Research Interests: Sociology of Law; Crime and Punishment; Inequality and Stratification; Urban Poverty

Ash Smith is a doctoral student in Sociology, with a J.D. from Harvard Law School (Class of 2022). Originally from the New Haven area, Ash graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame, where she majored in Sociology and minored in Public Service and Poverty Studies. While an undergraduate, Ash worked at a public defender’s office in Appalachian Kentucky; Indiana Legal Services in South Bend, IN; and the American Bar Association in Washington, D.C. Her independent capstone work examined the efficacy of specialty mental health courts in the U.S. legal system; and she co-authored a publication exploring the criminalization of poverty in rural America. 

Ash then began her studies at Harvard Law School. She was elected the Managing Editor of the Harvard Law Review, in which she published pieces on the Fourth Amendment, criminal surveillance, progressive prosecution, and procedural issues in the federal habeas forum. While in the J.D./Ph.D. program, Ash has worked with the MacArthur Justice Center, the Suffolk County (Boston) District Attorney's Office, the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and the Criminal Justice Policy Program, among others. She has assisted in representing clients on trial- and appellate-level criminal and civil matters, engaging jurisdictional and evidentiary issues, PLRA litigation, and federal habeas work.

Ash's doctoral work examines inequalities under law and contemporary efforts in criminal justice reform. She recently coauthored an article in Crime & Justice exploring "criminal propensity" issues and character constructs in U.S. criminal law. Currently, she is examining the question of "progressive prosecution" via qualitative analysis of practitioner interviews. Ash aspires to use her pragmatic legal scholarship to better inform and contextualize her own work, as a hopeful future litigator.

Previous Degrees:
B.A. in Sociology, University of Notre Dame (summa cum laude, 2017)

J.D., Harvard Law School (2022)