Dr. Hannah Shaffer

Biography

Hannah Shaffer is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Law School, specializing in the empirical study of the criminal legal system. Her research focuses on how discretion operates within the system, particularly concerning arrest, charging, sentencing, and rearrest outcomes. Recently, she has examined racial disparities in criminal charging and sentencing processes, investigating how prosecutors respond to these issues that are influenced by the decisions of police. Shaffer’s work integrates administrative court records with survey data from prosecutors to uncover the connection between reported beliefs and actual decisions made within the system. Her scholarly contributions include articles published or accepted in prominent journals, such as the University of Chicago Law Review and the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. Moreover, her ongoing research includes a working paper evaluating the impact of police body-worn cameras on arrest and incarceration outcomes. Previously, Shaffer was a Bigelow Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School and has received multiple fellowships during her studies at Harvard University, where she earned her Ph.D. in economics. In addition to her academic work, she has served as a resident tutor at Harvard University and graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis.

Research Interests