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Hands-On Criminal Justice Research

November 10, 2022

Brinn Gammer C’24 worked as a summer research assistant with the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice.

Brinn Gammer C’24 recently shared her experiences as a summer research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, national research and policy hub created to catalyze long term structural improvements to the U.S. criminal justice system.

In my sophomore year, I switched from being prospectively pre-med to pre-law.

Brinn Gammer C'24 Brinn Gammer C'24It sounds like quite the jump, but it wasn’t as unexpected as it may seem. I’ve always been interested in psychiatry and brain science; my previous jobs at Penn have all been in the health sector, and I had been on track to be a neuroscience major since freshman year. But, this spring, having participated in mock trial for almost six years, changed my major to criminology, and deemed myself an activist, I knew that I wanted to be speaking out for justice both during and immediately following college.

That’s why I applied to be a summer research assistant at the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice — a national criminal justice reform policy hub, housed at Penn Carey Law. My research professor from last summer and beyond, Dr. Dominic Sisti, suggested that I reach out to them in pursuit of fulfilling, meaningful work. I’m very happy to say that I found it.

In my first eight weeks at the Quattrone Center (QC), I was assigned to two primary projects: working with Executive Director John Hollway [C’92, MAPP’18] in conducting holistic event reviews of criminal justice run-ins with undesired outcomes, as well as surveying police and prosecutors throughout the country under the guidance of Assistant Director Ross Miller… . 

Read more about Gammer’s experiences.

Learn more about the Quattrone Center’s pathbreaking research and scholarship.