Overview
Emily Ryo joined the faculty of Duke Law School in July 2023. She was previously a professor of law and sociology at University of Southern California Gould School of Law, and prior to that, a research fellow at Stanford Law School. She received a JD from Harvard Law School and a PhD in Sociology from Stanford University. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and practiced law at the international law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, and Hamilton.
Professor Ryo’s current research focuses on immigration, criminal justice, legal attitudes and legal noncompliance, and procedural justice. She approaches these issues through innovative interdisciplinary lenses, using diverse quantitative and qualitative methods. As an empirical legal scholar, she has published widely in both leading sociology and law journals. Her article with Ian Peacock, “A Study of Pandemic and Stigma Effects in Removal Proceedings,” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 19(3): 560-593, received the 2023 Article Prize from the Law and Society Association.
Professor Ryo has been awarded the National Science Foundation Research Grant, the ABF/JPB Access to Justice Fellowship, and the Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to support her scholarship. She was the recipient of the 2021 William A. Rutter Distinguished Teaching Award at USC Gould School of Law.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Recent Publications
Racial Disparities in Crime-Based Removal Proceedings
Journal Article Minnesota Law Review · 2025 Link to item CiteIntergroup Boundaries and Removal Decisions
Journal Article Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization · 2025 Link to item CiteRacial Disparities in Crime-Based Removal Proceedings
Journal Article Minnesota Law Review · January 1, 2025 Whether and to what extent racial minorities experience harsher treatment or face worse outcomes in court are questions of fundamental importance for any justice system. Questions of racial inequality are especially salient in the context of removal procee ... CiteRecent Grants
Compounded Disadvantage: Race, Criminal Record, and Access to Justice in Immigration Courts
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2023 - 2025View All Grants