Headshot of Erin Rebecca Collins

Erin R. Collins

Professor of Law
  • Profile

    Erin Collins teaches courses on evidence law, criminal procedure, sentencing law, and crimmigration law. Her scholarship critically examines popular criminal system reforms, such as specialized criminal courts, gender-responsive punishment practices, and actuarial sentencing, with a particular focus on how evidence-based, data-driven reforms can replicate systemic inequities and stall decarceration efforts. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming in the UCLA Law Review, NYU Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, and BYU Law Review, among others. Her paper, The Problem of Problem-Solving Courts, received the 2019 AALS Criminal Justice Section’s Junior Scholar Award. Professor Collins has served on the board of the AALS Criminal Procedure Section.

    Before entering academia, Professor Collins was an appellate public defender in New York City and the Executive Director of the Clemency Resource Center at NYU Law School. She earned her J.D. from NYU Law School and her B.A. Wesleyan University.

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    • Awards

      AALS Criminal Justice Section Junior Scholar Award (2019)

    • Presentations

      "Plutocratic Public Safety," CrimFest, (July 2024)

      "Plutocratic Public Safety," Decarceration Law Professors Workshop, (June 2024)

      "Reimagining the Federal Rules of Evidence," Law and Society Annual Meeting, (June 2024)

      "The Algorithmic Accuracy Obsession," Evidence Summer Workshop, Vanderbilt University School of Law (May 2024)

      "Expert Testimony on Proposed Amendments to the Federal Guidelines Relating to the Sentencing of Youthful Individuals," Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines before the United States Sentencing Commission, United States Sentencing Commission (March 2024)

      "The Algorithmic Accuracy Obsession," Prediction and Punishment: Cross Disciplinary Workshop on Carceral AI, University of Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science (February 2024)

      "Theoretical Frameworks for Analyzing Evidence Through a Critical Lens," Connecticut Public Interest Law Journal Symposium, University of Connecticut School of Law (January 2024)

      "Beyond Problem-Solving Courts," Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution Symposium: How Should a Multidoor Criminal Courthouse Operate, Cardozo Law School (October 2023)

      "Punishing Gender," Emory Law School Faculty Colloquium, (August 2023)

      "Criminal Law Section Works-In-Progress, Estate to State: Pay-to-Stay Statutes and the Problematic Seizure of Inherited Property by Brittany Deitch," AALS Annual Meeting, (January 2023)

      "Leaving Carcerality Behind: Thoughts on Intervention with Gender Violence," AALS Annual Meeting, (January 2023)

      "Considering Decision Making in Criminal Legal Systems," Law and Society Annual Meeting, (July 2022)

      "Punishing Gender," Decarceration Law Professors Workshop, (July 2022)

      "Commentator, Evidentiary Rules for Arbitration by Zhuhao Wang," Evidence Summer Workshop, Vanderbilt University Law School (June 2022)

      "Abolishing the Evidence-Based Paradigm," Virtual Criminal Law Workshop, University of Virginia (September 2021)

      "Funding the Carceral Agenda," Decarceration Law Professors Workshop, (July 2021)

      Presenter, "Shifting the Evidence-Based Paradigm," Neighborhood Criminal Law Roundtable, University of Virginia (May 2021)

      "Shifting the Evidence-Based Paradigm," Decarceration Law Professors Workshop, (July 2020)

      "The Problem of Problem-Solving Courts," Neighborhood Criminal Law Roundtable, University of Maryland School of Law (May 2020)

      Panelist, "An Introduction to Federal Sentencing Disparities," Issues in Federal Sentencing: Privilege, Disparity, and a Way Forward, Washington and Lee University School of Law & The Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice (November 2019)

      Panelist, "Empirical Injustice," Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Law and Society Association (July 2019)

      Presenter, "The Problem of Problem-Solving Courts," Southeastern Association of Law Schools Annual Conference, Southeastern Association of Law Schools (July 2019)

      Presenter, "The Problem of Problem-Solving Courts," Junior Criminal Law Scholars Workshop, Colorado Law School (June 2019)

      "Clemency: Obama's Legacy," Clemency: A Constitutional Power Moves into the Future, University of St. Thomas School of Law (March 2019)

      ""Rape, Sexual Assault, and #MeToo"," AALS Annual Meeting, Association of American Law Schools (January 2019)

      Panelist, "Rape, Sexual Assault, and #MeToo," AALS Annual Meeting, Association of American Law Schools (January 2019)

      ""Captured Courts"," Crimfest! , Cardozo School of Law (July 2018)

      ""Captured Courts"," Mid-Atlantic Junior Faculty Forum, University of Richmond School of Law (May 2018)

      ""When the FBI Comes Knocking: Representing Clients Approached by Law Enforcement for Questioning"," Representing Muslims and Arab-Americans in Challenging Times, Project South and the Carrico Center for Pro Bono and Public Service (January 2018)

      Presentations Prior to 2019

    • Bar Admissions

      New York State

    • Professional Experience

      Professor of Law (2022 - present)
      University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VA

      Associate Professor of Law (2019 - 2022)
      University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VA

      Assistant Professor of Law (2016 - 2019)
      University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, VA

      Executive Director, Clemency Resource Center (2015 - 2016)
      New York University School of Law, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, New York, NY

      Acting Assistant Professor (2012 - 2015)
      New York University School of Law, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, New York, NY

      Staff Attorney (2007 - 2012)
      Appellate Advocates, New York, NY

      Legal Fellow (2006 - 2007)
      New York State Office of Court Administration, Brooklyn, NY

  • Publications
    Journal Articles

    Beyond Problem-Solving Courts (invited submission), 25 Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 229 (2024) ((invited submission)).

    Punishing Gender , 71 UCLA Law Review 316 (2024).

    Problem-Solving Courts and the Outcome Oversight Gap (invited submission), 92.3 UMKC Law Review 533 (2024).

    Plutocratic Public Safety (working paper),

    Evidence Rules for Decarceration (invited submission), 50 Fordham Urban Law Journal 353 (2023).

    Abolishing the Evidence-Based Paradigm, 48 BYU Law Review 403 (2022).

    The Problem of Problem-Solving Courts, 54 UC Davis Law Review 1573 (2021) (Awarded the 2019 AALS Criminal Justice Section Junior Scholar Award).

    Punishing Risk, 107 Georgetown Law Journal 57 (2018).

    Clemency and the Administration of Hope, 29 Federal Sentencing Reporter 263 (2017).

    Status Courts, 105 Georgetown Law Journal 1481 (2017).

    The Criminalization of Title IX, 13 Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law 365 (2016).

    The Evidentiary Rules of Engagement in the War Against Domestic Violence, 90 New York University Law Review 397 (2015).

    Magazines/Trade Publications

    The Evidence-Based Trap, Inquest (July 2022).

  • In the News

    Why Homicide Counts Can Be Misleading (The Crime Report)
    Wed., Sep. 21, 2022

    Making Room for Forgiveness (The New York Review )
    Thu., Nov. 18, 2021

    'Let Judges Judge Again': Why Debating Problem-Solving Courts Misses the Real Problem (The Crime Report)
    Mon., Dec. 16, 2019

    The perils of 'off-label sentencing' (The Crime Report)
    Fri., Jun. 1, 2018

    Op-ed: The perils of 'off-label sentencing' (The Crime Report)
    Mon., Jun. 25, 2018