Prof. Dodds studies legal issues at the intersection of geography and rural isolation. He is among a small group of legal scholars who study the attorney shortage and related access to justice issues in agricultural communities and rural America.Â
Prof. Dodds seeks to develop our understanding of how emerging technologies are used to administer public benefit programs and detect waste, fraud, and abuse. Currently, Prof. Dodds is researching waste, fraud, and abuse during the expansion -- and subsequent reduction -- of certain public benefit programs during the COVID-19 global health emergency.
Prof. Dodds studies the rights of children to legal representation in civil matters. His particular research interest is focused on various measures, such as increasing court-appointed attorneys' fees, to improve availability and quality of legal representation for children at risk of neglect and abuse.