What role can citizens in authoritarian regimes play in exercising oversight of the legal system and ensuring accountability of legal actors? This project examines the variety ways that Russian citizens are involved in oversight, including: monitoring police, protests, and courts; educating ordinary citizens to provide legal representation for people or themselves in administrative and criminal cases; and encouraging exposure of misconduct with cell phone videos and social media.
Lauren A. McCarthy is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received her PhD in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research focuses on the relationship between law and society in Russia, police and law enforcement institutions, civilian oversight, and the issue of human trafficking. Her book, Trafficking Justice: How Russian Police Use New Laws, from Crime to Courtroom published by Cornell University Press (2015) explores how Russian law enforcement agencies have implemented laws on human trafficking. She is a Spring 2021 Virtual Open Research Laboratory Associate.
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