CrimSL welcomes Kate Mitchell as a Junior Fellow from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025.
Kate is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. She holds a BA (Honours) from Dalhousie University, a combined Juris Doctor/Masters of Public Administration from Queen’s University, and a Master of Laws from UCLA.
Her working thesis title is "Comparing the Levers of Prison Law Reform in Canada and the United States." Her current research focuses on developing a legal framework to protect the rule of law in prisons, examining the role of courts, legislation, grievance systems, tribunals, and ombudspeople.
Kate's work as a prison lawyer inspired and motivated her to this research and to her end goal of providing an actionable framework for prison law reforms.
I worked as a prison lawyer for a few years, and I saw first-hand how the existing legal apparatus fails to provide an appropriate level of oversight in this context where it is desperately needed.
She looks forward to attending CrimSL events, particularly those focusing on criminal justice issues, and connecting with other scholars here. She says:
My research looks at an issue that sits at the intersection of law and criminology. I focus on the legal dimension of the problem, but my research also emphasizes that law has its limits and we need to find policy and institutional solutions to many of the underlying systemic problems.
The issues I’m studying are issues that many criminologists think about as well, and I’m interested in having the chance to speak with professors and other students about these issues. Having Professor Phil Goodman on my committee, who has done important work on prisons and punishment, has enriched my research.
I’m excited to have the opportunity to interact with the Centre’s other leading scholars on prisons and punishment, such as Professors Anthony Doob and Kelly Hannah-Moffatt.
Kate presented "The Limits of Prisoners’ Rights Litigation" at the 2023 CrimSL Graduate Student Conference, and has attended other centre events in the past.
She says she is grateful "to have the chance to be around others who share my interests and to learn about a wide range of criminal justice issues" while a Junior Fellow with us.
Please join us in welcoming Kate!