James B. Jacobs
Encyclopedia
James Barrett Jacobs is the Warren E. Burger Professor of Constitutional Law and the Courts at New York University School of Law
, where he has been a faculty member since 1982. He is a specialist in criminal law, criminal procedure and criminal justice.
, where he majored in sociology and minored in Russian. After completing basic training (U.S. Army Reserves), he spent most of 1970 in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow.
In the fall of 1970, Jacobs entered law school at the University of Chicago
. During the 1971 summer he served as a research assistant for the eminent criminal law professor Norval Morris
. Professor Morris enjoyed a close relationship with the Illinois Director of Corrections, Peter Bensinger, and arranged for Jacobs to spend his 1972 summer doing research at Stateville Penitentiary in Joliet, Illinois. Jacobs’ research, focusing on how several large Chicago-based street gangs operated within the prison, resulted in Street Gangs Behind Bars, published in the sociology journal Social Problems in 1973. Gangs Behind Bars was the first scholarly article to deal with gangs in prison and launched Jacobs' career as a criminologist.
After graduating from University of Chicago School of Law in June 1973, Jacobs became a full-time Ph.D. student in the University of Chicago’s Department of Sociology. His Sociology Department adviser was the renowned sociologist Morris Janowitz
. Under Janowitz’ guidance, the gangs in prison research grew into a dissertation (Ph.D. 1975) and a book, Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society (University of Chicago Press 1977), regarded as a classic in American penology.
In the fall of 1975, Jacobs received a joint appointment as assistant professor at Cornell University
in both law and sociology. He also met Jan Sweeney, whom he married in 1977. Their first child, Thomas, was born in 1978 and their second child, Sophi, was born in 1980. Jacobs received tenure in both departments in 1980, but subsequently switched his appointment full-time into the law school, where he taught criminal law.
In the 1982-83 academic year, Professor Jacobs served as a visiting professor of law at New York University School of Law
. At the end of that academic year, he resigned from Cornell University
to become Professor of Law at NYU and Director of the NYU Center for Research in Crime and Justice. He has been a member of the NYU law faculty ever since, regularly teaching criminal law, criminal procedure and intermittently teaching federal criminal law, juvenile justice, state and local government and numerous specialty criminal justice area seminars.
In 1995, Jacobs served as a Fullbright teaching fellow at the University of Cape Town
in South Africa. In 1998, then Dean (and later NYU President) John Sexton
awarded Jacobs the Warren E. Burger chair of Constitutional Law and the Courts.
With the support and encouragement of NYU alumnus, Alan Fortunoff, Jacobs launched the monthly Fortunoff Criminal Justice Colloquium in 1983. Fifteen years later, when Fortunoff died, the distinguished criminal defense lawyer, Jack Hoffinger, became the Colloquium’s benefactor. The multidisciplinary Criminal Justice Colloquium meets each month during the academic year. It features a public lecture by a leading criminal justice or criminological scholar, followed by a lengthy discussion. It serves as a magnet for criminal justice professors, researchers, policymakers and practitioners from the metropolitan area and beyond.
While Jacobs has had a long-term scholarly interest in organized crime control, he has also written books on political corruption, hate crime, and gun control. His most recent book is Mobsters, Unions & Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement (New York University Press 2006). He has also written well over one hundred articles on diverse criminal law and criminology topics, most recently on the jurisprudential and policy issues related to the construction, maintenance, dissemination and discrimination based on criminal records. Many of his articles have been collaborations with his students who have been associated with the Center for Research in Crime and Justice.
Since 2000, Professor Jacobs has been a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology
. He has also served as chair of the advisory board of NYU Press and as a member of the advisory board of the NYC Criminal Justice Agency. He lives in Greenwich Village
with his wife, Jan, and his dog, Casey. He is an active consumer of music and dance performances and an avid skier.
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
, where he has been a faculty member since 1982. He is a specialist in criminal law, criminal procedure and criminal justice.
Background
James B. Jacobs was born on April 25, 1947 in Mt. Vernon, New York. He attended public school in Mt. Vernon and then earned his B.A. (1969) at Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, where he majored in sociology and minored in Russian. After completing basic training (U.S. Army Reserves), he spent most of 1970 in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow.
In the fall of 1970, Jacobs entered law school at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. During the 1971 summer he served as a research assistant for the eminent criminal law professor Norval Morris
Norval Morris
Norval Morris was a law professor, criminologist, and advocate for criminal justice and mental health reform.Morris was a strong influence on United States law professors and criminologists including James B. Jacobs , Marc Miller , Kevin Reitz , Michael Tonry , and Franklin E. Zimring , and Albert...
. Professor Morris enjoyed a close relationship with the Illinois Director of Corrections, Peter Bensinger, and arranged for Jacobs to spend his 1972 summer doing research at Stateville Penitentiary in Joliet, Illinois. Jacobs’ research, focusing on how several large Chicago-based street gangs operated within the prison, resulted in Street Gangs Behind Bars, published in the sociology journal Social Problems in 1973. Gangs Behind Bars was the first scholarly article to deal with gangs in prison and launched Jacobs' career as a criminologist.
After graduating from University of Chicago School of Law in June 1973, Jacobs became a full-time Ph.D. student in the University of Chicago’s Department of Sociology. His Sociology Department adviser was the renowned sociologist Morris Janowitz
Morris Janowitz
Morris Janowitz, was an American sociologist and professor who made major contributions to sociological theory, the study of prejudice, urban issues, and patriotism. He was one of the founders of military sociology and made major contributions, along with Samuel Huntington, to the establishment of...
. Under Janowitz’ guidance, the gangs in prison research grew into a dissertation (Ph.D. 1975) and a book, Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society (University of Chicago Press 1977), regarded as a classic in American penology.
In the fall of 1975, Jacobs received a joint appointment as assistant professor at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in both law and sociology. He also met Jan Sweeney, whom he married in 1977. Their first child, Thomas, was born in 1978 and their second child, Sophi, was born in 1980. Jacobs received tenure in both departments in 1980, but subsequently switched his appointment full-time into the law school, where he taught criminal law.
In the 1982-83 academic year, Professor Jacobs served as a visiting professor of law at New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
. At the end of that academic year, he resigned from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
to become Professor of Law at NYU and Director of the NYU Center for Research in Crime and Justice. He has been a member of the NYU law faculty ever since, regularly teaching criminal law, criminal procedure and intermittently teaching federal criminal law, juvenile justice, state and local government and numerous specialty criminal justice area seminars.
In 1995, Jacobs served as a Fullbright teaching fellow at the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
in South Africa. In 1998, then Dean (and later NYU President) John Sexton
John Sexton
John Edward Sexton is the fifteenth President of New York University, having held this position since May 17, 2002, and the Benjamin Butler Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law. From 1988 to 2002, he served as Dean of the NYU School of Law, which during his deanship became one...
awarded Jacobs the Warren E. Burger chair of Constitutional Law and the Courts.
With the support and encouragement of NYU alumnus, Alan Fortunoff, Jacobs launched the monthly Fortunoff Criminal Justice Colloquium in 1983. Fifteen years later, when Fortunoff died, the distinguished criminal defense lawyer, Jack Hoffinger, became the Colloquium’s benefactor. The multidisciplinary Criminal Justice Colloquium meets each month during the academic year. It features a public lecture by a leading criminal justice or criminological scholar, followed by a lengthy discussion. It serves as a magnet for criminal justice professors, researchers, policymakers and practitioners from the metropolitan area and beyond.
Publications
In 1989, Professor Jacobs published Drunk Driving: An American Dilemma (University of Chicago Press), a wide ranging jurisprudential and policy analysis of drunk driving as a social phenomenon, criminal offense and target of socio-legal control. He also took up a multi-year consulting position with the New York State Organized Crime Task Force, whose director was Ronald Goldstock. Jacobs worked with the OCTF on a study and investigation of Cosa Nostra penetration of the NYC construction industry. The investigation led to numerous convictions and the study was published in 1990 as Final Report of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force on Corruption and Racketeering in the NYC Construction Industry (NYU Press 1990). It was the first of five books that Jacobs was to write over the next twenty years on various aspects of the government’s legal attack on Cosa Nostra.While Jacobs has had a long-term scholarly interest in organized crime control, he has also written books on political corruption, hate crime, and gun control. His most recent book is Mobsters, Unions & Feds: The Mafia and the American Labor Movement (New York University Press 2006). He has also written well over one hundred articles on diverse criminal law and criminology topics, most recently on the jurisprudential and policy issues related to the construction, maintenance, dissemination and discrimination based on criminal records. Many of his articles have been collaborations with his students who have been associated with the Center for Research in Crime and Justice.
Since 2000, Professor Jacobs has been a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology
American Society of Criminology
The American Society of Criminology is an international organization whose members pursue scholarly, scientific and professional knowledge concerning the measurement, etiology, consequences, prevention, control, and treatment of crime and delinquency...
. He has also served as chair of the advisory board of NYU Press and as a member of the advisory board of the NYC Criminal Justice Agency. He lives in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
with his wife, Jan, and his dog, Casey. He is an active consumer of music and dance performances and an avid skier.