Research Profile

Biography

Alan Cusack graduated from University College Cork with a BCL Degree in 2007 and obtained an LLM (First Class Honours) postgraduate degree from University College Cork in 2008.

Subsequent to his studies, Alan qualified as a solicitor with Arthur Cox solicitors, an international law firm based in Dublin. Alan specialised in the area of corporate conveyancing and practiced for a number of years as an associate solicitor within the firm’s Commerical Property Department. In 2011 Alan graduated from University College Dublin with a Professional Diploma in Employment Law (Dip EmpLaw).

Alan is currently a PhD candidate in University College Cork conducting doctoral research in the area of access to justice for victims of crime with disabilities. This research is being carried out under the shared supervision of Professor Caroline Fennell and Dr. Aisling Parkes. In 2013 Alan was awarded a Government of Ireland PhD scholarship from the Irish Research Council (IRCHSS) for a four-year period, having also previously been offered a Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship from University College Cork.  

In 2015 Alan was an Academic Visitor at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford (January - March 2015).

Alan is a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights at University College Cork. He is a professional member of The Law Society of Ireland and is also a member of The Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st Century (ISS21) at University College Cork.

 

Research Interests

Alan’s research interests lie in the broad areas of criminal process, victimology, disability law, jurisprudence, penology and access to justice.

Alan’s PhD thesis is entitled "Access to Justice for Victims with Disabilities in Ireland: Forgotten Figures Within Our Adversarial Model of Justice". The project involves a critical analysis of the manner in which our adversarial model of justice impacts upon victims with disabilities. In particular, the project assesses how our traditional adherence to normative adversarial processes at each of the pre-trial, trial and post-trial stages of our justice system inhibits participation by victims with disabilities.

Research Grants

 ProjectFunding
Body
Start DateEnd DateAward
Access to Justice for Victims of Crime with Disabilities in Ireland: Forgotten Figures within our Adversarial Model of JusticeIrish Research Council01-OCT-1330-SEP-17€90,400.00

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journals

 YearPublication
(2015)'‘From Exculpatory to Inculpatory Justice: A History of Due Process in the Adversarial Trial’'
Alan Cusack (2015) '‘From Exculpatory to Inculpatory Justice: A History of Due Process in the Adversarial Trial’'. Law, Crime and History, 2 (1):1-28   [Details]

Other Journals

 YearPublication
(2015)''The Right to Love: Over and Under-Criminalisation in the Sexual Autonomy of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities'
Alan Cusack (2015) ''The Right to Love: Over and Under-Criminalisation in the Sexual Autonomy of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities' Human Welfare: An International Journal of Graduate Research, 4 . [Details]
(2012)'‘Too Many Cooks: Overcrowding in the Labour Law Landscape and the Decline of Collective Negotiations''
Alan Cusack (2012) '‘Too Many Cooks: Overcrowding in the Labour Law Landscape and the Decline of Collective Negotiations'' Irish Employment Law Journal, 9 (2) . [Details]

Published Reports

 YearPublication
(2015)Victim Participation in Criminal Procedures.
Lucia Zedner et al. (Oxford Pro Bono Publico) (2015) Victim Participation in Criminal Procedures. Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP)/REDRESS, Oxford. [Details]

Blog

 YearPublication
(2014)'The Right To Love: Over And Under-Criminalisation In The Sexual Autonomy Of Persons With Intellectual Disabilities'.
Alan Cusack (2014) 'The Right To Love: Over And Under-Criminalisation In The Sexual Autonomy Of Persons With Intellectual Disabilities'. HumanRights.ie: Blog   [Details]
(2014)‘An Inconvenient Truth: Epistemic Flaws in the Adversarial Legal Tradition’.
Alan Cusack (2014) ‘An Inconvenient Truth: Epistemic Flaws in the Adversarial Legal Tradition’. Blog   [Details]

Newspaper Articles

 YearPublication
(2016)‘Making the Case for Introducing Pre-Trial Cross-Examination’.
Alan Cusack (2016) ‘Making the Case for Introducing Pre-Trial Cross-Examination’. Newspaper Articles   [Details]

Interview

 YearPublication
(2017)'Live Link Testimony- Invited Radio Interview' Sean Moncrieff Show, Newstalk FM.
Alan Cusack (2017) 'Live Link Testimony- Invited Radio Interview' Sean Moncrieff Show, Newstalk FM. Interview   [Details]

Professional Activities

Honours and Awards

 YearTitleAwarding Body
2017Gold Medal, Best Letter to the Editor, Cork Online Law Review Cork Online Law Review, University College Cork
2015Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford
2014PhD Research Training Scheme Scholarship Graduate School of the College of Business and Law, University College Cork
2014IALT Conference 2014 PhD Scholarship Irish Association of Law Teachers
2013Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Scholar The Irish Research Council
2013Faculty of Law PhD Scholarship Faculty of Law, University College Cork

Professional Associations

 AssociationFunctionFrom / To
Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, University College Cork The Centre seeks to contribute to national and international debates on issues of criminal justice and human rights.01-OCT-13 /
The Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st Century (ISS21), University College Cork ISS21 is an interdisciplinary research institute of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences, the College of Business and Law and the College of Medicine and Health.01-JAN-14 /
Arthur Cox Alumni Network A dynamic community of Arthur Cox alumni solicitors and personnel.01-SEP-13 /
The Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 Professional Body for Solicitors in Ireland01-JAN-12 /
Socio-Legal Studies Association 'To advance education and learning and in particular to advance research, teaching and the dissemination of knowledge in the field of socio-legal studies.'01-JUN-15 /
Society of Legal Scholars The Society of Legal Scholars seeks to advance legal science and legal education, continuing a tradition in which legal studies have been centrally included within university education since its earliest beginnings'.01-JUN-15 /

Conference Contributions

 YearPublication
(2016)British Crime Historians Symposium 2016, University of Edinburgh,
Alan Cusack (2016) ‘From Private to Public Justice (And Back Again): Exploring Historical Shifts in the Criminal Narrative’s Relationship with Crime Victims’. [Oral Presentation], British Crime Historians Symposium 2016, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh , 08-OCT-16. [Details]
(2016)SLS Conference 2016, University of Oxford,
Alan Cusack (2016) ‘Adversarialism on Trial: Ontological, Procedural and Attitudinal Barriers to the Inclusion of Vulnerable Victims in Court’. [Oral Presentation], SLS Conference 2016, University of Oxford, Oxford , 08-SEP-16. [Details]
(2016)North/South Criminology Conference 2016, Maynooth University,
Alan Cusack (2016) ‘The Position of Victims of Crime with Intellectual Disabilities at Trial: Some Ontological, Procedural and Attitudinal Concerns’. [Oral Presentation], North/South Criminology Conference 2016, Maynooth University, Maynooth , 23-JUN-16. [Details]
(2016)International Network for Hate Studies Conference 2016, University of Limerick,
Alan Cusack (2016) ‘Exclusion by Design: Adversarial Barriers to Achieving Best Evidence from Victims of Hate Crime with Disabilities’. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], International Network for Hate Studies Conference 2016, University of Limerick, Limerick , 24-MAY-16 - 27-MAY-16. [Details]
(2016)SLSA Annual Conference, Lancaster University,
Alan Cusack (2016) 'The Collapse of the Public Character of Justice: The Costly Consequences of Victim Participation in Criminal Proceedings’. [Oral Presentation], SLSA Annual Conference, Lancaster University, Lancaster , 06-APR-16. [Details]
(2015)Victims’ Rights: An Agenda for Change Conference 2015,
Alan Cusack (2015) 'Addressing the Exclusionary Effect of Adversarialism: The Victims’ Rights Directive and the Inclusion of Victims of Crime with Disabilities'. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Victims’ Rights: An Agenda for Change Conference 2015, University of Limerick, Limerick , 11-SEP-15. [Details]
(2015)Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Ninth Annual Postgraduate Conference,
Alan Cusack (2015) 'Victim Participation in Criminal Proceedings: Growing Tension in the Adversarial Paradigm and the Slow Decline of Due Process'. [Oral Presentation], Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Ninth Annual Postgraduate Conference, University College Cork , 08-SEP-15. [Details]
(2015)SLS Annual Conference 2015, University of York,
Alan Cusack (2015) 'Casualties within the Victims’ Rights Movement: The Myopic Focus of Legal Adversarialism & The Exclusion of Victims of Crime with Disabilities'. [Oral Presentation], SLS Annual Conference 2015, University of York, Yorkshire , 01-SEP-15. [Details]
(2015)Irish Society of Comparative Law Annual Conference 2015,
Alan Cusack (2015) 'Justice as a Matter of Public Interest: The Marginalisation of Crime Victims in the Late 18th Century & the Birth of Legal Adversarialism'. [Oral Presentation], Irish Society of Comparative Law Annual Conference 2015, University of Limerick , 06-JUN-15. [Details]
(2015)Teaching & Learning for Graduate Studies, Postgraduate Symposium 2015,
Alan Cusack (2015) 'Under and Over-Preparation by Tutorial Students: Challenges for a Higher Education Tutor'. [Oral Presentation], Teaching & Learning for Graduate Studies, Postgraduate Symposium 2015, University College Cork , 26-FEB-15. [Details]
(2015)Oxford Centre for Criminology, Informal Seminar Series 2015,
Alan Cusack (2015) 'Victim Inclusion in the 21st Century'. [Invited Oral Presentation], Oxford Centre for Criminology, Informal Seminar Series 2015, University of Oxford , 12-FEB-15. [Details]
(2014)Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference 2014,
Alan Cusack (2014) 'An Inconvenient Truth: Epistemic Flaws in the Adversarial Legal Tradition'. [Oral Presentation], Edinburgh Postgraduate Law Conference 2014, University of Edinburgh , 01-DEC-14. [Details]
(2014)Irish Association of Law Teachers Annual Conference 2014,
Alan Cusack (2014) 'Everything But The Truth: A Critical Consideration of Adversarial Epistemology'. [Oral Presentation], Irish Association of Law Teachers Annual Conference 2014, Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny , 09-NOV-14. [Details]
(2014)University of Kent Graduate Research Conference,
Alan Cusack (2014) 'The Historical Migration of Victims in the Criminal Narrative: The Impact of Adversarialism'. [Oral Presentation], University of Kent Graduate Research Conference, University of Kent, Canterbury , 10-JUN-14. [Details]
(2014)Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Eight Annual Postgraduate Conference,
Alan Cusack (2014) 'Charting the Shift from an Exculpatory to an Inculpatory Model of Justice in the Late 18th Century: The Impact of Adversarialism and the Birth of Due Process Rights'. [Oral Presentation], Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Eight Annual Postgraduate Conference, Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, University College Cork , 06-JUN-14. [Details]
(2010)Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Fourth Annual Postgraduate Conference,
Alan Cusack (2010) ‘De-civilised Punishment in the 21st Century: The Effects of Reactionary Politics’. [Oral Presentation], Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Fourth Annual Postgraduate Conference, University College Cork , 29-APR-10. [Details]

Committees

 CommitteeFunctionFrom / To
The Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR), Board Director 2014/2015 Member of the Board of Directors2014 / 2016
The Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights (CCJHR) Postgraduate Conference Organising Committee 2014 Graduate Conference Organiser2013 /
The Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st Century (ISS21), Disability and Mental Health Research Cluster Committee Member and Seminar Organiser2013 /

Employment

 EmployerPositionFrom / To
Faculty of Law, University College Cork Part-Time Assistant Lecturer in the Law of Evidence08-SEP-14 /
Arthur Cox, Earlsfort Centre, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 Associate Solicitor01-JUN-09 / 01-AUG-13

Education

 YearInstitutionQualificationSubject
2008University College Cork LLMLaw
2011University College Dublin DiplomaDiploma in Employment Law (Dip Emp).
2011The Law Society of Ireland SolicitorBlackhall Place, Dublin 7
2007University College Cork BCLLaw

Outreach Activities

 Description

2010: Participated as an on-site construction volunteer for an infrastructure relief project in Mwandi, Zambia.

Other Activities

 Description

Attended Disability Law Summer School, Centre for Disability Law and Policy, NUI Galway (June 2014)

Completed Disability and the Law (LLM) Module, University College Cork (Grade: 1H)

Convener and Founder, CCJHR Working Group Book Club (2014- To Date)

Teaching Activities

Teaching Interests

Guest Lecturer for LLM (Criminal Justice), LLM (Disability and the Law) and MA (Criminology), January - December 2016.

Part-Time Assistant Lecturer, Law of Evidence, October 2014- December 2016.

Internal Examiner for Moot Court Exam, November 2014.

Courses Completed:
  • Sep-May 2016: Scholarly Approaches to Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, University College Cork 
  • Sep-May 2015: Teaching and Learning for Graduate Students, University College Cork




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