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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 November 2023
We start this special issue with two perspectives. First, that the sociological study of crime and law often intersects with the study of inequality, power, the state, and life chances. Second, that the study of crime and law are deeply interconnected—institutionally, politically, and culturally. Legal institutions build on normative ideas, organizations, careers, and power to govern, to criminalize, and to punish (and, conversely, to ignore or absolve), and everyday understandings of crime are deeply tied to cultural understandings of legality, perceptions of justice and injustice, and hopes for everyday life. Law and crime are thus dynamically tied to social aspirations, fears, and divisions, and are political and social contests over what unites and what divides societies.
This special issue grew out of a conference held remotely at the American Bar Foundation on May 31, 2021, sponsored by the American Bar Foundation, the Department of Sociology at Northwestern University, and the Global Justice Lab at the University of Toronto. Special thanks to Breck Radulovic who helped coordinate the conference and then served as editorial coordinator for Law & Social Inquiry (LSI) during the submission, review, and editing process for the articles submitted to the issue. Mari Knudson ably took over those responsibilities in the final phase of publishing. Thanks also to Christopher W. Schmidt, of LSI, for approving the proposal for the symposium issue and overseeing the publication process.