To get to know our guest, whose arrival coincides with the 40-year-anniversary of our cooperation with Rutgers Law School, a little bit better, we asked her to do a word-rap – here are the results:
During my time here in Graz, I’m looking forward to learning more from faculty and students about how criminal justice systems operate across Europe and the world.
I started looking into plea bargaining because I began my career as a criminal defense attorney in New York City where I observed the everyday injustices associated with a system that has become coopted by plea bargaining.
Criminal justice reform is worth pursuing because the criminal system should ideally reflect our shared societal commitments about how to handle wrongdoing. We should all care about how and why the state punishes people on our behalf.
One thing I do not want to miss out on during my stay is lots of walking! I’m coming from New Jersey, where people tend to spend a lot of time in their cars, and I’m loving the opportunity to live in a walkable, beautiful city with so much to do.
Treating drug offences as white-collar crimes could be helpful because it provides a clearer basis for criminal liability. In the United States, we often treat drug crimes much more harshly than white-collar crimes. As I’ve argued, we should see them both as corrupt business practices and approach them in a similar way.
Transatlantic cooperation remains vital, especially in higher education, because the exchange of knowledge between countries enriches academic discourse and allows us to meet shared global challenges.
Welcome to REWI Uni Graz, Professor Johnson!