Cassia Spohn
Faculty Profile: Cassia Spohn, Ph.D
Criminology and Criminal Justice
Office: UCENT 609
Phone: 602-493-2334
Email: Cassia.Spohn@asu.edu
Professor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, B.A
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, M.A
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Ph.D
ASU at the Downtown Campus
Criminology and Criminal Justice
411 N. Central Ave. Ste. 600
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Cassia Spohn received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1978. Prior to joining the faculty at Arizona State University, she was the Kayser Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she served as director of graduate studies for 12 years and as department chair for one year. Spohn is the author of How Do Judges Decide? The Search for Fairness and Justice in Punishment. She also is the co-author of two books: The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America and Rape Law Reform: A Grassroots Movement and Its Impact. She has published more than 75 articles on topics such as the effects of race/ethnicity and gender on sentencing decisions, sentencing of drug offenders, prosecutors' charging decisions in sexual assault cases, and the deterrent effect of imprisonment. She is currently working on a project designed to reduce violent crime in Trinidad and Tobago and an evaluation of the serious and violent offender re-entry program of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.
Courses taught:
- CRJ 501 Seminar in Criminal Justice
- CRJ 306 Race, Ethnicity and Justice
- CRJ 553 Seminar on Courts and Sentencing
Research Interests:
- The effects of race/ethnicity and gender on sentencing decisions; Sentencing and recidivism of drug offenders; Prosecutors' charging decisions in sexual assault cases
Recent Publications:
- Wu, Jawjeong and Cassia Spohn. 2008. "Inter-District Disparity in Sentencing in Three U.S. District Courts," Crime and Delinquency (in press).
- Hartley, Richard, Sean Maddan, and Cassia Spohn. 2007. "Prosecutorial Discretion: An Examination of Substantial Assistance Departures in Federal Crack Cocaine and Powder Cocaine Cases." Justice Quarterly, 24: 382-407.
- Walker, Samuel, Cassia Spohn, and Miriam DeLone. 2007. The Color of Justice: Race and Crime in America. Fourth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
- Holleran, David and Cassia Spohn. 2004. "On the Use of the Total Incarceration Variable in Sentencing Research," Criminology 42: 211-240.
- Cassia Spohn. 2002. How Do Judges Decide? The Quest for Fairness and Justice in Punishment. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Community Involvement
Advisory Board Member, Prosecution and Racial Justice Project, Vera Institute of Justice; Consultant to Legal Defense Fund (NAACP) Criminal Justice Reform Initiative, 2005-2006
Achievements and Pursuits
Outstanding Scholar in Corrections and Sentencing, Division on Corrections Sentencing, American Society of Criminology, 2006
Professional Affiliations
- American Society of Criminology
- Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Specializations
- Race/Ethnicity
- Crime and Justice
- Evaluation Research
- Courts and Sentencing
