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Law dissertations : a step-by-step guide

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Law Library (Crown)

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Description

Creators/contributors, contents/summary.

• Introduction
• Finding and perfecting your topic
• From a topic to a question
• Creating a good research project
• Planning the project
• Creating a research plan
• Online research
• Methodology
• Empirical research
• Processing literature
• Literature review
• Writing the dissertation
• Referencing
• Structuring the dissertation
• Navigating supervision
• Obtaining a first and avoiding fails
• Preparing for submission.

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UP Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission Guidelines: Home

• The ETD Approval/Submission Form
• Electronic Theses/Dissertations
• Getting Permissions and Fair Use
• Faculty Guidelines
• Electronic Thesis/Dissertations
• Publish Open Access at no cost to you This link opens in a new window

Introduction

Guide for Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD's) 

Welcome to the  Department of Library Services  (DLS) Electronic Thesis/Dissertation Submission Guide. The DLS is committed to provide open access to the University of Pretoria's scholarly outputs by producing simple guidelines for self-submissions.

All Masters and Doctoral students are required to submit their thesis/dissertations to the Institutional Repository,  UPSpace ,  as a graduation requirement. The Institutional Repository Administrator will review all submissions to ensure they adhere to UP's thesis/dissertation guidelines.

This guide will walk you through the process of  submitting your thesis/dissertation  to the Library's UPSpace. Follow  steps 1- 5  

Thesis/Dissertation Submissions

Thesis/Dissertation submission and graduation

In order to graduate, students must:

• Upload final approved thesis/dissertation on UPSpace
• Upload processed research data that underpins thesis/dissertation approved by the supervisor   in the UP Research Data Repository (Figshare)
• UP Policies on ETDs and Research data management
• If you need help, please contact us at  [email protected]  and  [email protected]

What to submit to the Library?

• Thesis approval/submission form in PDF (signed by the student and the supervisor)
• UPSpace handle/link (link is generated after submitting the final approved thesis/dissertation on UPSpace )
• The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) (generated after uploading supplementary material like datasets, research instruments, figures and tables) of the final approved thesis on Figshare . Example of the DOI: https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.20227740.v1  
• Send the above to [email protected] , and [email protected]

How to submit your thesis/dissertation and research data?

• Health Sciences
• Browse through the  guide  on  Uploading data onto the UP Research Data Repository (Figshare)
• Watch this  video   and then proceed to the   UP Research Data Repository

Guidance and support

• In line with the RDM and ETD policies, a  submission form ,  submission workflow ,  ETD guidelines  and a  guide in describing and documenting research data  were developed to assist and guide postgraduate students and supervisors
• To complete the thesis/dissertation self-submission process , follow  step 1-5  captured in the  ETD self-submission guidelines and  ETD self-submission workflow   
• Next: Submit Your Thesis/Dissertation >>
• Last Updated: Feb 1, 2024 9:31 AM
• URL: https://library.up.ac.za/c.php?g=1144588

Legal Dissertation: Research and Writing Guide

About this guide, video on choosing a topic, tools on westlaw, lexis and bloomberg, circuit splits, research methodologies, additional methodology resources, conducting a literature review, beginning research, writing style guides, citation guides, ask a librarian.

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About This Page

Choosing a topic can be one of the most challenging aspects of writing an extensive paper. This page has resources to help you find topics and inspiration, before you get started on the in-depth research process.

Related Guides

Citation and Writing Resources

Legal Research Tutorials

Secondary Sources for Legal Research

Methods of Finding Cases

Methods of Finding Statutes

Current Awareness and Alerting Resources

Compiling State Legislative Histories

Locating International and Foreign Law Journals

This guide contains resources to help students researching and writing a legal dissertation or other upper-level writing project. Some of the resources in this guide are directed at researching and writing in general, not specifically on legal topics, but the strategies and tips can still be applied.

The Law Library maintains a number of other guides on related skills and topics that may be of interest:

The Wells Library also maintains guides. A few that may be helpful for managing research can be found here:

Choosing a Topic

This video discusses tips and strategies for choosing a dissertation topic.

Note: this video is not specific to legal dissertation topics, but it may still be of interest as an overview generally.

The Bloomberg/BNA publication United States Law Week can be a helpful resource for tracking down the major legal stories of the day.  Log into Bloomberg Law, in the big search box, start typing United States Law Week and the title will appear in the drop down menu beneath the box. This publication provides coverage of top legal news stories, and in-depth "insight" features.

If you have a general idea of the area of law you wish to write about, check out the Practice Centers on Bloomberg. From the homepage, click the Browse link in the top left-hand corner. Then select Practice Centers and look for your area of law. Practice Centers are helpful because they gather cases, statutes, administrative proceedings, news, and more on the selected legal area.

Bloomberg has other news sources available as well. From the homepage, click the Browse link in the top left-hand corner. Then select News and Analysis, then select News or Analysis, and browse the available topics.

If you know what area of law you'd like to write about, you may find the Browse Topics feature in Lexis Advance helpful for narrowing down your topic. 

Log into Lexis Advance, click the Browse Topics tab, and select a topic.  If you don't see your topic listed, try using the provided search bar to see whether your topic is categorized as a sub-topic within this list. 

Once you click on a topic, a box pops up with several options.  If you click on Get Topic Document, you'll see results listed in a number of categories, including Cases, Legislation, and more.  The News and Legal News categories at the right end of the list may help you identify current developments of interest for your note.  Don't forget about the filtering options on the left that will allow you to search within your results, narrow your jurisdiction, and more.

Similar to Lexis Advance, Westlaw Edge has a Topics tab that may be helpful if you know what area of law you'd like to write about.

Log onto Westlaw Edge, and click on the Topics tab.  This time, you won't be able to search within this list, so if you're area is not listed, you should either run a regular search from the main search bar at the top or try out some of the topics listed under this tab - once you click on a topic, you can search within its contents.

What is great about the Topics in Westlaw Edge is the Practitioner Insights page you access by clicking on a topic.  This is an information portal that allows you quick access to cases, legislation, top news, and more on your selected topic.

In United States federal courts, a circuit split occurs whenever two or more circuit courts of appeals issue conflicting rulings on the same legal question. Circuit splits are ripe for legal analysis and commentary because they present a situation in which federal law is being applied in different ways in different parts of the country, even if the underlying litigants themselves are otherwise similarly situated. The Supreme Court also frequently accepts cases on appeal that involve these types of conflicted rulings from various sister circuits.

To find a circuit split on a topic of interest to you, try searching on Lexis and Westlaw using this method:

in the search box, enter the following: (circuit or court w/s split) AND [insert terms or phrases to narrow the search]

You can also browse for circuit splits on Bloomberg. On the Bloomberg homepage, in the "Law School Success" box, Circuit Splits Charts appear listed under Secondary Sources.

Other sources for circuit splits are American Law Reports (ALR) and American Jurisprudence (AmJur). These publications provide summaries of the law, point out circuit splits, and provide references for further research.

"Blawgs" or law-related blogs are often written by scholars or practitioners in the legal field.  Ordinarily covering current events and developments in law, these posts can provide inspiration for note topics.  To help you find blawgs on a specific topic, consider perusing the ABA's Blawg Directory or Justia's Blawg Search .

Research Methodology

Types of research methodologies.

There are different types of research methodologies. Methodology refers to the strategy employed in conducting research. The following methodologies are some of the most commonly used in legal and social science research.

Doctrinal legal research methodology, also called "black letter" methodology, focuses on the letter of the law rather than the law in action. Using this method, a researcher composes a descriptive and detailed analysis of legal rules found in primary sources (cases, statutes, or regulations). The purpose of this method is to gather, organize, and describe the law; provide commentary on the sources used; then, identify and describe the underlying theme or system and how each source of law is connected.

Doctrinal methodology is good for areas of law that are largely black letter law, such as contract or property law. Under this approach, the researcher conducts a critical, qualitative analysis of legal materials to support a hypothesis. The researcher must identify specific legal rules, then discuss the legal meaning of the rule, its underlying principles, and decision-making under the rule (whether cases interpreting the rule fit together in a coherent system or not). The researcher must also identify ambiguities and criticisms of the law, and offer solutions. Sources of data in doctrinal research include the rule itself, cases generated under the rule, legislative history where applicable, and commentaries and literature on the rule.

This approach is beneficial by providing a solid structure for crafting a thesis, organizing the paper, and enabling a thorough definition and explanation of the rule. The drawbacks of this approach are that it may be too formalistic, and may lead to oversimplifying the legal doctrine.

Comparative

Comparative legal research methodology involves critical analysis of different bodies of law to examine how the outcome of a legal issue could be different under each set of laws. Comparisons could be made between different jurisdictions, such as comparing analysis of a legal issue under American law and the laws of another country, or researchers may conduct historical comparisons.

When using a comparative approach be sure to define the reasons for choosing this approach, and identify the benefits of comparing laws from different jurisdictions or time periods, such as finding common ground or determining best practices and solutions. The comparative method can be used by a researcher to better understand their home jurisdiction by analyzing how other jurisdictions handle the same issue. This method can also be used as a critical analytical tool to distinguish particular features of a law. The drawback of this method is that it can be difficult to find material from other jurisdictions. Also, researchers should be sure that the comparisons are relevant to the thesis and not just used for description.

This type of research uses data analysis to study legal systems. A detailed guide on empirical methods can be found here . The process of empirical research involves four steps: design the project, collect and code the data, analyze the data, determine best method of presenting the results. The first step, designing the project, is when researchers define their hypothesis and concepts in concrete terms that can be observed. Next, researchers must collect and code the data by determining the possible sources of information and available collection methods, and then putting the data into a format that can be analyzed. When researchers analyze the data, they are comparing the data to their hypothesis. If the overlap between the two is significant, then their hypothesis is confirmed, but if there is little to no overlap, then their hypothesis is incorrect. Analysis involves summarizing the data and drawing inferences. There are two types of statistical inference in empirical research, descriptive and causal. Descriptive inference is close to summary, but the researcher uses the known data from the sample to draw conclusions about the whole population. Causal inference is the difference between two descriptive inferences.

Two main types of empirical legal research are qualitative and quantitative.

Quantitative, or numerical, empirical legal research involves taking information about cases and courts, translating that information into numbers, and then analyzing those numbers with statistical tools.

Qualitative, or non-numerical, empirical legal research involves extracting  information from the text of court documents, then interpreting and organizing the text into categories, and using that information to identify patterns.

Drafting The Methodology Section

This is the part of your paper that describes the research methodology, or methodologies if you used more than one. This section will contain a detailed description of how the research was conducted and why it was conducted in that way. First, draft an outline of what you must include in this section and gather the information needed.

Generally, a methodology section will contain the following:

• Statement of research objectives
• Reasons for the research methodology used
• Description and rationale of the data collection tools, sampling techniques, and data sources used, including a description of how the data collection tools were administered
• Discussion of the limitations
• Discussion of the data analysis tools used

Be sure that you have clearly defined the reasoning behind the chosen methodology and sources.

• Legal Reasoning, Research, and Writing for International Graduate Students Nadia E. Nedzel Aspen (2004) A guide to American legal research and the federal system, written for international students. Includes information on the research process, and tips for writing. Located in the Law Library, 3rd Floor: KF 240 .N43 2004.
• Methodologies of Legal Research: Which Kind of Method for What Kind of Discipline? Mark van Hoecke Oxford (2013) This book examines different methods of legal research including doctrinal, comparative, and interdisciplinary. Located at Lilly Law Library, Indianapolis, 2nd Floor: K 235 .M476 2013. IU students may request item via IUCAT.
• An Introduction to Empirical Legal Research Lee Epstein and Andrew D. Martin Oxford University Press (2014) This book includes information on designing research, collecting and coding data, analyzing data, and drafting the final paper. Located at Lilly Law Library, Indianapolis, 2nd Floor: K 85 .E678 2014. IU students may request item via IUCAT.
• Emplirical Legal Studies Blog The ELS blog was created by several law professors, and focuses on using empirical methods in legal research, theory, and scholarship. Search or browse the blog to find entries on methodology, data sources, software, and other tips and techniques.

Literature Review

The literature review provides an examination of existing pieces of research, and serves as a foundation for further research. It allows the researcher to critically evaluate existing scholarship and research practices, and puts the new thesis in context. When conducting a literature review, one should consider the following: who are the leading scholars in the subject area; what has been published on the subject; what factors or subtopics have these scholars identified as important for further examination; what research methods have others used; what were the pros and cons of using those methods; what other theories have been explored.

The literature review should include a description of coverage. The researcher should describe what material was selected and why, and how those selections are relevant to the thesis. Discuss what has been written on the topic and where the thesis fits in the context of existing scholarship. The researcher should evaluate the sources and methodologies used by other researchers, and describe how the thesis different.

The following video gives an overview of conducting a literature review.

Note: this video is not specific to legal literature, however it may be helpful as a general overview.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few suggestions for digging into sources once you have selected a topic.

Research Guides

Research guides are discovery tools, or gateways of information. They pull together lists of sources on a topic. Some guides even offer brief overviews and additional research steps specifically for that topic. Many law libraries offer guides on a variety of subjects. You can locate guides by visiting library websites, such as this Library's site , the Law Library of Congress , or other schools like Georgetown . Some organizations also compile research guides, such as the American Society of International Law . Utilizing a research guide on your topic to generate an introductory source list can save you valuable time.

Secondary Sources

It is often a good idea to begin research with secondary sources. These resources summarize, explain, and analyze the law. They also provide references to primary sources and other secondary sources. This saves you time and effort, and can help you quickly identify major themes under your topic and help you place your thesis in context.

Encyclopedias provide broad coverage of all areas of the law, but do not go in-depth on narrow topics, or discuss differences by jurisdiction, or  include all of the pertinent cases. American Jurisprudence ( AmJur ) and Corpus Juris Secundum ( CJS ) have nationwide coverage, while the Indiana Law Encyclopedia focuses on Indiana state law. A number of other states also have their own state-specific encyclopedias.

American Law Reports ( ALR ) are annotations that synopsize various cases on narrow legal topics. Each annotation covers a different topic, and provides a leading or typical case on the topic, plus cases from different jurisdictions that follow different rules, or cases where different facts applying the same rule led to different outcomes. The annotations also refer to other secondary sources.  

Legal periodicals include several different types of publications such as law reviews from academic institutions or organizations, bar journals, and commercial journals/newspapers/newsletters. Legal periodicals feature articles that describe the current state of the law and often explore underlying policies. They also critique laws, court decisions, and policies, and often advocate for changes. Articles also discuss emerging issues and notify the profession of new developments. Law reviews can be useful for in-depth coverage on narrow topics, and references to primary and other secondary sources. However, content can become outdated and researchers must be mindful of biases in articles. 

Treatises/Hornbooks/Practice Guides are a type of secondary source that provides comprehensive coverage of a legal subject. It could be broad, such as a treatise covering all of contract law, or very narrow such as a treatise focused only on search and seizure cases. These sources are good when you have some general background on the topic, but you need more in-depth coverage of the legal rules and policies. Treatises are generally well organized, and provide you with finding aids (index, table of contents, etc.) and extensive footnotes or endnotes that will lead you to primary sources like cases, statutes, and regulations. They may also include appendices with supporting material like forms. However, treatises may not be updated as frequently as other sources and may not cover your specific issue or jurisdiction.

Citation and Writing Style

• Legal Writing in Plain English Bryan A. Garner University of Chicago Press, 2001. Call # KF 250 .G373 2001 Location: Law Library, 3rd Floor Provides lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars with sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The leading guide to clear writing in the field, this book offers valuable insights into the writing process: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. This guide uses real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through decades of teaching experience. Includes sets of basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section.
• The Elements of Legal Style Bryan A. Garner Oxford University Press, 2002. Call # KF 250 .G37 2002 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Reference This book explains the full range of what legal writers need to know: mechanics, word choice, structure, and rhetoric, as well as all the special conventions that legal writers should follow in using headings, defined terms, quotations, and many other devices. Garner also provides examples from highly regarded legal writers, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Clarence Darrow, Frank Easterbrook, and Antonin Scalia.
• Grammarly Blog Blog featuring helpful information about quirks of the English language, for example when to use "affect" or "effect" and other tips. Use the search feature to locate an article relevant to your grammar query.
• Plain English for Lawyers Richard C. Wydick Carolina Academic Press, 2005. Call # KF 250 .W9 2005 Location: Law Library, 3rd Floor Award-winning book that contains guidance to improve the writing of lawyers and law students and to promote the modern trend toward a clear, plain style of legal writing. Includes exercises at the end of each chapter.
• The Chicago Manual of Style University of Chicago Press, 2010. Call # Z 253 .U69 2010 Location: Law Library, 2nd Floor While not addressing legal writing specifically, The Chicago Manual of Style is one of the most widely used and respected style guides in the United States. It focuses on American English and deals with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage, as well as document preparation and formatting.
• The Chicago Manual of Style (Online) Bryan A. Garner and William S. Strong The University of Chicago Press, 2017. Online edition: use the link above to view record in IUCAT, then click the Access link (for IU students only).
• The Bluebook Compiled by the editors of the Columbia Law Review, the Harvard Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and the Yale Law Journal. Harvard Law Review Association, 2015. Call # KF245 .B58 2015 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Circulation Desk The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is a style guide that prescribes the most widely used legal citation system in the United States. The Bluebook is taught and used at a majority of U.S. law schools, law reviews and journals, and used in a majority of U.S. federal courts.
• User's Guide to the Bluebook Alan L. Dworsky William S. Hein & Co., Inc., 2015. Call # KF 245 .D853 2015 Location: Law Library, Circulation Desk "This User's Guide is written for practitioners (law students, law clerks, lawyers, legal secretaries and paralegals), and is designed to make the task of mastering citation form as easy and painless as possible. To help alleviate the obstacles faced when using proper citation form, this text is set up as a how-to manual with a step-by-step approach to learning the basic skills of citation and includes the numbers of the relevant Bluebook rules under most chapter subheadings for easy reference when more information is needed"--Provided by the publisher.
• Legal Citation in a Nutshell Larry L. Teply West Academic Publishing, 2016. Call # KF 245 .T47 2016 Location: Law Library, 1st Floor, Circulation Desk This book is designed to ease the task of learning legal citation. It initially focuses on conventions that underlie all accepted forms and systems of legal citation. Building on that understanding and an explanation of the “process” of using citations in legal writing, the book then discusses and illustrates the basic rules.
• Introduction to Basic Legal Citation (Online) Peter W. Martin Cornell Legal Information Institute, 2017. Free online resource. Includes a thorough review of the relevant rules of appellate practice of federal and state courts. It takes account of the latest edition of The Bluebook, published in 2015, and provides a correlation table between this free online citation guide and the Bluebook.
• Last Updated: Oct 24, 2019 11:00 AM
• URL: https://law.indiana.libguides.com/dissertationguide

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Access to theses and dissertations from other institutions and from the University of Cambridge

This guide provides information on searching for theses of Cambridge PhDs and for theses of UK universities and universities abroad. 

For information and guidance on depositing your thesis as a cambridge phd, visit the cambridge office of scholarly communication pages on theses here ., this guide gives essential information on how to obtain theses using the british library's ethos service. .

On the last weekend of October, the British Library became the victim of a major cyber-attack. Essential digital services including the BL catalogue, website and online learning resources went dark, with research services like the EThOS collection of more than 600,000 doctoral theses suddenly unavailable. The BL state that they anticipate restoring more services in the next few weeks, but disruption to certain services is now expected to persist for several months. For the latest news on the attack and information on the restoration of services, please follow the BL blog here:  Knowledge Matters blog  and access the LibGuide page here:  British Library Outage Update - Electronic Legal Deposit - LibGuides at University of Cambridge Subject Libraries

A full list of resources for searching theses online is provided by the Cambridge A-Z, available here .

University of Cambridge theses

Finding a cambridge phd thesis online via the institutional repository.

The University's institutional repository, Apollo , holds full-text digital versions of over 11,000 Cambridge PhD theses and is a rapidly growing collection deposited by Cambridge Ph.D. graduates. Theses in Apollo can be browsed via this link . More information on how to access theses by University of Cambridge students can be found on the access to Cambridge theses webpage.   The requirement for impending PhD graduates to deposit a digital version in order to graduate means the repository will be increasing at a rate of approximately 1,000 per year from this source.   About 200 theses are added annually through requests to make theses Open Access or via requests to digitize a thesis in printed format.

Locating and obtaining a copy of a Cambridge PhD thesis (not yet available via the repository)

Theses can be searched in iDiscover .  Guidance on searching for theses in iDiscover can be found here .   Requests for consultation of printed theses, not available online, should be made at the Manuscripts Reading Room (Email:  [email protected] Telephone: +44 (0)1223 333143).   Further information on the University Library's theses, dissertations and prize essays collections can be consulted at this link .

Researchers can order a copy of an unpublished thesis which was deposited in print form either through the Library’s  Digital Content Unit via the image request form , or, if the thesis has been digitised, it may be available in the Apollo repository. Copies of theses may be provided to researchers in accordance with the  law  and in a manner that is common across UK libraries.  The law allows us to provide whole copies of unpublished theses to individuals as long as they sign a declaration saying that it is for non-commercial research or private study.

How to make your thesis available online through Cambridge's institutional repository

Are you a Cambridge alumni and wish to make your Ph.D. thesis available online? You can do this by depositing it in Apollo the University's institutional repository. Click here for further information on how to proceed.    Current Ph.D students at the University of Cambridge can find further information about the requirements to deposit theses on the Office of Scholarly Communication theses webpages.

UK Theses and Dissertations

Electronic copies of Ph.D. theses submitted at over 100 UK universities are obtainable from EThOS , a service set up to provide access to all theses from participating institutions. It achieves this by harvesting e-theses from Institutional Repositories and by digitising print theses as they are ordered by researchers using the system. Over 250,000 theses are already available in this way. Please note that it does not supply theses submitted at the universities of Cambridge or Oxford although they are listed on EThOS.

Registration with EThOS is not required to search for a thesis but is necessary to download or order one unless it is stored in the university repository rather than the British Library (in which case a link to the repository will be displayed). Many theses are available without charge on an Open Access basis but in all other cases, if you are requesting a thesis that has not yet been digitised you will be asked to meet the cost. Once a thesis has been digitised it is available for free download thereafter.

When you order a thesis it will either be immediately available for download or writing to hard copy or it will need to be digitised. If you order a thesis for digitisation, the system will manage the process and you will be informed when the thesis is available for download/preparation to hard copy.

See the Search results section of the  help page for full information on interpreting search results in EThOS.

EThOS is managed by the British Library and can be found at http://ethos.bl.uk . For more information see About EThOS .

World-wide (incl. UK) theses and dissertations

Electronic versions of non-UK theses may be available from the institution at which they were submitted, sometimes on an open access basis from the institutional repository. A good starting point for discovering freely available electronic theses and dissertations beyond the UK is the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD) , which facilitates searching across institutions. Information can also usually be found on the library web pages of the relevant institution.

The DART Europe etheses portal lists several thousand full-text theses from a group of European universities.

The University Library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses  (PQDT) database which from August 31 2023 is accessed on the Web of Science platform.  To search this index select it from the Web of Science "Search in" drop-down list of databases (available on the Documents tab on WoS home page)

PQDT includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations, representing 700 leading academic institutions worldwide from 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master's theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The University Library only subscribes to the abstracting & indexing version of the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database and NOT the full text version.  A fee is payable for ordering a dissertation from this source.   To obtain the full text of a dissertation as a downloadable PDF you can submit your request via the University Library Inter-Library Loans department (see contact details below). NB this service is only available to full and current members of the University of Cambridge.

Alternatively you can pay yourself for the dissertation PDF on the PQDT platform. Link from Web of Science record display of any thesis to PQDT by clicking on "View Details on ProQuest".  On the "Preview" page you will see an option "Order a copy" top right.  This will allow you to order your own copy from ProQuest directly.

Dissertations and theses submitted at non-UK universities may also be requested on Inter-Library Loan through the Inter-Library Loans department (01223 333039 or 333080, [email protected] )

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Stanford Law School's Theses and Dissertations Collection

• Early Thesis and Dissertation of Stanford Law School, 1929 to 1956
• Theses and Dissertations of Stanford Law School,1970-1995
• Stanford Program in International Legal Studies’ Theses, 1996 to 2010
• Stanford Law School’s Dissertations, 1996 to 2010
• Stanford Program in International Legal Studies Theses, 2011 to 2025

Collection Description

This collection contains Stanford Law School Students’ theses and dissertations written to fulfill the academic requirements for advanced degrees.   Historically, the collection of Theses and Dissertations were produced as part of the requirement coursework for receiving a Master of Laws (1933-1969), a Juris Doctor (1906-1932), or a Doctor of Jurisprudence.  

Currently, works received from students are produced under two different graduate programs.  Thesis are works were produced as part of the requirement for the Stanford Program in International Legal Studies (SPILS). SPILS was established in 1995 by Professors Lawrence Friedman and Thomas C. Heller, to educate international students, lawyers, judges, public officials, and other professionals trained in the study of law outside the United States.  Students in the SPILS Program are required to do interdisciplinary research that affects the global community.  The culmination of this program is a research project that each individual student develops over the course of the year under a faculty advisor, after which the earns a Master of the Science of Law degree.  The research project must demonstrate the student's ability to employ empirical methods of investigation and must addresses issues in the international community or within a specific country.  These can cover a large range of topics that analyze legal cultures, legal reforms, or public policy.  

Dissertations are produced under Doctor of Science of Law program or JSD.  The JSD program as we know it was revised for the Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1969 is designed for students who are interested in pursuing an academic career. Doctor of Science of Law Students are selected from the Stanford Program in International Legal Studies and those who have a postgraduate degree in Legal Studies.

All materials in this collection were donated by individual authors to the Stanford Law Library's Special Collections.

Collection Identity Number: LAW-3781

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Sociology Ph.D. Alumna Wins University’s Top Dissertation Award

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Faith Deckard, a recent doctoral graduate who studied sociology in the College of Liberal Arts, has focused her research on better understanding how people and their families navigate the criminal legal system and its aftermath. Winner of the 2024 Michael H. Granof Award for her dissertation, Bonded: Bail Agents, Families, and the Management of Risk , she examines how the cash bail system entangles not just individuals but also families in a complicated economic and social system of obligation, debt and punishment. 

The Michael H. Granof Award , the Graduate School’s top dissertation prize, was established in 1979 to recognize exceptional work by doctoral students and encourage the highest levels of scholarship, research and writing. This award is generously underwritten by the University Co-op and is presented at the Graduate School/University Co-op Awards Banquet each spring. The annual winner receives a $10,000 prize.

Through qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations, Deckard shows how subjugated populations manage and cope with the pernicious effects of money bail. In her research, she found that co-signed loan arrangements can be used to incentivize family members to surveil their loved ones through the completion of their criminal cases, which has far-reaching negative consequences on families. 

The committee selected Deckard for this year’s top prize because of the high quality and broad import of her dissertation. Her project draws on interviews and observational data to develop a compelling account of how the support networks of historically marginalized groups are exploited and exhausted by the legal system.

Associate Professor Sarah Brayne, one of Deckard’s recommenders in the Sociology department, wrote: “I am confident that her dissertation will make a strong impact to sociological research on economic instability, racial inequality and the criminal legal system. Moreover, bail reform is a topic of immense policy relevance today, and her work will be the first of its kind to empirically map and theorize the ‘social cost of affording bail.’”  

Deckard’s adviser in the Sociology department, Javier Auyero, wrote: “Faith’s dissertation breaks new ground in our understanding of the social and symbolic impacts of one of the least studied dimensions of what Loïc Wacquant calls the ‘criminal processing machinery.’ It is hard for me to think of a more timely and original sociological project with such clear policy implications.” 

Deckard, who just graduated last month, took time to answer some questions about her work: 

What is the overall goal of your dissertation project and how would you explain your research methodology to a non-specialist audience? 

Many of us have likely driven past a bail bond agency, seen advertisements or watched a show depicting agents or bounty hunters in action. However, from an academic standpoint, and particularly a sociological one, we don’t know a whole lot about how the commercial bail system works on the ground. By commercial bail system, I mean third-party companies who bond people out of jail prior to their court dates in exchange for a fee and cosigned loan agreement. 

My dissertation project sought to understand how this system, which two million people rely on every year for pretrial release, works. What I found is that family members are vital to the operation and, consequentially, impacted by it. 

To uncover the inner workings of commercial bail and its implications, I talked to the people most intimately involved, primarily bail agents, defendants (people being bonded out) and cosigning family members. I also spent a year observing three bail agencies to document agents’ daily practices and interactions with clients and to understand the environment they worked within and why they ultimately made certain decisions. 

What drew you to the subject of sociology and how did you decide to focus your dissertation project on cash bail and the criminal legal system?

I’m drawn to sociology because it includes the “both/and” - it acknowledges that people have agency or free will and that things like structures, laws, norms and even other people can influence, and often constrain, that free will. While our social world provides many things to study, my indirect exposure to the criminal legal system through multiple family members made my research interest pretty clear to me. The same is true of my decision to narrow my focus to cash bail. 

During my first year of graduate school, one of my younger brothers was arrested twice within a very short time span, so twice I sent money home for his bail and witnessed my family’s well-being erode, bend and adapt under carceral, financial and social pressure. 

When I searched the literature, both out of academic interest and personal longing for advice or help, I was surprised to find a dearth of information about commercial bail and its impact on families. So, in a way, my project found me. 

What were the key findings of your research? Did those findings point to any tangible policy solutions?

The key finding of my research is that bail agents, the industries’ front-line workers, use various techniques to encourage selected family members to assume responsibility for getting their defendant-kin to appear in court. Beyond transferring money to bail agencies, these individuals are expected to provide their own surveillance labor and emotional resources toward a state project of pretrial risk management.  Given that criminal legal contact is disproportionately concentrated among Black and Latino men and women are more likely to provide support (in the form of cosigning or otherwise), it is women of color who are disproportionately burdened with managing state problems and those that arise at home. At the same time, their efforts culminate in profit for agencies and justice functioning for the state. 

I am still thinking through tangible policy solutions, but what is clear to me presently is that to make meaningful, holistic changes, we have to start from the assumption that cash bail impacts families/communities, not individuals and that the harm it produces is multifaceted (financial, social, emotional) and unevenly distributed. 

Did you encounter any significant challenges in your research? If so, what were they and how did you overcome them?

It’s an interesting thing to be close to a topic. On the one hand, having familiarity offers a unique position from which you can ask different questions or apply different interpretations. 

On the other hand, having intimate knowledge or personal experience means that while doing research, you re-live things, you feel things deeply and you are forced to give up any pretense of objectivity. 

I found myself having to be vigilant about what my objective was – it was not to conduct a study about my family. However, my familial experience did make me particularly well-suited to identify patterns and processes that help us better understand how commercial bail works and the plight of millions of families (and thousands of bail agents). 

What did it feel like to learn you had won the Graduate School’s most prestigious dissertation prize? 

Surreal, and it still feels that way. I’m a first-generation college student, so getting my Ph.D. is that much more foreign and unfamiliar to my family. When I called home to tell them I had won the dissertation award they were, of course, excited and happy for me, but I could tell they didn’t fully comprehend how big of a deal this was. I had won fellowships and paper awards before, so this was just one more thing, right? 

That’s what they thought until they attended graduation and saw my picture plastered in the program and heard President Hartzell mention me by name and proceed to talk about my work.   The embraces, enthusiasm and utter awe that I was met with once graduation ended communicated to me that they really  understood how big of an achievement this was and how hard I had worked these past several years to do justice to a topic I cared so deeply about.

So, I’m just humbled and grateful to have the work recognized and validated in a way that made my family proud. I’m looking forward to seeing what my grandfather does with the 10+ programs he left the ceremony with.  

What are your plans now that you’ve graduated?

Well, I’m off to UCLA in the fall to begin my career as an assistant professor of sociology. While I’m extremely excited about this next phase of life, I’m also a little nervous and am becoming very nostalgic about Texas, where I’ve lived my entire life. So, I’m just doing my best to be present this summer. I’m soaking in Austin, hanging out with friends, traveling home to see my family when I can and of course, doing a little reading and writing. I am an academic, after all! 

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Theses and Dissertations (Procedural Law)

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• Societal change through sports  Luttig, Keanu M. ( University of Pretoria , 2023 ) This dissertation aims to address the concerns that sport and society have in common, where the relevant governing legislation has fallen short and analyses whether the sports industry, and its athletes coupled with the ...
• The legality and regulation of professional mixed martial arts in South Africa  Ramsden, Gerald Andrew ( University of Pretoria , 2023 ) Senator John McCain was not far off the mark when he described mixed martial arts (MMA) as “human cock-fighting”, during its formative years in the United States of America (US) in the early 1990’s. Those early MMA contests ...
• The effect of unlawfully obtained evidence on the administration of justice  Ramatshimbila, Azwifarwi ( University of Pretoria , 2022 ) This mini-dissertation focuses on the true extent of the meaning and effect of unlawfully obtained evidence. The focus is on the unlawfully obtained evidence from the perspective of the rule of law and not necessarily ...
• A review of the enforcement of arbitration awards ; a comparative study of Nigeria and South Africa  Makinde, Okadazim Niella ( University of Pretoria , 2022 ) Arbitration, as one of the alternative dispute resolution procedures, aids in the quick resolution of disputes as against traditional litigation. The Courts' apparent lack of promptness in dispensing disputes necessitates ...
• Private prosecutions in South Africa  Spies, Willem Durand ( University of Pretoria , 2022 ) This thesis will examine the question whether private prosecutions in South Africa could be of assistance to the National Prosecution Authority in fulfilling its constitutional mandate in the current post-Apartheid era of ...
• Discovery of electronic information in legal proceedings in South Africa with specific reference to Rule 23 of the Magistrates’ Court Rules and Rule 35 of the Uniform Rules of Court  Hart, Elton Romeo ( University of Pretoria , 2022 ) The exponential growth in electronically generated and -stored information in legal proceedings raises the question of whether electronic information falls within the ambit of the traditional definition of the term “document”. ...
• The legal liability of the various role players in professional boxing for an injury or death suffered by a boxer during a professional boxing bout held in South Africa  Ramsden, Gerald Andrew ( University of Pretoria , 2021 ) In a sport like professional boxing where the infliction of bodily harm on one’s opponent is the primary objective of both the participants, it is therefore not surprising that the risk of serious bodily injury (and even ...
• Reconsidering a community-based judicial system for South African courts based on the common law jury system  Werner, Anandi ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) The Oscar Pistorius Trial awakened everyday citizens to the reality of what transpires in South African courtrooms on a daily basis; thereby stirring them from their slumber created by the absence of engagement and involvement ...
• Critical analysis of how the South African criminal law addresses cybercbullying  Machitela, Malesela Abram ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) The work deals with shortcomings in the South African Criminal Law in respect of how to addresses cyberbullying crime. The report focus on how American Legislation deals with cyberbullying as compared to South African Legal ...
• A possible amendment to the criminal procedure and evidence act, 1939 of the republic of Botswana with regard to plea and sentence agreements in an effort to promote the expeditious and efficient disposition of criminal matters  Kgosieile, Lameck ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) Plea-bargaining and sentencing agreement is a worldwide phenomenon. Most of the jurisdictions more particularly in the so-called developed countries have adopted and incorporated into their criminal justice system the ...
• Reforming civil procedure : trends in continental europe and england and wales  Coetsee, Anlu Renette ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) This research involves the timeless question regarding the effective improvement of access to justice. The problems pertaining to access to justice, especially in respect of litigation, have been experienced and exposed ...
• Plea bargaining in South Africa and England  Majozi, Nkosinathi Levion ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) This dissertation is comparative study of plea bargaining in South Africa and England. It covers when plea bargaining was embraced in the South African criminal justice system. Plea bargaining defines the act of negotiating ...
• Onpartydigheidenvooroordeelby voorsittnde beamptes in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg  Venter, RihandT ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) Die navorsingstuk ondersoek die interpretasie van die Grondwet deur regsprekende, met aandag op die Handves van Menseregte,2 asook ander wetgwing. Klem gaan veral geplaas word op die regsprekende gesag se algemene magte, ...
• The use of closed-circuit television in South African criminal courts  Lamprecht, Adriaan Matthys ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) In the last decade the use of closed-circuit television or similar electronic devices (CCTV) has started to play a significant role in courtrooms, both as a silent witness and as a device through which to receive testimony. ...
• The impact of the criminal law (sexual offences and related matters) amendment ACT 32 OF 2007 on the offence of rape and sentencing thereof  Ndou, Treasure Rudo ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) This mini dissertation is based on the impact of Act 32 of 2007 on the offence of rape and the sentencing thereof in South Africa
• Eligibility of female athletes with differences of sex development to compete in international athletics  Kapp, Bianca ( University of Pretoria , 2019 ) After given due consideration to the need of the original hyperandrogenic regulations and the constant pressure from society upon the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (hereafter IAAF) to take action ...
• Sentencing discretion and minimum sentence  Thulare, Mamodise Margaret ( University of Pretoria , 2018 ) No abstract
• A critical analysis of tribunals in South Africa to create a harmonised tribunal system  Baboolal-Frank, Rashri ( University of Pretoria , 2019 )
• Contingency fees in the South African law  Austin, Gary William ( University of Pretoria , 2017 ) No abstract
• Accountability under the coach-athlete relationship in sport  Joubert, Pierre ( University of Pretoria , 2018 ) Over the past decades sport has changed dramatically with regard to, amateurism to professionalism, the abolition of racial segregation in sport, equality in sport on all levels, media coverage of sport; just to mention a ...

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• South Africa (4)
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• Procedural Law (2)
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• A possible ammendment to the Criminal Procedure and evidence Act, 1939 of the Republic of Botswana with regard to plea and sentence agreements in an effort to promote the expedition and efficient disposition of criminal matters (1)
• Administration procedure (1)
• Admissibility of evidence (1)
• Advantage for creditors (1)
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Date Issued

• 2020 - 2023 (7)
• 2010 - 2019 (37)
• 2004 - 2009 (4)

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