Cristian Farias
Knight Institute Writer-in-Residence, 2019-2020; Harvard Law School
Cristian Farias is a senior editor of Inquest, published by Harvard Law School’s Institute to End Mass Incarceration, where he was formerly a senior fellow. He has written about law and justice issues for The New York Times’ editorial board, as well as for New York magazine, Vanity Fair, GQ, The Atlantic, Slate, The New Yorker, The Nation, and other outlets. In related roles, he has served as a legal editor with Radiolab’s More Perfect, a podcast about the Supreme Court, and as a legal affairs reporter for The Huffington Post. He has also completed two writing residencies—at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and at the Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In a prior life, Farias was an entertainment journalist. In 2009, in a professional twist, he became a probation officer with the New Jersey court system. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and the City University of New York School of Law.
Contact
Selected Work
-
What Was the Trump Justice Department's Problem with Covid-19 Posters?
New York magazine
-
The Supreme Court Just Put a Ding in the Surveillance State
New York magazine
-
He Won a Landmark Case for Privacy Rights. He’s Going to Prison Anyway.
The New York Times
-
Federal Prosecutors Need a Watchdog, Too
The New York Times
Writings & Appearances
-
Analysis
The Trump Administration Is Gagging America’s Immigration Judges
Excerpt from an essay by the Institute's writer-in-residence published in The Atlantic
-
Analysis
Visiting the U.S.? The Government is Reading Your Old Facebook Posts
A new lawsuit could help stop the surveillance of 14 million people a year who visit the US. The courts must put an end to overreach.
-
Analysis
The Justice Department Can’t Keep Its Own Law Secret Forever
When the Supreme Court and lower courts interpret the Constitution and laws, their decrees are public, accessible and subject to debate. In some instances, if an interpretation of the law doesn’t sit well with the public, Congress can respond by...