Rachel Barkow
| Rachel Barkow | |
| Occupation | Law professor |
|---|---|
| Employer | New York University School of Law |
| Known for | Scholarship on criminal law administration and sentencing; author of Prisoners of Politics |
Rachel Barkow is an American legal scholar, the Vice Dean and Charles Seligson Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law, and one of the leading academic authorities on criminal law administration, sentencing and the regulatory state. She served as a member of the United States Sentencing Commission and clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court.[1]
Scholarship
Barkow's work examines how the institutional design of criminal justice agencies shapes sentencing outcomes, and why reforms supported by evidence frequently fail to survive the political process.[1]
She is the author of Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration, which argues that political incentives distort criminal justice policy and sets out structural changes intended to insulate policy from those incentives.[1]
Public Service
Barkow served as a member of the United States Sentencing Commission, the independent agency that promulgates the federal sentencing guidelines. Earlier in her career she served as a law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia.[1]
Barkow presented to the White Collar Support Group's Tuesday Night Speaker Series on February 4, 2025.[1]