Stephen Smith Cody

Bio

Stephen Smith Cody, PhD, is a Research Fellow with the Human Rights Center. He formerly directed the Atrocity Response Program at the Human Rights Center, where he designed and managed research on the International Criminal Court. Cody is a visiting assistant professor of law at McGeorge University, where he teaches criminal law, international criminal law, and civil procedure and supervises legal research on human rights. He has conducted fieldwork in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, the Netherlands, and northern Uganda. His interviews with hundreds of atrocity crime survivors have helped determine how best to prepare, support, and protect victims and witnesses who testify against perpetrators of mass violence. Cody’s scholarship combines legal analysis and empirical methodologies—including computer-based coding, semi-structured interviews, and statistical analysis. He has authored reports and academic publications on various topics in human rights and international criminal law and served as an expert consultant on victim participation and witness protection at the International Criminal Court. Cody earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and a J.D. from Berkeley Law. As a Fulbright Scholar, he also received an M.Phil. in social anthropology at Cambridge University. Cody graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Temple University, where he was named a Truman Scholar in 2000.