof Jane Mitchell
@jane-mitchell.bsky.social
BYU Law Professor. Criminal law and leadership.
Thought-provoking article from @hashtagblevin.bsky.social "Limits of Punishment" -- arguing that our obsession with the way criminal justice "punishes" has blinded us to the broader machinery of criminal "governance." What does this mean for leaders on the ground working in this space?
November 19, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Thought-provoking article from @hashtagblevin.bsky.social "Limits of Punishment" -- arguing that our obsession with the way criminal justice "punishes" has blinded us to the broader machinery of criminal "governance." What does this mean for leaders on the ground working in this space?
"The Psychology of a Favor" papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... - argues that people receiving a benefit (e.g., witnesses being paid) feel obligated to reciprocate and behave favorably towards the person who gave the benefit (e.g., prosecutor)
The Psychology of a Favor: Why Hidden Witness Payments Demand a New Brady Rule
Police and prosecutors regularly pay money to informants and other witnesses in criminal cases. These payments can be in the form of rewards, relocation expense
papers.ssrn.com
October 13, 2025 at 8:21 PM
"The Psychology of a Favor" papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.... - argues that people receiving a benefit (e.g., witnesses being paid) feel obligated to reciprocate and behave favorably towards the person who gave the benefit (e.g., prosecutor)
fascinating new article by @adamgershowitz.bsky.social — discussing psychology’s “reciprocity effect” on payments to witnesses in criminal cases. But reciprocity is significantly weakened when the benefit is expected or part of an explicit exchange. To what extent does that factor in here?
October 13, 2025 at 8:20 PM
fascinating new article by @adamgershowitz.bsky.social — discussing psychology’s “reciprocity effect” on payments to witnesses in criminal cases. But reciprocity is significantly weakened when the benefit is expected or part of an explicit exchange. To what extent does that factor in here?
How can law students become better leaders, not just learn about leadership? My new article explores how transformative learning theory can reshape how students think, feel, and act: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Thanks to all my leadership students + the Santa Clara Law Review!
Thanks to all my leadership students + the Santa Clara Law Review!
October 6, 2025 at 8:25 PM
How can law students become better leaders, not just learn about leadership? My new article explores how transformative learning theory can reshape how students think, feel, and act: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Thanks to all my leadership students + the Santa Clara Law Review!
Thanks to all my leadership students + the Santa Clara Law Review!
Reposted by Prof Jane Mitchell
I mean, we are living in two different realities now, and this really hasn't always been the case.
September 22, 2025 at 6:15 PM
I mean, we are living in two different realities now, and this really hasn't always been the case.
I loved reading @eileen.sunriseparabellum.org 's "Prisoners and Choice" essay. We need more participatory scholarship like this! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Prisoners and Choice
This Essay considers how eliminating meaningful choices inside prisons harms individuals and obstructs reintegration efforts. While any individual restriction o
papers.ssrn.com
September 3, 2025 at 7:59 PM
I loved reading @eileen.sunriseparabellum.org 's "Prisoners and Choice" essay. We need more participatory scholarship like this! papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Loved reading Laura Appleman’s most recent drug decriminalization essay @lawandlitprof.bsky.social. I just finished a draft of a drug policy paper myself, and wish I had read this sooner! Thank you Laura for your clarity and comprehensiveness
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Drug Decriminalization & Recriminalization in the 21st Century : Predicting the Future in Uncertain Times
The shifting legal landscape of drug regulation in the United States has been marked by a growing divergence between state and federal approaches to cannabis an
papers.ssrn.com
August 24, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Loved reading Laura Appleman’s most recent drug decriminalization essay @lawandlitprof.bsky.social. I just finished a draft of a drug policy paper myself, and wish I had read this sooner! Thank you Laura for your clarity and comprehensiveness
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Reposted by Prof Jane Mitchell
Why are Americans so afraid of crime, even as it plummets?
Because this is the second paragraph of the CBS News take on it.
SECOND PARAGRAPH starts with a “but” that defies comprehension (what does “every 25.9 seconds” mean in a nation of 320M?), but seems scary!
SECOND PARAGRAPH.
Because this is the second paragraph of the CBS News take on it.
SECOND PARAGRAPH starts with a “but” that defies comprehension (what does “every 25.9 seconds” mean in a nation of 320M?), but seems scary!
SECOND PARAGRAPH.
August 7, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Why are Americans so afraid of crime, even as it plummets?
Because this is the second paragraph of the CBS News take on it.
SECOND PARAGRAPH starts with a “but” that defies comprehension (what does “every 25.9 seconds” mean in a nation of 320M?), but seems scary!
SECOND PARAGRAPH.
Because this is the second paragraph of the CBS News take on it.
SECOND PARAGRAPH starts with a “but” that defies comprehension (what does “every 25.9 seconds” mean in a nation of 320M?), but seems scary!
SECOND PARAGRAPH.
Reposted by Prof Jane Mitchell
Research has found that college-educated officers tend to use less force, have fewer complaints against them, and write better reports. But there is a trend of cities cutting education requirements for police in hopes of attracting more applicants.
Cities hope to attract more police officers by cutting education requirements
Some cities hope that relaxing education hiring standards may solve lingering staffing shortages. Is that a good idea?
www.usatoday.com
August 10, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Research has found that college-educated officers tend to use less force, have fewer complaints against them, and write better reports. But there is a trend of cities cutting education requirements for police in hopes of attracting more applicants.
I enjoyed reading through @cbhessick.bsky.social's latest "Prosecutors and Politics" study. Surprising to learn that most media coverage about prosecutors is neutral in tone (only 6% of 2020 coverage about prosecutors was negative). Is that still true in 2025, in today's era of weaponized justice?
August 4, 2025 at 8:34 PM
I enjoyed reading through @cbhessick.bsky.social's latest "Prosecutors and Politics" study. Surprising to learn that most media coverage about prosecutors is neutral in tone (only 6% of 2020 coverage about prosecutors was negative). Is that still true in 2025, in today's era of weaponized justice?
Reposted by Prof Jane Mitchell
this is an extremely important point. “everything is up for debate” is moral rot. I am emphatic about telling my students that there are not always two defensible sides to an issue. sometimes there are! but sometimes there are more than two. and sometimes there’s just one.
The idea that any idea, no matter how factually incorrect, is appropriate to make if it's well-argued may be the very center of legal education's responsibility for what is happening now to the rule of law.
June 21, 2025 at 5:06 PM
this is an extremely important point. “everything is up for debate” is moral rot. I am emphatic about telling my students that there are not always two defensible sides to an issue. sometimes there are! but sometimes there are more than two. and sometimes there’s just one.
I enjoyed reading this interesting piece from @profrgold.bsky.social. Reminds me of Dr. Becky Kennedy's "good inside" framework
I posted a draft of Look What You Made Me Do to SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... I argue that criminal procedure coerces defendants into embracing the narrative that their crime was solely their bad choice. That narrative obscures important systemic factors like trauma, addiction, and poverty.
June 16, 2025 at 7:56 PM
I enjoyed reading this interesting piece from @profrgold.bsky.social. Reminds me of Dr. Becky Kennedy's "good inside" framework
@profmelaniebjacobs.bsky.social thanks for all your work putting on the #AALSNLT AALS New Teachers Conf this past weekend! By far the most useful academic conference I've attended. Thanks for being so intentional with all the programming
June 9, 2025 at 8:33 PM
@profmelaniebjacobs.bsky.social thanks for all your work putting on the #AALSNLT AALS New Teachers Conf this past weekend! By far the most useful academic conference I've attended. Thanks for being so intentional with all the programming