Updated 10/3/16
Robert J. Norris
R. Norris C.V.1
Updated 10/3/16
Department of Government and Justice Studies Email:
Appalachian State University Office: (828) 262-6908
Boone, NC 28608Cell: (336) 327-3988
Office: Anne Belk Hall, 351-D
Education
2015 Ph.D., School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, SUNY
2011M.A., School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, SUNY
2009B.A., summa cum laude, Sociology, minor in History, UNC-Greensboro
Academic Positions
2015-presentAssistant Professor, Department of Government and Justice Studies, Appalachian State University
2013-2015Instructor, School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, SUNY
Research and Teaching Interests
Social change and policy reform; Legal process and decision-making; Wrongful convictions; Interrogations, confessions, and plea bargaining
Publications
Books
Norris, R. J. (In press, 2017). Exonerated: A history of the innocence movement. New York, NY: NYU Press.
Redlich, A. D., Acker, J. R., Norris, R. J., & Bonventre, C. L.(Eds.). (2014). Examining wrongful convictions: Stepping back, moving forward. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Scholarly Journal and Law Review Articles
Norris, R. J. (Forthcoming, 2017). Framing DNA: Social movement theory and the foundations of the innocence movement. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice.
Redlich, A. D., Bushway, S. D., & Norris, R. J. (In press). Plea decision-making by attorneys and judges: The impact of legal and extralegal factors. Journal of Experimental Criminology. Published online, doi: 10.1007/s11292-016-9264-0.
Acker, J. R., Redlich, A. D., Bonventre, C. L., & Norris, R. J. (In press). Foreword: Elephants in the courtroom: Examining overlooked issues in wrongful convictions. Albany Law Review, 79.
Norris, R. J. Bonventre, C. L.(2015). Advancing wrongful conviction scholarship: Towards new conceptual frameworks. Justice Quarterly,32, 929-949.
Bushway, S. D., Redlich, A. D., & and Norris, R. J. (2014). An explicit test of plea bargaining in the “shadow of the trial.”Criminology, 52, 723-754.
Norris, R. J.& Redlich, A. D.(2014). Seeking justice, compromising truth? Criminal admissions and the Prisoner’s Dilemma. Albany Law Review, 77, 1005-1038.
Norris, R.J.(2012). Assessing compensation statutes for the wrongly convicted. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 23, 352-374.
Norris, R. J., Bonventre, C. L., Redlich, A. D., & Acker, J. R.(2011). “Than that one innocent suffer”: Evaluating state safeguards against wrongful convictions. Albany LawReview, 74, 1301-1364.
Book Chapters
Norris, R. J. (2014). Exoneree compensation: Current policies and future outlook. In M. Zalman & J. Carrano (Eds.), Wrongful conviction and criminal justice reform: Making justice (pp. 289-303). New York: Routledge.
Bonventre, C. L., Norris, R. J., & West, E. (2014). Studying innocence: Advancing methods and data. In A. D. Redlich, J. R. Acker, R. J. Norris, & C. L. Bonventre (Eds.), Examining wrongful convictions: Stepping back, moving forward(pp. 301-319). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Norris, R. J. & Redlich, A. D. (2012). At-risk populations under investigation and at trial. In B. L. Cutler (Ed.), Conviction of the innocent: Lessons from psychological research (pp. 13-32). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.
Reports and Miscellaneous Publications
Redlich, A. D., Acker, J. R., Bonventre, C. L., & Norris, R. J. (Forthcoming). Investigating overlooked issues in wrongful conviction scholarship: Race, guilty pleas, misdemeanors, and methods. National Institute of Justice Special Report. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.
Shifton, J., Norris, R. J.,& Redlich, A. D. (2015). False and coerced confession.Oxford Bibliographies Online. Oxford University Press.
Norris, R. J. & Redlich, A. D. (Eds.). (2010-2014). Actual innocence research. American Psychology-Law Society Newsletter.
Redlich, A. D., Bushway, S. D.,Norris, R. J.,& Yan, S. (2013). Bargaining in the shadow of trial: Exploring the reach of evidence outside the jury box. Final report to the National Institute of Justice. Washington, DC: Department of Justice.
Manuscripts Under Review and In Progress
Bonventre, C. L., Norris, R. J., & Acker, J. R. (Book under contract, expected 2017). When justice fails: Causes and consequences of wrongful convictions. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Norris, R. J., Bonventre, C. L., Redlich, A. D., Acker, J. R., & Lowe, C. Preventing wrongful convictions: An analysis of state investigation reforms. Manuscript under review.
Norris, R. J. The innocence revelation: A political process approach to understanding the American innocence movement. Manuscript in preparation.
Norris, R. J. Legislating capital punishment: Exploringlaw and the morality of the death penalty. Book chapter in preparation.
Miller, J. C. & Norris, R. J. Officer characteristics and interrogation practices. Manuscript in preparation.
Dum, C. P., Norris, R. J., & Weng, K. Punishing benevolence: The criminalization of homeless feeding as an act of state harm. Manuscript in preparation.
Research Grants
2016-17 Appalachian State University Research Council Grant, “Race, Wrongful Convictions, and Support for Capital Punishment,” Co-Principal Investigator [Co-PI: Kevin Mullinix]
2015National Science Foundation and National Institute of Justice (co-sponsored), “Elephants in the Courtroom: Examining Overlooked Issues in Wrongful Convictions,” Co-Principal Investigator [PI: Allison D. Redlich; Co-PIs: James R. Acker, Catherine L. Bonventre]
2013-14Dissertation Research Fellowship – University at Albany
2013Dissertation Research Award – Benevolent Association, University at Albany
2012Gloria R. DeSole Endowment Award –University at Albany (with Jeaneé C. Miller)
Professional Conference Activities
(Includes previous 3 years)
Conference Organizing
Co-organizer, Elephants in the Courtroom: Examining Overlooked Issues in Wrongful Convictions, 2015. Research symposium co-funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice; Approximately 40 prominent scholars and practitioners from various disciplines were brought together to address issues that are important to miscarriages of justice, but which remain vastly understudied; Topics included race, plea bargaining, misdemeanors, and data/methodological constraints.
Co-organizer, Miscarriages of Justice, 2011-2014, 2016. Ongoing series of thematically organized sessions within the American Society of Criminology program; Each year, 3-6 sessions were planned and organized to bring together scholars and policymakers around key questions in the field of miscarriages of justice; Total number of sessions organized is 27.
Presentations at Professional Meetings
Bonventre, C. L. & Norris, R. J. “When good guys go bad: Behavioral ethics and wrongful convictions.” To be presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, November 2016.
Dum, C. P., Norris, R. J., & Weng, K. “Punishing benevolence: The criminalization of homeless feeding as an act of state harm.” To be presented at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, November 2016.
Norris, R. J. “Looking back to move ahead: Reflections on Leo, theory, and the state of innocence research.” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, November 2015.
Norris, R. J. “The ‘new civil rights’? Examining innocence as a social movement.” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 2014.
Chaired Conference Sessions
“Roundtable: Methodological Approaches to Post-Conviction Review.” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 2014.
“Miscarriages of Justice: New Perspectives on Innocence Issues.” American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 2014.
TeachingExperience
Course Taught (Appalachian State University)
Criminal Procedure
Innocence in the Criminal Justice System
The Judicial Process
Courses Taught (University at Albany)
Punishment and Corrections
Introduction to Law and Criminal Justice (Discussion Leader)
Moot Court (Teaching Assistant)
Teaching Development
Online Course Development (Spring 2014; Semester-long workshop on the pedagogy of online teaching and learning, including theory, mechanics, and best practices)
Honors and Awards
2016Distinguished Dissertation Award – School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany
2015Eliot H. Lumbard Award for Academic Excellence – School of Criminal Justice,
University at Albany
2011Frank Remington Award for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies – School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany
2009Josephine Hege Award for Graduate Studies – Phi BetaKappa
Phi Beta Kappa – National Liberal Arts Honor Society
Phi Beta Delta – International Scholars Honor Society
University Student Excellence Award – UNCG
David and Marlene Pratto Outstanding Criminology StudentAward – Department
of Sociology, UNCG
2008Alpha Kappa Delta – International Sociology Honor Society
H. Michael Weaver Award – UNCG International Programs, travel award to study abroad at Manchester Metropolitan University (England)
David and Marlene Pratto Scholarship – Department ofSociology, UNCG
Professional and Service Activities
Editorial and Review Activities
Member, Board of Editors, Albany Law Review Annual Miscarriages of Justice Issue
Reviewer: Criminal Justice Policy Review; Critical Criminology;International Journal of Law, Crime, and Justice;Law & Society Review;PS: Political Science & Politics; Sociology of Race and Ethnicity; The Sociological Quarterly; Translational Issues in Psychological Science
Proposal reviewer,American Psychology-Law Society Annual Conference; National Science Foundation Law and Social Sciences Program
Departmental Service (Appalachian State University)
2016Member, Faculty Search Committee
Member, Department Personnel Committee
Member, Organizing Committee, Forum on Race and Justice
Departmental Service (University at Albany)
2011-2012President, Graduate Student Association
2010-2011Vice President, Graduate Student Association
Student Representative, Graduate Curriculum Committee
2009-2010First Year Ph.D. Student Representative, Graduate Student Association
Professional Affiliations
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
American Society of Criminology
American Sociological Association
Law and Society Association
References
R. Norris C.V.1
Updated 10/3/16
James R. Acker
Distinguished Teaching Professor
School of Criminal Justice
University at Albany, SUNY
Allison D. Redlich
Professor
Criminology, Law, & Society
George Mason University
Alissa Pollitz Worden
Associate Professor
School of Criminal Justice
University at Albany, SUNY
R. Norris C.V.1