Michele Cadigan
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Mail code: 7203Campus: Tempe
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Dr. Michele Cadigan is an Assistant Professor in the T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. Broadly, her work brings together theoretical insights from the study of race & ethnicity, socio-legal studies, and economic sociology to show how the criminal legal system (CLS) and economic markets combine to create intersectional inequalities and construct racial meaning. Cadigan's work has appeared in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, and the Journal for Contemporary Criminal Justice.
Currently, Dr. Cadigan is working on a book project tentatively titled Cannabis-Infused Dreams: Constructing a Market for Adult-Use Cannabis, where she examines how city and state-level regulations and criminal reforms combine with cannabis retailers' everyday practices to create new forms of racial inequality in new adult-use cannabis markets.
Outside of academia, Cadigan uses her expertise on racial justice and economic equity in the context of cannabis legalization as a consultant for local and state entities to help further equity in the industry.
Cadigan's work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, the Addictions, Drugs, and Alcohol Institute (ADAI), the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies (HBCLS), and the Center for Demography and Ecology (CSDE)
Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Washington
M.A. in Sociology, University of Washington
B.A. in Sociology and Chicano/a and Latino/a Studies, California State University, Long Beach
Law and Society, Race & Ethnicity, Criminal Legal System, Work and Orgs, Economic Sociology, Mixed-Methods, Qualitative Research Methods, Comparative Case Analysis
*Equal Authorship +Graduate Student
- Cadigan, Michele, Brittany Martin, Veronica Horowitz, Makaela Brass+, and Timothy G. Edgemon. Forthcoming. “Compounding and complicating feelings of justice: LFOs and legal legitimacy in Georgia, Minnesota, and Washington State” The Journal of Crime and Justice
- Amairini Sanchez, Michele Cadigan, Dayo Abels-Sullivan, and Bryan L. Sykes. 2022. “Punishing Immigrants: Monetary Sanctions in the Crimmigration System.” Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 8(2):76-97.
- Smith, Tyler, Kristina J. Thompson, and Michele Cadigan. 2022. “Contexts of Diffusion in the Legal System: Examining Changes in Monetary Sanction Laws.” Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 8(1):63-81.
- Cadigan, Michele*, and Tyler Smith*. 2021. “‘Are You Able-Bodied?’ Embodying Accountability in the Modern Criminal Justice System.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 37(1):25–44.
- Cadigan, Michele*, and Gabriela Kirk*. 2020. “On Thin Ice: Bureaucratic Processes of Monetary Sanctions and Job Insecurity.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 6(1):113–31.
- Fernandez, April, Michele Cadigan, Frank Edwards, and Alexes Harris. 2019. “Monetary Sanctions: A Review of Revenue Generation, Legal Challenges, and Reform.” Annual Review of Law and Social Sciences 15(1):397-413
Courses
2026 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SOC 101 | Introductory Sociology |
| SOC 101 | Introductory Sociology |
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| SOC 340 | Social Deviance |
| SOC 101 | Introductory Sociology |
| SOC 101 | Introductory Sociology |