Profile
Biography
Dr Kajsa E Dinesson
Lecturer in Law
I joined York Law School in 2023. Prior to this I was teaching and completing my PhD research at the University of Edinburgh.
My research involves criminal law theory as well as socio-legal empirical research. My work to date has particularly focused on anti-terror law and policy. I have a particular interest in police and prosecutorial discretion and sentencing in this context. My current areas of interests include discretion; autism and terror-law in policing, prosecutions, and sentencing; and evidence in the terror context. I have research experience from academia as well as from government policy.
I currently teach across criminal law, criminology, legal phiolosophy, and mental health and capacity law.
Research
Overview
My research interests centre on criminal law in theory and in practice. I have a particular interest in anti-terror law and policy, with ongoing work exploring discretion in the criminal process with a focus on neurodiverse young defendants and pre-preparatory terrorism offences. Other ongoing projects include examining the prosecutorial role in the criminal justice process, and outlining a social harm approach to countering terrorism.
Publications
Selected publications
- 2024. A terrorist mindset: findings from an empirical enquiry into prosecutions, evidence, and mindset material. Legal Studies. Published online 2024:1-17. doi:10.1017/lst.2024.34
- 2024. Dinesson, K. E., & Soliman, F. Decriminalising terror: for a zemiology of counterterrorism. Justice, Power and Resistance (published online ahead of print 2024).
- 2024. Review. 'Mr Bates vs The Post Office'. Law and Humanities, 18(1), 137-142.
- 2023. Book Review: ‘Precursor crimes of terrorism: the criminalisation of terrorism risk in comparative perspective. Ed by Clive Walker, Mariona Llobet Anglí and Manuel Cancio Meliá’, Edinburgh Law Review 27(2), 236-237.
- 2022. ‘Evidencing terrorist intent – The ambiguities of circumstantial evidence and mind-set material’ (Social & Legal Studies blog, 12 September 2022)
- 2022. ‘(Un)reasonable Excuses – On R v Dunleavy, R v Copeland, and Section 58’, Modern Law Review, 85(6), 1550-1561.
- 2022. ‘Preventing Harm: The “Collection of Information” Offence in Commentary, Case Law and Data’, Criminal Law Review, 6, 469-487.
For a complete and up-to-date list of publications, please click on the link above to my profile in the York Research Database.
Teaching
Undergraduate
I am an Associate fellow of the Higher Education Academy. I teach on the following modules:
- Foundations in Law, criminal law
- Criminology and Criminal Justice, module leader
- Philosophy of Law
- Mental Health and Mental Capacity Law
- Dissertation
Postgraduate
External activities
Overview
I am a member of the Socio-LEgal Studies Association. I am a co-convener of the Virtual Criminal Law Discussion Group and an organising member of the Yorkshire Criminal Law Forum. I act as a reviewer for peer reviewed journals in my areas of expertise (criminal law broadly conceived) and guest lecture at other institutions on the topics of terrorism, counterterrorism, and law at UG and PG levels.
