Benjamin Newman is a researcher at the Minerva Center for the Rule of Law in Extreme Conditions at the University of Haifa. His areas of interest revolve around the intersection of law and philosophy, with a focus on criminal law and its practical implementation in criminal proceedings. Benjamin holds an LL.B. in Law and Philosophy from the Hebrew University; an MA in Philosophy from Tel Aviv University (with distinction); an LLM from the University of Cambridge; and is currently in the final stages of his doctoral studies in law at Tel Aviv University. Furthermore, Benjamin has over seven years of experience as a criminal lawyer, during which he represented dozens of detainees, defendants, and prisoners on behalf of the Public Defender’s Office in a variety of complex and diverse cases.

Benjamin’s doctoral research focuses on the liberal values embedded in the adversarial criminal procedure, discussing the liberal tension between liberty and autonomy as reflected in the predominant practice of plea bargaining. Additionally, the research examines the managerial turn that criminal procedures have undergone in recent years, which has transformed the process into a bureaucratic mechanism for resolving prosecution consensually.

In his research at the Minerva Center, Benjamin critiques the judiciary’s role in criminal proceedings, highlighting how the court’s passive stance has weakened oversight of law enforcement conduct—an issue with significant implications in crises and extreme situations.