Prof. Jon Abel Wins Award for Criminal Justice Research
Professor Jon Abel won the UC Law SF Foundation Faculty Award this year for his novel research on criminal justice issues.
In recognition of his groundbreaking research on novel issues in the criminal justice system, Professor was honored this year with the UC Law SF Foundation Faculty Award for scholarly excellence and promise.
The annual award comes with a $7,500 prize to support faculty research costs, funded by the .
In his most recent project, Abel dove into Alameda County鈥檚 criminal case files to test several common theories about the 鈥渇ederalization鈥 of crime. Using detailed data to compare felon-in-possession cases in state and federal court, Abel found that several important beliefs about the federalization of crime are unsubstantiated and may even be wrong.
In its description of data collection methods, Abel鈥檚 work also illustrates the barriers that stand in the way of accessing state court records. Abel said those barriers speak to a wider problem that often compels legal scholars to consider only federal data in their research.
鈥淭here are significant structural biases that push scholars to focus on federal topics, even though the federal system is tiny compared to the state system,” Abel said. “Something I鈥檓 wrestling with in my own work is how to intelligently compare the federal and state systems in light of these structural impediments.鈥
His work on that project led a selection committee to choose him as this year鈥檚 winner of the prestigious UC Law SF Foundation Faculty Award.
Associate Dean for Research Jodi Short, a member of the selection committee, praised Abel for his dedication to exploring novel issues in the criminal justice system. She said the professor uses his deep expertise in criminal practice to identify important, unanswered questions and then overcomes many obstacles to unearth data that answers those questions. 鈥淗e is relentless, and his efforts have yielded novel insights into the criminal justice system that have been widely cited in scholarly journals, newspapers, and court cases,鈥 she said.
In recent years, Abel has published articles on pivotal issues, including how police officers鈥 clash with the rights of criminal defendants and the perceived legitimacy of police departments. He has looked at laws governing the secrecy and accessibility of police misconduct records, and how they interact with the rights of criminal defendants under Brady v. Maryland. Additionally, his work has called attention to the need for 鈥溾 – a systematic effort to trace troubled police officers鈥 involvement across the many cases they may have handled over their careers. His research has appeared in many prominent publications, including the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, and Stanford Law Review.
Abel previously worked as a criminal defense lawyer doing capital habeas corpus litigation and direct appeals. He served as an attorney at the Habeas Corpus Resource Center, the Northern District of California Federal Public Defender鈥檚 Office, and the District of Arizona Federal Public Defender鈥檚 Office.
Abel, who joined the UC Law SF faculty in 2020, teaches courses on criminal law and criminal procedure. He has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in history from Harvard and a law degree from Stanford Law School.