Ben McJunkin

Ben McJunkin is an Associate Professor of Law and Associate Deputy Director of the Academy for Justice. He is also an Affiliated Faculty Member with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Professor McJunkin currently teaches and writes on topics in criminal law and criminal procedure. His scholarship focuses primarily on the criminalization of sexual violence and the policing of marginalized communities. His legal research connects doctrine with broader themes in moral philosophy and gender theory. His work in substantive criminal law routinely questions how the legal regulation of sex and sexuality shapes, and is shaped by, societal narratives about gender identity and sexual injury.  Meanwhile, his work in constitutional criminal procedure questions the prevailing conceptions of privacy, which tend to be overly individualistic and hostile to the values of mutuality and interdependence.  Taken together, his scholarship critiques legal liberalism and emphasizes the criminal law's expressive character—its ability to communicate social values and establish duties intended to guide conduct. 

Prior to joining the law school, Professor McJunkin was a fellow at the University of Michigan Law School, where he also earned his J.D. magna cum laude. During law school, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Michigan Journal of Gender & Law. Following law school, he clerked for Justice Peter J. Rubin on the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Judge Kermit V. Lipez on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. 

Professor McJunkin also brings a wealth of private-practice experience in white-collar criminal defense. Working at three prominent law firms, he represented corporate clients in federal criminal investigations and related regulatory proceedings. His practice experience informs his scholarship, particularly regarding the legitimate limits of criminalization and the role of mental states in blameworthiness.  

Professor McJunkin's recent scholarship has been published in the California Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, the Cornell Law Review, and the Iowa Law Review, among others. He is also a frequent guest on podcasts and panels discussing the role of police in American society.