Christopher Uggen

About

Christopher Uggen is a Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight Professor of Sociology and Law at the University of Minnesota. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Criminology. His expertise includes social policy, criminology, and law, and he is currently reviewing Ph.D. applicants at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. His research focuses on issues related to social justice, public policy, and the intersection of law and society, contributing to the academic understanding of these areas through his teaching and scholarly work.

Research topics

• Criminology
• Political science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Law

Selected publications

• The Broad Scope and Variation of Monetary Sanctions: Evidence From Eight States

  CrimRxiv · 2020-01-01 · 33 citations

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Monetary sanctions have long been a part of the U.S. criminal justice system but have received increasing attention from the public as well as legal scholars and social science research in recent years. This essay describes initial findings from the Multi-State Study of Monetary Sanctions, a multi-method study designed to build on the prior research on legal financial obligations (LFOs) by examining the multi-tiered systems of monetary sanctions operating within eight states representing key reg…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Before and After Ban the Box: Who Complies with Anti-Discrimination Law?

  Law & Social Inquiry · 2021-12-09 · 30 citations

  articleSenior author

  Ban the Box (BTB) laws are an anti-discrimination policy intended to promote employment for persons with criminal records. However, research on law and organizations shows that firms often fail to comply with legal directives or engage in symbolic compliance that fails to alter day-to-day business practices. We consider whether BTB contributed to attitudinal or behavioral shifts among hiring managers and changes in job applications. We analyze a unique set of in-depth interviews (N = 30) and ent…

  PublisherDOI

• Native Americans and Monetary Sanctions

  RSF The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences · 2022-01-01 · 22 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Native Americans are disproportionately affected by the criminal legal system, yet comparative analyses of criminal legal outcomes and experiences among racial and ethnic groups rarely center the experiences of Native Americans. This multimethod study examines how monetary sanctions are affecting Native American populations in Minnesota. Drawing on administrative criminal court data and qualitative fieldwork, we find that Native Americans are subject to among the largest overall legal financial…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Temporal and spatial shifts in gun violence, before and after a historic police killing in Minneapolis

  Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology · 2023-07-25 · 9 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Fines, Fees, and Families: Monetary Sanctions As Stigmatized Intergenerational Exchange

  Sociological Quarterly · 2024-04-10 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  , analyzing 70 semi-structured interviews with debtholders in Minnesota. Adult children reported perceiving anger and financial strain from family members who provide assistance. Those with minor children expressed hopelessness, stress, and financial strain, as they prioritized basic needs over meeting their outstanding financial obligations. We conclude by discussing the implications of these intergenerational impacts for research, law, and policy.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Enhancing Public Access: Archiving Court Cases to Study Genocide and Transitional Justice

  NSF · $89k · 2016–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Sarah Esther Lageson

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  94 shared

• Mike Vuolo

  The Ohio State University

  91 shared

• Corey Pech

  The Ohio State University

  81 shared

• Taekjin Shin

  San Diego State University

  81 shared

• Sarah Jenkins

  81 shared

• Ofer Sharone

  81 shared

• Sarah Babb

  Boston College

  81 shared

• William Attwood‐Charles

  Miami University

  81 shared

Awards & honors

• Humphrey School of Public Affairs Hubert H. Humphrey Public…

Similar researchers at University of Minnesota

• Peter Brownh-161
• Tonisha Whiteh-89
• Jessica Hellmannh-55