Aya Gruber

Aya Gruber is the Harold Medill Heimbaugh Professor of Law at USC Gould School of Law and a nationally recognized legal scholar specializing in criminal law, criminal procedure, violence against women, and critical theory. Gruber earned an undergraduate degree in philosophy from UC Berkeley and a law degree from Harvard Law School, where she served as an editor for the Harvard Women's Law Journal and founded the Interracial Law Students' Association. Following law school, Gruber worked as a public defender in Washington, D.C., and Miami, Florida, gaining direct experience with the criminal justice system and its impact on marginalized communities.

Gruber's academic career includes faculty positions at Florida International University Law School, University of Iowa School of Law, and University of Colorado Law School, where she held the Ira C. Rothgerber Chair in Constitutional Law and Criminal Justice. She has received recognition for her scholarship, including the Outstanding New Faculty Member Award, the Gilbert Goldstein Fellowship, and the Jules Milstein Award for faculty scholarship. Gruber has also served as a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, teaching courses on criminal law and feminism.

Gruber's research focuses on the intersection of feminism, race, and mass incarceration. Her articles have appeared in journals such as Stanford Law Review, California Law Review, and Northwestern Law Review, and her work has been covered by New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, and Harvard Law Review. Her book, "The Feminist War on Crime: The Unexpected Role of Women's Liberation in Mass Incarceration," examines the relationship between feminist movements and the expansion of the American carceral state. Gruber is also the author of "The Crime of Sex," which explores the criminalization of sexual behavior in the United States.

Gruber is a member of the American Law Institute and has served as an adviser to the ALI Model Penal Code sexual assault project. She is a frequent public speaker on criminal justice and has appeared on PBS, Fox News, ABC, CBS's "48 Hours," and in the MSNBC documentary "The Recall: Reframed." Gruber has provided legal commentary on high-profile cases, including the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump defamation trial and legal issues related to sexual assault in virtual environments. As a biracial Asian woman and the first Asian female law professor at three law schools, Gruber draws on her experiences to inform her teaching and advocacy, encouraging students to view law as a tool for justice and reform.