Jonathan Simon joined the Berkeley Law faculty in 2003 as part of the J.D., JSP, and Legal Studies programs. He teaches in the areas of criminal law, criminal procedure, criminology, legal studies and the sociology of law.
Simon’s scholarship concerns the role of crime and criminal justice in governing contemporary societies, risk and the law, and the history of the interdisciplinary study of law. His published works include over seventy articles and book chapters, and three single authored monographs, including: Poor Discipline: Parole and the Social Control of the Underclass (University of Chicago 1993, winner of the American Sociological Association’s sociology of law book prize, 1994), Governing through Crime: How the War on Crime Transformed American Democracy and Created a Culture of Fear (Oxford University Press 2007, winner of the American Society of Criminology, Hindelang Award 2010) and Mass Incarceration on Trial: A Remarkable Court Decision and the Future of Prisons in America (New Press 2014). Simon has served as the co-editor-in-chief of the journal, Punishment and Society, and the co-editor of the Sage Handbook of Punishment & Society (along with Richard Sparks). He is a member of the Law & Society Association and the American Society of Criminology. Simon’s scholarship has been recognized internationally with appointment as a Leverhulme Visiting Professorship at the University of Edinburgh (2010-11), a Fellow of the Israeli Institute for Advanced Studies (2016), and a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2018). In 2016 Simon was recognized for his scholarship on the human rights of prisoners with the Docteur honoris causa de la Faculté et de l’Institut, Faculté de Droit et Criminologie, Université Catholique de Louvain.
Education
A.B., UC Berkeley (1981)
J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law (1987)
Ph.D., UC Berkeley School of Law (1990)
Jonathan Steven Simon is teaching the following course in Spring 2025:
221.76 sec. 001 - The Legal Politics of Campus Protests
Courses During Other Semesters
Semester | Course Num | Course Title | ![]() | Fall 2024 | 234.2 sec. 001 | Criminal Justice Theory | View Teaching Evaluation |
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Police use of social media is under a microscope amid protests
Professor Jonathan Simon cautions against police using social media to investigate crimes that may occur during protests
Crime Inc. Podcast: Governing Through Crime
Professor Jonathan Simon appeared on the Crime Inc. podcast to talk “governing through crime.”
Stately Performance: Berkeley Law Duo Sweeps California Moot Court Competition
Sebastien Wadier ’20 and Jenna Zhang ’20 won the event’s best brief and best oral argument awards.
Cover to Cover: Another Prolific Year of Books from Berkeley Law Faculty
Dean Erwin Chemerinsky emceed the annual gathering to celebrate books written by the school’s prolific faculty over the past year.
How Race Matters
From hairstyle policies to lending practices to mass incarceration, faculty members confront a wide swath of racial justice issues.
Experts Differ on How to Best Solve Criminal Justice Crises
Daylong conference tackles issues including police tactics, race relations, violent crime, and the marijuana legislation debate.
New Book Tackles Workplace Race and Gender Discrimination
Professor Lauren Edelman ’86 shows how symbolic anti-discrimination policies are increasingly seen as proof of compliance with civil rights laws.
State Propositions Tackle Criminal Justice System
A slew of ballot propositions are on the state ballot, from repeal of the death penalty to legalization of recreational marijuana.
Gun Control: Faculty Experts Weigh in on Obama’s Executive Orders
Berkeley Law’s renowned criminal law experts forecast the impact of President Obama’s recent set of executive orders promoting gun safety reform.