Associate Dean Selected for Raeder-Taslitz Award from the ABA Criminal Justice Section
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Associate Dean for SCALES & Inclusive Excellence and Professor of Law Samuel Jones has been selected to receive the Raeder-Taslitz Award from the ABA Criminal Justice Section.
The Raeder-Taslitz Award, established in 2014, is given in memory of Myrna Raeder and Andrew Taslitz to a professor at an ABA-accredited law school. The Awards Committee agreed that Professor Jones exemplifies ethical and professional conduct, demonstrates excellence in scholarship, teaching, or community service, and have made a significant contribution to promoting public understanding of criminal justice, justice and fairness in the criminal justice system, or best practices on the part of lawyers and judges.
Read more about Professor Jones’ nomination and qualifications for the award below.
Professor Jones' Impact in Criminal Justice Heading link
As multiple legal publications, press releases, television appearances, and commentators attest, Professor Jones is one of the nation’s leading criminal justice scholars, particularly relative to police accountability, use of force, and human trafficking. Professor Jones has also worked closely with members of the Illinois judiciary and legislature regarding criminal justice reform with stellar results.
For example, Illinois Governor Pritzker recently signed historic House Bill 3653, which advanced criminal justice reform in Illinois relative to police oversight, use of force, pre-trial procedures, and other critically important areas. The bill is largely recognized as one of the comprehensive and impactful criminal justice reforms bills in the United States. Members of the Illinois legislature issued a public statement describing Professor Jones’s work as “crucial” to the passing of the historic criminal reform legislation. One legislator remarked, “The reforms laid out in HB 3653 are crucial to building a more equitable Illinois. Systemic problems require systemic solutions. Ending cash bail, holding law enforcement responsible for their actions, addressing officer wellness and mental health, and every other provision in this bill work to fundamentally restructure how we think about the criminal justice system and how it serves the communities across Illinois. We were delighted to have Professor Jones address our colleagues in the legislature and receive questions from the floor and appreciate his expertise throughout this process. His commitment to criminal justice reform was crucial to this work.”
Professor Jones has long advocated for fairness and justice in the criminal justice system. He previously served on the ABA Human Trafficking Task Force, and Chicago Innocence Center Board of Directors in effort to assist those wrongly convicted of crimes, and on the Cook County Justice Advisory Council Board, which coordinates and implements criminal and juvenile justice reforms in Cook County.
Professor Jones is also widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading public intellectuals. His research has appeared in numerous law review articles and leading newspapers, such as the New York Times and Chicago Tribune, and facilitated historic legal advances in Illinois criminal court procedures. For instance, after the publication of his highly regarded commentary, An Oppressive Cook County Courtroom, the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County issued General Administrative Order No 2014-06, which rebuked certain practices in Cook County criminal courts. The Chicago Tribune subsequently published, Judge Sullivan, Take Notes: A Law Professor Schools a Cook County Judge in the First Amendment, which identified Professor Jones’s work as the catalyst for historic improvements in Cook County criminal court procedures.
His work, White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement: An FBI Report Nearly Forgotten, was a social media phenomenon that garnered millions of viewers and alerted the nation to the critical problem of right-wing extremist serving in police departments around the nation. His warnings on the extremist threat in law enforcement have appeared in numerous leading news publications. Interestingly, more recently, The New York Times published Extremists in Uniform Put the Nation at Risk, which essentially made the same contentions Professor Jones posited years ago. Professor Jones has also appeared on various TV news platforms such as NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Chicago Tonight and Huffington Post Live.
Additionally, in recognition of his accomplishments as a legal scholar and dedicated civic leader, the Illinois Supreme Court has repeatedly appointed Professor Jones to help train the Illinois judiciary on best practices. To cite but one example, the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Professor Jones to teach Illinois judges a course titled, The Admissibility of Digital Evidence in Criminal Trials. Professor Jones has also conducted training for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security relative to sexual offenses.
Similarly, the Chief Judge of Cook County, who oversees the second largest unified court system in the United States, appointed Professor Jones to a handpicked committee of Chicago executives to interview and select the next superintendent of the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center of Cook County, the largest juvenile detention facility in the United States. After his success on the selection board, Professor Jones was tasked with assisting the juvenile detention facility through a very rigorous federal accreditation process.
As a result of his substantial commitment to criminal justice, the public good, and prior service as a U.S. Marine, U.S. Army military police captain, and success addressing multiple aspects of criminal justice, Professor Jones continues to garner national acclaim, particularly for his work on human trafficking, extremist infiltration of law enforcement, and police accountability. As NPR’s WBEZ Chicago acknowledged in Police Accountability Expert Weighs in on Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo Shootings, Professor Jones is a highly sought-after expert commentator on high profile cases.
In line with his commitment to public service and criminal justice reform, Professor Jones recently accepted appointment on the City of Evanston Civilian Police Review Commission. Because of his dedication to improving police accountability and advancing public understanding of criminal procedures, Professor was elected co-chair of the Evanston Police Review Commission.
Congratulations, Professor Jones! We are so UIC Law Proud of you!