
Professor Corinna Barrett Lain is a constitutional law scholar who writes about the influence of extralegal norms on Supreme Court decisionmaking, with a particular focus on the field of capital punishment. Her scholarship, which often uses the lens of legal history, has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Duke Law Journal, UCLA Law Review, and Georgetown Law Journal, among other venues. Professor Lain is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and received the University of Richmond’s Distinguished Educator Award in 2006. She is a former prosecutor and an Army veteran.
Madison and the Mentally Ill: The Death Penalty for the Weak, Not the Worst, 31 Regent University Law Review 209 (2019).
Mostly Settled, but Right for Now, 33 Constitutional Commentary 355 (University of Minnesota Law School) (2018).
The Highs and Lows of Michael Meltsner -- A Tribute, Northeastern Law Review Extra Legal: A Festschrift Honoring Michael Meltsner (2018).
Soft Supremacy, 58 William & Mary Law Review 1609 (2017).
Death Row, Calls for Indifference, and Redemption of the Soul, 77 Ohio State Law Journal Furthermore 106 (2016).
Three Supreme Court Failures and a Story of Supreme Court Success, 69 Vanderbilt Law Review 1019 (2016) (symposium contribution; reviewed by Jotwell).
Death Penalty Drugs and the International Moral Marketplace, 103 Georgetown Law Journal 1215 (with James Gibson) (2015).
God, Civic Virtue, and the American Way: Reconstructing Engel, 67 Stanford Law Review 479 (2015).
The Politics of Botched Executions, 49 University of Richmond Law Review 825 (2015) (symposium contribution).
Passive-Aggressive Executive Power, 73 Maryland Law Review 227 (2013) (symposium contribution).
The Virtues of Thinking Small, 67 University of Miami Law Review 397 (2013) (symposium contribution).
Upside-Down Judicial Review, 101 Georgetown Law Journal 113 (2012).
Lessons Learned from the Evolution of Evolving Standards, 4 Charleston Law Review 661 (2010).
The Doctrinal Side of Majority Will, 2010 Michigan State Law Review 775 (2010) (symposium contribution).
The Unexceptionalism of Evolving Standards, 57 UCLA Law Review 365 (2009).
Deciding Death, 57 Duke Law Journal 1 (2007).
Furman Fundamentals, 82 Washington Law Review 1 (2007).
Countermajoritarian Hero or Zero? Rethinking the Warren Court's Role in the Criminal Procedure Revolution, 152 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1361 (2004).
Accuracy Where It Matters: Brady v. Maryland in the Plea Bargaining Context, 80 Washington University Law Quarterly 1 (2002).
Outraged over Immigration: Rethinking Doctrinal Responses, 82 Virginia Law Review 987 (1996).
Prosecutorial Ethics and the Reno Rule: Authorized by Law, 14 Criminal Justice Ethics 17 (1995).
Distorting Death, in Painting Constitutional Law (2019).
The Power, Problems, and Potential of "Evolving Standards of Decency", in The Eighth Amendment and Its Future in a New Age of Punishment (2019).
Following Finality: Why Capital Punishment Is Collapsing under Its Own Weight, in Final Judgments: The Death Penalty in American Law and Culture (Cambridge University Press) (2017).
Feminist Justice, The New Rambler (2016).
The Highs and Lows of Wild Justice, 50 Tulsa Law Review 503 (2015).
The International Market for Death Penalty Drugs, NCAA News (with Jim Gibson) (Winter 2015).
Death Penalty Drugs: A Prescription That's Getting Harder to Fill, 26 Richmond Law 10 (2013).
Following Finality: An Observation About the Death Penalty Over Time, 37 The National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys Newsletter 16 (2016).
What would RBG do?, Richmond Times Dispatch (September 2020).
Capital Punishment, Illuminated, Richmond Times-Dispatch (with Jim Gibson) (May 2014) (Op-Ed.).
Europe Taught America How To End the Death Penalty. Now Maybe It Finally Will., Guardian (with Jim Gibson) (May 2014) (Op-Ed.).
Lethal Injection, Politics, and the Future of the Death Penalty Allen Chair Symposium University of Richmond Law Review (October 2014).
Death Penalty in America: Perceptions, Reflection, and Reform Allen Chair Symposium University of Richmond Law Review (April 2007).
Justice Alito Ripped for Repeatedly Ignoring That It Was Justice Sotomayor’s Turn to Speak (Law & Crime)
Mon., Nov. 30, 2020
Op-ed: Corinna Barrett Lain column: What would RBG do? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Mon., Sep. 21, 2020
What makes George Floyd’s death different? (Interfases)
Fri., Jul. 24, 2020
Priests Defeated in Lawsuit to Delay Executions During Covid-19 (Courthouse News Service)
Fri., Jul. 17, 2020
Justice Kennedy and Criminal Procedure (C-SPAN)
Fri., Oct. 5, 2018
March for Truth draws Saturday crowd (Style Weekly)
Tue., Jun. 6, 2017
Texas suit over death penalty drug faces steep odds (Law 360)
Wed., May. 10, 2017
Op-ed: Is the White House creating havoc on purpose? (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Mon., Feb. 6, 2017
Virginia's lethal injection costs set to skyrocket as secret drug vendor charges $16.5K per execution (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Fri., Sep. 30, 2016
As Arizona, other states struggle to find execution drugs, how far should states go to carry out executions? (KJZZ)
Thu., Dec. 3, 2015
Where do the death penalty abolitionists go from here? (Bloomberg Business)
Tue., Jun. 30, 2015
On Glossip (PrawfsBlawg)
Mon., Jun. 29, 2015
Gay marriage shows court at its best (Bloomberg View)
Fri., Jun. 26, 2015
'An antidemocratic and largely foreign conspiracy' (PrawfsBlawg)
Thu., Jun. 25, 2015
In anticipation of Glossip (PrawfsBlawg)
Wed., Jun. 24, 2015
Is criticism of lethal injection just a front for opposing the death penalty? (PrawfsBlawg)
Tue., Jun. 16, 2015
Is lethal injection about us or them? (PrawfsBlawg)
Wed., Jun. 10, 2015
Unconstitutional repeal? (PrawfsBlawg)
Fri., Jun. 5, 2015
Got drugs? (PrawfsBlawg)
Thu., Jun. 4, 2015
Why is Glossip so hard? (PrawfsBlawg)
Fri., May. 1, 2015
Pharmacy Groups Balk at Supplying Lethal Injection (NBC News)
Mon., Mar. 30, 2015
McAuliffe officials try to get Va. House to change vote on lethal injection (The Washington Post)
Wed., Feb. 25, 2015
Against Lethal Injection Secrecy in Virginia (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Sat., Feb. 14, 2015
Va. Senate Backs Secrecy on Execution Drugs (Courthouse News Service)
Wed., Feb. 11, 2015
Virginia Senate approves bill aimed at continuing executions by lethal injection (The Republic)
Tue., Feb. 10, 2015
Capital Punishment Cover-Up (Slate)
Tue., Feb. 3, 2015
Bill proposes secrecy on Virginia executions (Daily Press)
Thu., Jan. 29, 2015
Va. Senate panel advances bill to ensure supply of lethal-injection drug (The Washington Post)
Thu., Jan. 29, 2015
Botched US execution sparks death penalty debate (Channel News Asia)
Sun., May. 18, 2014
Gibson and Lain: Capital punishment, illuminated (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Wed., May. 7, 2014
Europe taught America how to end the death penalty. Now maybe it finally will (The Guardian)
Mon., May. 5, 2014
Painful Death Penalty Failure (95bFM)
Fri., May. 2, 2014
Could Europe Put a Stop to the Death Penalty in Texas? (KUT.org)
Thu., Apr. 24, 2014
Death penalty crisis reveals macabre options still open in US (The Conversation)
Thu., Feb. 6, 2014
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney addresses political ties to Morrissey (NBC12, CapitalBay Online)
Fri., Aug. 30, 2013
12 Investigates: Growing number of guilty pleas (NBC12)
Thu., Feb. 21, 2013
"Upside-Down Judicial Review" is the download of the week (Legal Theory Blog)
Sat., Jan. 14, 2012