Rural Law and Justice Research and Interest Group

About us/Mission Statement: 

The Rural Law and Justice RIG is committed to the expansion and transmission of knowledge about lived experience and practice of law and justice in rural locales. The RIG defines law and justice broadly to include both civil and criminal laws and justice systems, as well as the full range of legal issues that arise in rural communities. The RIG offers a space to explore sociological approaches to studying the ways in which the law and legal systems are lived, experience, embodied, and practiced in rural spaces and communities. The RIG also invites and encourages theoretical/jurisprudential work on conceptions of justice and the role of law in relation to rural people and places and as between rural and urban interests. 

Announcements/RIG News: 

The Rural Law and Justice RIG is the newest RIG of RSS. Our interdisciplinary membership includes sociologists, anthropologists, lawyers, law professors, and more.  

The Rural Law & Justice RIG will be holding a Mid-Year Virtual Meeting on Wednesday, January 22, at 11:00am ET/10:00am CT/9:00am MT/8:00am PT. The meeting will be an opportunity to meet other members and share brief updates on current projects and research. Please reach out to Emma Scott, [email protected], if you would like to join the meeting. 

Rural Law & Justice RIG sessions at the RSS Annual Meeting in Madison included: 

  • Rural Lawyers and Rural Justice (featuring Prof. Elizabeth Chambliss Prof. Lisa R. Pruitt, and Prof. Hannah Haksgaard) 

  • Criminalization in rural places: Unpacking the causes and effects (featuring Dr. Jennifer Sherman, Dr. Jennifer Schwartz, Dr. Jillian Jacklin, Prof. Lisa R. Pruitt, and Dr. Nicole Kaufman) 

  • Author Meets Reader: The Rural Voter (2023) by Nicholas Jacobs and Daniel Shea (with responses from Dr. Paige Kelly, Dr. Jessica Ulrich-Schad, Dr. Nicholas Jacobs, and Dr. Kai Schafft; chaired by Prof. Lisa R. Pruitt) 

  • Rural Lawyers on the Frontline: A Discussion with the Heirs' Property Practitioner Network (HPPN) (Prof. Francine Miller, Mrs. Jacy Fisher, Dr. Ryan Thompson) 

  • Author Meets Reader: Reviving Rural America (2024) by Ann Eisenberg (with responses from Dr. Linda Lobao, Dr. Amanda McMillan Lequieu, Prof. Hannah Haksgaard, Prof. Jessica Shoemaker, Prof. Ann Eisenberg; chaired by Prof. Lisa R. Pruitt) 

Leadership: 

Chair: Emma Scott, Vermont Law School ([email protected]) 

Executive Council: 

Ann Eisenberg, West Virginia University College of Law, [email protected]  

David Peters, Iowa State University, [email protected] 

Abigail (Abby) Andre, The Ohio State University, [email protected]  

Hannah Haksgaard, University of South Dakota Law School, hannah.[email protected]