2026 Bodiker Lecture
The 2026 Bodiker Lecture welcomes Sandra (Sandy) Mayson, Professor of Law at University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Please register by September 9th to be guranteed a lunch.
Sandy Mayson researches and writes in the fields of criminal law, constitutional law, and legal theory, with a focus on the role of preventive restraint in the criminal legal system.
Her academic work draws on her experience as a trial lawyer at Orleans Public Defenders, where she represented indigent clients in criminal proceedings and trained public defenders on immigration-sensitive defense practice. Her articles have appeared in top legal journals, including the Yale Law Journal, Harvard Law Review, Stanford Law Review, Law & Philosophy, and Criminal Law & Philosophy. Mayson is also engaged in pretrial law reform. She served as the Associate Reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s Pretrial Release & Detention Act, co-authors amicus briefs in lawsuits challenging aspects of money-bail systems, and advises public and private stakeholders on pretrial reform initiatives.
Mayson clerked for Judge Dolores K. Sloviter on the U.S. Third Circuit and Judge L. Felipe Restrepo in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Penn faculty she was on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Law, where she received the C. Ronald Ellington Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2020.
Mayson’s current projects include an article on the constitutional standards governing pretrial detention and a theoretical line of inquiry into law and consciousness.
The David H. Bodiker Lecture on Criminal Justice honors the legacy of David Bodiker ’63 by promoting, improving, and advancing the highest level of academic and professional interest in protecting the constitutional rights of defendants in the criminal justice system. Each year, the lecture brings leading voices in law and public policy to Moritz College of Law to address pressing issues in criminal justice reform.