Dr. Van Cleve received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University where she was a Legal Studies Fellow. Her research lies in the intersection of criminal justice, race, and cultural theory.  Overall, her scholarship scrutinizes the cultural composition of legal institutions and investigates how these often hidden variables impact the equitability of laws and the consumer experience of institutions. Dr. Van Cleve lecture examines two central criminal justice “gateways” where professionals must evaluate defendants: the county jail, where sheriff’s officers determine which inmates are to be released, and the criminal courts, where professionals determine which defendants receive plea bargains rather than trials.