I am pleased to report that my latest book, Prisons and Punishment in America: Examining the Facts, is now in print. Structured as a series of questions and answers, the book synthesizes the law and social science on sentencing, corrections, and prisoner reentry. Individual chapters cover:
Sentencing law and practice
Alternatives to incarceration
Experience and consequences of incarceration
Release and life after prison
Women, juveniles, and other special offender populations
Causes and significance of mass incarceration in the U.S.
Race, ethnicity, and punishment
Public opinion, politics, and reform
The book is intended to be accessible to readers who do not have training in law or social science, but I also hope that there are some aspects of the book that will be of interest even to those who are already quite familiar with the workings of the criminal justice system.
Taylor Brisco and Christa Seymour at the AWL Annual Luncheon.
Yesterday, September 25, 2018, the Milwaukee Association for Women Lawyers (AWL) Foundation honored two Marquette University Law School students with scholarships.
Christa M. Seymour, 2L, received the AWL Foundation scholarship. The AWL Foundation Scholarship is awarded to a woman who has exhibited service to others, diversity, compelling financial need, academic achievement, unique life experiences (such as overcoming obstacles to attend or continue law school), and advancement of women in the profession. As a child, Seymour moved from South Milwaukee to Rio, Wisconsin, a small town in the northern part of the state with just over 1,000 people (as 2010). She completed her undergraduate degree at UW Madison, and in the next 13 years, she worked in business and became a mother to four children. When she started law school—13 years after finishing her undergrad degree—Seymour’s children were between 2 and 8 years old. On top of a busy life with a family and law school, Seymour works with the Milwaukee Justice Center, volunteers with the Domestic Violence Injunction project, and is involved in student associations. Seymour said she wanted to be an example of where hard work and perseverance can take someone, and to be that example for her children and for others.
Taylor Brisco, 3L, received the AWL Foundation’s Virginia A. Pomeroy scholarship. This scholarship honors the late Virginia A. Pomeroy, a former deputy state public defender and a past president of AWL. In addition to meeting the same criteria as for the AWL Foundation scholarship, the winner of this scholarship must also exhibit what the AWL Foundation calls “a special emphasis, through experience, employment, class work or clinical programs” in one of several particular areas: appellate practice, civil rights law, public interest law, public policy, public service, or service to the vulnerable or disadvantaged. Brisco, a former sports journalist, is the first African American woman to serve as Editor-in-Chief of the Marquette Sports Law Review. Last spring, she received the Anne Wall “Ethics in Sports Law Writing Competition” Award for her essay about unethical practices of player re-entry in the National Football League and how to fix those practices. Brisco is currently the legal intern for the West Allis City Attorney’s Office and the legal intern for the Milwaukee Bucks. In addition to pursuing a sports law certificate here, she is also completing her master’s degree in dispute resolution from Pepperdine University. Somehow, Brisco still finds time to be a research assistant for Professor Mazzie, participate in mock trial, serve as a student ambassador for the law school Admissions Office, and volunteer for the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinic.
Congratulations to both women for outstanding service and for their representation of Marquette University Law School.
Please join me in welcoming Jose Lazaro, our Student Blogger of the Month for the month of September. Here is how Jose introduces himself:
I was born and raised in Puerto Rico where my entire family still resides. At age fourteen I was given the opportunity to play baseball at a boarding school in Philadelphia. I then moved to Florida, where I got drafted by the New York Yankees after my senior year of high school. Instead of pursuing professional baseball I chose to be a student-athlete and went on to play four years of college baseball. After battling injuries, my baseball career finally ended after shoulder surgery and an unsuccessful two-year long rehab attempt. I am now a second-year law-school student here at Marquette University pursuing a number of interests and focused on acquiring a set of skills that will allow me to have a positive impact on the lives of others and the community at large. This past summer I interned at Harley-Davidson, and I will be a summer associate at a Milwaukee law firm this upcoming summer 2019.
I am pleased to report that my latest book, Prisons and Punishment in America: Examining the Facts, is now in print. Structured as a series of questions and answers, the book synthesizes the law and social science on sentencing, corrections, and prisoner reentry. Individual chapters cover:
