On Monday, December 13, Mary Graw Leary, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research and Professor of Law at Catholic Law, participated in an academic seminar organized by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The seminar, Rights of Alleged Victims in Penal Procedures, hosted experts from different jurisdictions who shared their expertise on this important topic.

As a former federal prosecutor, Graw Leary examines the intersection of criminal law, criminal procedure, technology, and contemporary victimization. She focuses on the exploitation and abuse of women, children, and the marginalized. Graw Leary is a recognized expert in the areas of criminal law and procedure, victimization, exploitation, human trafficking, missing persons, technology, and the Fourth Amendment. During her panel, “Rights of Alleged Victims in Penal Procedures in the USA,” Graw Leary addressed the working group about the rights of victims of crime in the United States on both the federal and state levels. She also addressed the need for transparency and accountability for systems to retain legitimacy.