Dialogues on Criminal Justice – Intensive Overseas Field Study program with Goettingen University, Germany and Stanford Law School, USA

• In Event: Roundtable: Understanding Each Other – Comparative Criminal Justice in Research and Teaching

Abstract

Our dialogue began in 2024 as a virtual seminar, where two small groups of students engaged in weekly Zoom sessions to discuss topics such as police reform, court proceedings, and prison conditions. At the time of this submission, we are planning an Intensive Overseas Field Study Trip for September 2025. During the first week, students from Stanford Law School will travel with faculty to Germany, where they will meet with students and faculty from the University of Göttingen. Together, we will visit a prison, participate in police ride-alongs, observe criminal court proceedings, and meet with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and policymakers.
In the second week, Stanford and German students and instructors will replicate these experiences in Northern California, visiting county, state, and federal criminal law institutions. Throughout the course, students from both countries will jointly analyze and discuss the differences between the German and American criminal legal systems. Stanford Law School students will partner with Göttingen University students to lead these discussions. Experiencing a different judicial system firsthand will undoubtedly deepen everyone’s understanding of both systems.

Author

• Alexander Baur, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen