Professor Dr. Barbara O Brien

Biography

Barbara O'Brien is a Professor at Michigan State University College of Law, specializing in criminal law and procedure. She is the editor of the National Registry of Exonerations, which collects and disseminates information on known exonerations of innocent criminal defendants in the United States since 1989. This registry provides a virtual home for exoneration stories and features a searchable statistical database of cases. Her research utilizes empirical methodologies to explore legal issues, focusing on predictors of false convictions and the dynamics of prosecutorial decision-making. Professor O'Brien's recent work delves into the intersection of race and jury selection, as well as how race influences charging and sentencing decisions in capital punishment cases. She is currently engaged in a National Science Foundation project alongside Professor Catherine Grosso, employing conversation analysis to assess racial influences in voir dire processes. O'Brien has an impressive academic background, earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Bowdoin College, a J.D. from the University of Colorado, and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan. Her notable publications have tackled significant aspects of race in the justice system.

Research Interests