Cassia Spohn

Regents' Professor,

School of Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ)

Other ASU affiliations

School Director & Regents Professor, Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions

UCENT 609 411 N. Central Ave. Mail Code 4420 UCENT PHOENIX, AZ 85004
Mail code: 4420

Campus: Dtphx
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Long Bio

Cassia Spohn is a Regents Professor and Foundation Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. She received her doctorate in political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the author or co-author of seven books, including "Policing and Prosecuting Sexual Assault: Inside the Criminal Justice System," which was published in 2014. Her research interests include prosecutorial and judicial decision making, the intersections of race, ethnicity, crime and justice, and sexual assault case processing decisions. In 2013, she received ASU’s Award for Leading Edge Research in the Social Sciences and was selected as a fellow of the American Society of Criminology. She also is a fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the Western Society of Criminology. In 2017, she was appointed to the Department of Defense Advisory Board on Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in the Armed Forces.

Education

Ph.D. Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1978
M.A. Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1975
B.A. Journalism and Political Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 1973

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interests

judicial decision making and sentencing outcomes
prosecutors' charging decisions
plea bargaining
sexual assault case processing decisions
offender recidivism
problem solving courts

Publications

Decker, Scott H., Ortiz, Natalie, Spohn, Cassia, and Hedberg, Eric. Criminal Stigma, Race, and Ethnicity: The Consequences of Imprisonment for Employment. Journal of Criminal Justice (2015).
O'Neal, Eryn, Tellis, Katharine and Spohn, Cassia. Prosecuting Intimate Partner Sexual Assault: Legal and Extra-Legal Factors That Influence Charging Decisions. Violence Against Women (2015).
Spohn, Cassia. The Evolution of Sentencing Research. Criminology & Public Policy (2015).
Steven Belenko and Cassia Spohn. Drugs, Crime and Justice. (2015).
Kaiser, Kimberly and Spohn, Cassia. "’Fundamentally Flawed? Exploring the Use of Policy Disagreements in Judicial Downward Departures for Child Pornography Sentences.". Criminology & Public Policy (2014).
Kutateladze, Besiki, Andiloro, Nancy, Johnson, Brian and Spohn, Cassia. "Cumulative Disadvantage: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparity in Prosecution and Sentencing.". Criminology (2014).
Ortiz, Natalie and Spohn, Cassia. Mitigating the Effect of a Criminal Record at Sentencing: Local Life Circumstances and Substantial Assistance Departures among Recidivists in Federal Court. Criminal Justice Policy Review (2014).
Spohn, Cassia. "Twentieth-Century Sentencing Reform Movement: Looking Backward, Moving Forward.". Criminology & Public Policy (2014).
Spohn, Cassia, Byungbae Kim, Byungbae, Belenko, Steven and Brennan, Pauline. . "Direct and Indirect Effects of Offender Drug Use on Federal Sentencing Outcomes.". Journal of Quantitative Criminology (2014).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. Policing and Prosecuting Sexual Assault: Inside the Criminal Justice System. (2014).
Spohn, Cassia. Racial disparities in Prosecution, Sentencing, and Punishment. Oxford Handbook on Race, Ethnicity, Immigration and Crime (2014).
Spohn, Cassia, Tellis, Katherine and O’Neal, Eryn N. "Policing and Prosecuting Sexual Assault: Assessing the Pathways to Justice. Critical issues on violence against women: International perspectives and promising strategies (2014).
O'Neal, Eryn, Decker, Scott and Spohn, Cassia. Condom Use During Sexual Assault. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine (2013).
Spohn, Cassia. The Effects of Race and Ethnicity on Federal Sentencing Outcomes in the Guidelines Era. Law and Contemporary Problems (2013).
Spohn, Cassia and Belenko, Steven. Do the Drugs, Do the Time? The Effect of Drug Abuse on Sentences Imposed on Drug Offenders in Three U.S. District Courts. Criminal Justice and Behavior (2013).
Spohn, Cassia and Sample, Lisa. The Dangerous Drug Offender in Federal Court: Intersections of Race, Ethnicity and Culpability. Crime & Delinquency (2013).
Wang, Xia, Mears, Dan, Spohn, Cassia and Dario, Lisa. Assessing the Effects of Race and Ethnicity on Sentence Outcomes in Jurisdictions with Different Types of Sentencing Systems. Crime & Delinquency (2013).
Brody, David, Hemmens, Craig, and Spohn, Cassia. Criminal Courts: A Contemporary Perspective. (2013).
Spohn, Cassia and Brennan, Pauline. Gender, Sentencing and Punishment. Routledge Handbook of Gender and Crime Studies (2013).
Beichner, Dawn and Spohn, Cassia. Modeling the Effects of Victim Behavior and More Character on Prosecutors’ Charging Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases. Violence and Victims (2012).
Cano, Mario and Spohn, Cassia. Circumventing the penalty: Assessing the Impact of Substantial Assistance Departures on Mandatory Minimum Sentencing. Criminal Justice and Behavior (2012).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. The Criminal Justice System’s Response to Sexual Violence. Journal of Violence Against Women (2012).
Tasca, Melinda, Rodriguez, Nancy, Spohn, Cassia and Koss, Mary. Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: Predictors of Suspect Identification and Arrest. Journal of Interpersonal Violence (2012).
Walker, Samuel, Spohn, Cassia and DeLone, Miriam. The Color of Justice: Race and Crime in America. (2012).
Spohn, Cassia. Unwarranted Disparity in the Wake of the Booker/Fanfan Decision: Implications for Research and Policy. Criminology & Public Policy (2011).
Spohn, Cassia and Brennan, Pauline. The Joint Effects of Offender Race/Ethnicity and Sex on Substantial Assistance Departures in Federal Courts. Race and Justice (2011).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. Justice Denied? An Analysis of the Exceptional Clearance of Rape Cases in Los Angeles. Albany Law Review (2011).
Wolfe, Scott, Pyrooz, David and Spohn, Cassia. Unraveling the Effect of Offender Citizenship Status on Federal Sentencing Outcomes. Social Science Research (2011).
Walker, Samuel, Spohn, Cassia Cathleen, DeLone, Miriam. The Color of Justice: Race and Crime in America. (2007).
. . Criminal Justice Policy Review (2007).
. . Justice Quarterly (2007).
. . Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law 11 (2006).
. . Criminal Justice Theory: Explicating Concepts and Linkages About the Nature and Behavior of Criminal Justice (2006).
. . Criminal Law Bulletin (2006).
. . Encyclopedia of Race and Racism (2006).
. . Feminist Criminology (2006).
. . Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency (2006).
. . Justice Research & Policy (2006).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) . Sentencing Decisions in Three U.S. District Courts: Testing the Assumption of Uniformity in the Federal Sentencing Process. Justice Research & Policy (2006).
Beichner, Dawn (Author) ,Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) . Prosecutors' Charging Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases: Examining the Impact of a Specialized Unit. Criminal Justice Police Review (2005).
Guevara, Lori (Author) ,Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) ,Herz, Denise (Author) . Legal Representation in the Juvenile Court. Crime and Delinquency (2004).
Holleran, David (Author) ,Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) . On the Use of the Total Incarceration Variable in Sentencing Research. Criminology (2004).
Wilmot, Keith (Author) ,Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) . Prosecutorial Discretion and Real Offense Sentencing Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines: An Analysis of Relevant Conduct. Criminal Justice Policy Review (2004).
. . Crime Control and Social Justice: The Delicate Balance (2003).
. . Critical Issues in Crime and Justice (2003).
. . Journal of Justice Studies (2003).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen. How Do Judges Decide? The Quest for Fairness and Justice in Punishment. (2002).
Kautt, Paula (Author) ,Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) . Crack-ing Down on Black Drug Offenders?: Testing for Interactions Between Offender Race, Drug Type, and Sentencing Strategy in Federal Drug Sentences. Justice Quarterly (2002).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) ,Holleran, David (Author) . The Effect of Imprisonment on Recidivism Rates of Felony Offenders: A Focus on Drug Offenders. Criminology (2002).
. . (2001).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) ,Beichner, Dawn (Author) ,Davis, Erika (Author) . Prosecutorial Justifications for Sexual Assault Case Rejection: Guarding the Gateway to Justice. Social Problems (2001).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) ,Davis Frenzel, Erika (Author) ,Martin, Tom (Author) ,Piper, R K (Author) . Drug Courts and Recidivism: The Results of an Evaluation Using Two Comparison Groups and Multiple Indicators of Recidivism. Journal of Drug Issues (2001).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) ,Holleran, David (Author) . Prosecuting Sexual Assault: A Comparison of Charging Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases Involving Strangers, Acquaintances, and Intimate Partners. Justice Quarterly (2001).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen. Sentencing Drug Offenders. Encyclopedia of Women and Crime (2000).
. . (2000).
. . Criminology (2000).
. . Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice (2000).
. . Encyclopedia of Women and Crime (2000).
. . National Institute of Justice: Criminal Justice (2000).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) ,Beichner, Dawn (Author) . Is Preferential Treatment of Female Offenders a Thing of the Past? A Multi-Site Study of Gender, Race, and Imprisonment. Criminal Justice Policy Review (2000).
Spohn, Cassia Cathleen (Author) ,DeLone, Miriam (Author) . When Does Race Matter?: An Examination of the Conditions Under Which Race Affects Sentence Severity. Sociology of Crime, Law, and Deviance (2000).

Research Activity

Spohn,Cassia Cathleen*. AB 109 Evaluation A Process and Outcome Evaluation. LACPCA(1/15/2015 - 12/31/2016).
Decker,Scott Henderson*, Martinez,Damian Joseph, Spohn,Cassia Cathleen. Criminal Stigma Race Gender and Employment: An Expanded Assessment of The Consequences of Imprisonment for Employment. DOJ-NIJ(1/1/2011 - 3/31/2014).
Spohn,Cassia Cathleen*. Police Decision Making in Sexual Assault Cases: An Analysis of Crimes Reported to the Los Angeles Police Department, 2006-2008. DOJ-NIJ(1/1/2010 - 12/31/2011).
Shafer,Michael S*, Lant,Timothy W, Robles-Sotelo,Elias, Schaefer,David, Spohn,Cassia Cathleen, Tracy,Sarah Jane. YR2-5: The Arizona Network for the Study of Implementation Effectiveness. HHS-NIH-NIDA(9/1/2009 - 3/31/2014).
Shafer,Michael S*, Shafer,Michael S*, Lant,Timothy W, Robles-Sotelo,Elias, Schaefer,David, Spohn,Cassia Cathleen. The Arizona Network for the Study of Implementation Effectiveness. HHS-NIH-NIDA(9/15/2008 - 8/31/2009).
Katz,Charles*, Spohn,Cassia Cathleen. Supporting Organizational Change in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. GEORGE MASON UNIV(8/1/2006 - 8/31/2008).

Courses

2025 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
CRJ 513	Seminar in Courts & Sentencing
CRJ 513	Seminar in Courts & Sentencing

2024 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
CRJ 513	Seminar in Courts & Sentencing
CRJ 518	Race/Ethnicity,Crime & Justice

2023 Fall

Course Number	Course Title
CRJ 513	Seminar in Courts & Sentencing

2021 Fall

Course Number	Course Title
CRJ 515	Seminar in Women and Crime

2021 Spring

Course Number	Course Title
CRJ 518	Race/Ethnicity,Crime & Justice

Presentations

Spohn, Cassia. "Sentencing as a Collaborative Process: Judges, Prosecutors and Disparity in Sentencing.". Institute for the Rule of Law, St. Petersburg, Russia (Oct 2014).
Spohn, Cassia. "Five Waves of Research on the Effects of Race and Ethnicity on Sentencing.". Institute for the Rule of Law, St. Petersburg, Russia (Oct 2014).
Spohn, Cassia and Belenko, Steven. "Explaining Racial Disparity in Arrest Rates for Drug Offenses". European Society of Criminology (Sep 2014).
Spohn, Cassia. Disparity and Discrimination in Sentencing: Five Waves of Research. National Association of Sentencing Commissions (Aug 2014).
Spohn, Cassia. The Predictors and Consequences of the Victim's Refusal to Cooperate in Sexual Assault Cases. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (Mar 2014).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. The Effects of Forensic Medical Exams on Sexual Assault Case Outcomes. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2013).
Kim, Byungbae, Spohn, Cassia and Hedberg, Eric. Discretion in the federal sentencing process: Estimating inter-judge and inter-prosecutor disparity in sentencing using cross-classified multi-level modeling. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2013).
Spohn, Cassia. Ethics in Publishing: Can Journal Editors Police the Publishing Process?. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2013).
Spohn, Cassia. Prosecuting Sexual Assault: Lessons from Los Angeles. Vera Institute of Justice (Nov 2013).
Spohn, Cassia. The Impact of U.S. v. Booker and Gall/Kimbrough v. U.S. on Sentence Severity in U.S. District Courts: The Relationship Between Social Context and Judicial Discretion. Austrailia and New Zealand Society of Criminology (Oct 2013).
Spohn, Cassia, Belenko, Steven, and Kim, Byungbae. Plea Bargaining Decisions in U.S. District Courts: Testing for Variations Across Prosecutors. European Society of Criminology (Sep 2013).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. Prosecuting Sexual Assault: The Pre-Arrest Screening Process and Its Implications. International Association of Law and Mental Health (Jul 2013).
Ortiz, Natalie, Decker, Scott, and Spohn, Cassia. Race/ethnicity, gender, and criminal stigma: An expanded assessment of the consequences of imprisonment for employment. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (Mar 2013).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. Legitimate Rape and Righteous Victims: The Voices of Detectives and District Attorneys. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (Mar 2013).
Spohn, Cassia. The Effect of Race on Sentencing. annual Fred Gray Civil Rights Symposium, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, Faulkner University (Mar 2013).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. Disentangling the Overlappping Decisions of Police and Prosecutors in Sexual Assault Cases. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2012).
Ortiz, Natalie, Decker, Scott, and Spohn, Cassia. Criminal Record and Employment Prospects: An Experimental Audit Study. Western Society of Criminology (Feb 2012).
Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. The (Mis)Use of the Exceptional Clearance to ‘Solve’ Problematic Sexual Assault Cases: Lessons from Los Angeles. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2011).
Tellis, Katharine and Spohn, Cassia. ’If You File the Dog, You Walk the Dog:’ Voices of Sex Crimes Detectives and Prosecutors in Los Angeles. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2011).
O'Neal, Eryn, Tellis, Katharine, and Spohn, Cassia. When the Bedroom Is the Crime Scene: Police and Prosecutor Response to Intimate Partner Sexual Assault. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2011).
Vaughn-Uding, Clair, Romain, Danielle, Spohn, Cassia and Tellis, Katharine. Guarding the Gateway to Justice: Redefining the Role of the Prosecutor in Sexual Assault Case Processing Decisions. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2011).
Kim, Byungbae, Spohn, Cassia and Brennan, Pauline. Racial/Ethnic Disparity among Female Offenders in Federal District Court: Explicating the Patterns of Disparities Using a Path Model. American Society of Criminology (Nov 2011).
Spohn, Cassia and Belenko, Steven. Do the Drugs, Do the Time? The Effect of Drug Abuse on Sentences Imposed on Drug Offenders in Three U.S. District Court. European Society of Criminology (Sep 2011).
Spohn, Cassia, Tellis, Katharine, Romain, Danielle, Vaughn-Uding. Unfounding Sexual Assaults: False Allegations by Victims and Police Suspicion of Victims. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (Mar 2011).
Spohn, Cassia, Tellis, Katharine, and O'Neal, Eryn. The Ubiquity of the Exceptional Clearance of Sexual Assault Cases in Los Angeles. Western Society of Criminology (Feb 2011).
Spohn, Cassia. Lawlessness in Sentencing? A Test for Inter-Judge Disparity in Sentencing. 2nd International Conference on Sentencing and Society
Spohn, Cassia. Motivational Themes in Sexual Assault Cases. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia. Prosecuting Sexual Assault: A Comparison of Charging Decisions in Sexual Assault Cases Involving Strangers, Acquaintances, and Intimate Partners. National Institute of Justice Research Conference on Violence Against Women and Family Violence
Spohn, Cassia. Recidivism Rates among Felony Probationers: A Comparison of Drug and Non-Drug Offenders. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Science
Spohn, Cassia, Holleran, David. The Effect of Imprisonment on Recidivism Rates of Felony Offenders: A Focus on Drug Offenders. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia, Kautt, Paula. Crack-ing down on Black Drug Offenders?: Testing for Interactions between Offender Race, Drug Type, and Sentencing Strategy in Federal Drug Sentences. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia, Beichner, Dawn. Prosecutorial Justifications for Sexual Assault Case Rejection. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia, Beichner, Dawn. Sexual Assault Charging Decisions in Three Jurisdictions: Does a Specialized Charging Unit Make a Difference?. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia, Holleran, David. Sentencing Differences among Individual Judges: Another Look at the Focal Concerns Perspective. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia. Charging and Sentencing Decisions in Three U.S. District Courts: The Irrelevance of Relevant Conduct. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia. The Deterrent Effect of Imprisonment and Offenders’ Stakes in Conformity.
Spohn, Cassia, Beichner, Dawn. Arrest for Sexual Assault: A Test of Donald Black’s Relational Distance Theory. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia, Maddan, Sean, Hartley, Richard. Sentencing Data and the Focal Concerns Perspective. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology
Spohn, Cassia. Reforming the Reform: Sentencing in the Twenty-First Century. Race and Sentencing Decisions
Spohn, Cassia. Sentencing Decisions in Three U.S. District Courts: Testing the Assumption of National Uniformity in Sentencing.
Spohn, Cassia, Anderson, Amy. Lawlessness in the Federal Sentencing Process? A Test for Inter-Judge Disparity in Sentencing.
Spohn, Cassia, Harrington, Michael. Do Race, Age, and Sex Matter in Sentencing Decisions? Use of the Total Incarceration Variable in a Non-Guideline Jurisdiction.
Spohn, Cassia, Keller, Elizabeth. Explaining the Racial Disproportionality in Commitments to Nebraska’s Prisons. Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
Spohn, Cassia, Keller, Elizabeth. U.S. Attorneys and the Federal Sentencing Process: A Test for Inter-Prosecutor Disparity.
Spohn, Cassia, Kolakowski, Kimberly. Race, Gender, Age and Pretrial Decision Making.
Spohn, Cassia, Stacey, Ann. The Effects of Marital Status and Dependent Children on Sentencing of Female and Male Offenders Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Spohn, Cassia, Wu, JawJeong. Inter-District Disparity in Sentencing in Three U.S. District Courts.
Spohn, Cassia, Brennan, Pauline, Anderson, Amy. Sentences Given to Convicted Drug Offenders: Race, Social Class, and Place of Residence as Extralegal Consideration.
Spohn, Cassia, Sample, Lisa. The Dangerous Drug Offender in Federal Court: Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, and Culpability.
Spohn, Cassia, Tellis, Katharine. The Sexual Stratification Hypothesis Revisited: Testing Assumptions about Simple Versus Aggravated Rape.