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Tel: 215.898.1017
Email: phr@law.upenn.edu
Expertise
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Law Theory
- Criminal Code Reform
- Criminal Sentencing
- Global Human Rights
Bio
Paul Robinson is one of the world’s leading criminal law scholars.
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Paul Robinson is one of the world’s leading criminal law scholars. A former federal prosecutor and counsel for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Criminal Laws and Procedures, he was the lone dissenter when the U.S. Sentencing Commission promulgated the current federal sentencing guidelines. Among his books are the standard lawyer’s reference on criminal law defenses, two Oxford monographs on criminal law theory, a highly regarded criminal law treatise, and an innovative case studies course book. A prolific scholar, Robinson has published articles in virtually all of the top law reviews.
He is the lead editor of Criminal Law Conversations (Oxford, 2009), based on a 10-month online debate by more than 100 scholars from around the world, and author of Distributive Principles of Criminal Law: Who Should Be Punished How Much? (Oxford, 2008; also appearing in Spanish and Chinese). Robinson recently completed two criminal code reform projects in the United States and the first modern Islamic penal code under the auspices of the U.N. Development Program. He also writes for general audiences, including popular books such as Would You Convict? Seventeen Cases that Challenged the Law (NYU, 1999) and Law without Justice: Why Criminal Law Doesn’t Give People What They Deserve (Oxford, 2005).
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Representative Professional Positions
Penn Law - Colin S. Diver Professor of Law (2003- )
Northwestern - Edna & Ednyfed Williams Professor (1998-2002); Professor (1993-98); Visiting Professor (1992-93)
Georgetown - Adjunct Professor (1986-88)
University of Michigan - Visiting Professor (1998-99)
Rutgers - Acting Dean (1989-90); Distinguished Professor (1985-93); Professor (1980-85); Assistant Professor (1977-80)
Representative Publications
Realism, Punishment & Reform, 77 U. CHI. L. REV. 1611 (2010) (with Robert Kurzban, Penn Psych, and Owen Jones, Vanderbilt Law).
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CRIMINAL LAW (2d ed. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business 2012) (with Michael T. Cahill) (1st ed. Aspen 1997).
The Modern Irrationalities of American Criminal Codes: An Empirical Study of Offense Grading, 100 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 709 (2010) (with Thomas Gaeta, Matthew Majarian, Megan Schultz, & Douglas Weck).
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Competing Theories of Blackmail: An Empirical Research Critique of Criminal Law Theory, 89 TEX. L. REV. 291 (2010) (with Michael Cahill &
Dan Bartels).
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The Disutility of Injustice, 85 N.Y.U. L. REV. 1940 (2010) (with Geoff Goodwin, Penn Psych, and Michael Reisig, ASU Criminology).
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United States, in STANFORD HANDBOOK OF COMPARATIVE CRIMINAL LAW (Markus D. Dubber & Kevin Jon Heller, eds., Stanford Univ. Press 2010).
CRIMINAL LAW CONVERSATIONS (editor, with Steve Garvey & Kim Ferzan) (Oxford 2009)
FINAL REPORT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CRIMINAL CODE GRADING STUDY (December 2009) (with University of Pennsylvania Law School's Criminal Law Research Group).
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Competing Conceptions of Modern Desert: Vengeful, Deontological, and Empirical, 67 CAMBRIDGE L.J. 145 (2008).
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DISTRIBUTIVE PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL LAW: WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED HOW
MUCH? (Oxford 2008), also appearing in Spanish and Chinese.
Intuitions of Justice: Implications for Criminal Law and Justice Policy, 81 S. CAL. L. REV. 1 (2007) (with John Darley).
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The Origins of Shared Intuitions of Justice (with Robert Kurzban and Owen Jones), 60 VAND. L. REV. 1633 (2007).
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Concordance & Conflict in Intuitions of Justice, 91 MINN. L. REV. 1829 (2007) (with Robert Kurzban).
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Codifying Shari'a: International Norms, Legality & the Freedom to Invent New Forms, 2 J. COMP. L. (British) 1 (2007) (with 11 present and former students in my Criminal Law Research Group, regarding our work in drafting an Islamic Penal Code for the Maldives under U.N.D.P. sponsorship).
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FINAL REPORT OF THE MALDIVES PENAL LAW & SENTENCING CODIFICATION PROJECT (Republic of Maldives 2006) (two volumes) (with University of Pennsylvania Law School's Criminal Law Research Group).
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LAW WITHOUT JUSTICE: WHY CRIMINAL LAW DOESN’T GIVE PEOPLE WHAT THEY DESERVE
(with Michael Cahill) (Oxford Univ. Press 2005).
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Does Criminal Law Deter? A Behavioral Science Investigation, 24 OXFORD J. LEGAL STUD. 173 (2004) (with John Darley). [Appendix]
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The Role of Deterrence in the Formulation of Criminal Law Rules: At Its Worst When Doing Its Best, 91 GEO. L.J. 949 (2003) (with John Darley).
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FINAL REPORT OF THE ILLINOIS CRIMINAL CODE REWRITE AND REFORM COMMISSION (State of Illinois 2003) (two volumes) (with staff).
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Punishing Dangerousness: Cloaking Preventive Detention as Criminal Justice, 114 HARV. L. REV. 1429 (2001).
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WOULD YOU CONVICT? 17 CASES THAT CHALLENGED THE LAW (NYU Press 1999).
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Objectivist vs. Subjectivist Views of Criminality: A Study in the Role of Role of Science in Criminal Law Theory, 18 OXFORD J. LEGAL STUD. 409 (1998) (with John Darley).
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STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN CRIMINAL LAW (Clarendon, Oxford 1997), Chinese translation, China Procuratorial Press (2005).
The Utility of Desert, 91 NW. U. L. REV. 453 (1997) (with John Darley).
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Competing Theories of Justification: Deeds vs. Reasons, in A.T.H. Smith & A. Simester, eds., HARM AND CULPABILITY 45-70 (Oxford 1996).
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For additional publications, please consult
Current & Recent Research
Current Working Papers
The Ongoing Revolution in Punishment Theory: Doing Justice as Controlling Crime, 42 ARIZ. ST. L.J. 1089 (2010) (followed by scholarly commentaries).
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Comments on [Israeli] Proposal for Structuring Judicial Discretion in Sentencing, HUKIM – Israeli Journal on Legislation. (forthcoming 2010)
Lawlessness, a study of situations of lawlessness, how people and law respond to them, and what that tells us about what our current criminal law rules should be (forthcoming)
Criminalization Tensions: Doing Justice, Empirical Desert & Changing Norms, in THE STRUCTURES OF THE CRIMINAL LAW 186 (Duff, Farmer, Marshall, Renzo, & Tadros, eds., 2011).
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Extralegal Punishment Factors: Mercy, Forgiveness, Hardship, Good-Deeds, Apology, Remorse and Lay Intuitions of Justice (an empirical study). (forthcoming)
Justice & Deterrence in International Law: Improper Limitations on Responses to Unlawful Aggression (with Adil Haque) (draft available) (forthcoming)
Perceptions of Injustice: The Shared Aims & Occasional Conflicts of Legitimacy and Moral Credibility (draft available Fall 2010) (forthcoming)
Abnormal Mental State Mitigations of Murder – the U.S. Perspective, in LOSS OF CONTROL AND DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY: DOMESTIC, COMPARATIVE & INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE CORONERS AND JUSTICE ACT 2009 (Alan Reed & Michael Bohlander, eds., forthcoming Hart 2011). (forthcoming 2011)
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Representative Professional Activities
Director, University of Pennsylvania Law School Criminal Law Research Group.
Director, Maldivian Penal Code Reform Project.
Director, Illinois Criminal Code Rewrite & Reform Commission.
Director, Kentucky Penal Code Revision Project.
Co-Editor, SSRN Legal Scholarship Network (1996-present)
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