Faculty Notable - 2026-05-04 - Shih-Chun Chien

Professor Shih-Chun “Steven” Chien presented a coauthored project, A Gravitational Theory of Prosecutor Networks (with Professor Ronald F. Wright of Wake Forest University School of Law), at the Criminal Justice Ethics Schmooze at Fordham University School of Law. 

The project develops a new theoretical framework for understanding how prosecutors form professional networks and how those networks shape influence, identity, and the diffusion of reform. Drawing on organizational sociology and network science, the paper argues that prosecutorial behavior is structured not only by individual offices, but by a broader “gravitational” field of professional relationships.