Rural Law and Justice Research and Interest Group Justice, governance, and legal institutions in rural communities
What We’re About
The Rural Law and Justice Research Interest Group brings together scholars and practitioners exploring how law, legal institutions, and justice systems operate in rural contexts. The group provides a space for interdisciplinary collaboration among sociologists, legal scholars, criminologists, policymakers, and others interested in the intersections of law, policy, community, and rural life.
Members of the RIG examine a wide range of issues including access to justice, policing and corrections, legal consciousness, rural crime, environmental regulation, tribal sovereignty, property law, and the broader social impacts of legal and policy frameworks on rural populations.
The RIG fosters critical conversations about power, equity, and governance, with the goal of informing scholarship and supporting practical reforms that improve justice outcomes in rural areas.
Annual Dues:
Regular Members – $10
Student Members – $5
Get Involved:
Attend our sessions and networking events at the RSS Annual Meeting
Participate in planning discussions or propose new activities
Contact our leadership team to get connected
What We Do and How to Get Involved
The Rural Law and Justice RIG supports research, dialogue, and collaboration at the intersection of rural sociology and legal studies. We:
Organize paper sessions and roundtables at the RSS Annual Meeting focusing on rural legal systems, policy analysis, and community impacts.
Promote interdisciplinary engagement among academics, practitioners, and students interested in rural law and justice.
Provide space for discussing emerging issues such as mass incarceration, legal deserts, civil justice access, and rural-urban legal divides.
Welcome students and early-career scholars through mentorship and professional development opportunities.
To get involved, join the RIG through your RSS membership, attend our sessions and business meeting at the RSS Annual Meeting, and contribute to shaping future RIG activities and initiatives.
Leadership:
📰 News and Announcements
📚 Selected Publications and Resources
Explore work from our members and resources on rural sociology:
- The Rural Lawyer
- Encouraging Expanded Producer Responsibilities in Agricultural Labor Relations
- Reviving Rural America
- Trading Acres
- Just a Place or a Just Place: Domestic Violence, Urban-Rural Differences, and Access to Justice
- Legal Deserts and Spatial Injustice: A Study of Criminal Legal Systems in Rural Washington
- The Law of Geographic Labor Market Inequality
- Understanding Rural Legal Deserts to Inform Public Policy: Identifying and Describing Lawyer Gaps in Non-Metropolitan Counties
- Bridging the Digital Divide in the US
- Farm Crime
- Buying Time