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E. Rely Vîlcică

E. Rely Vîlcică

E. Rely Vîlcică

  • College of Liberal Arts

    • Criminal Justice

      • Associate Professor

Expertise

Progressive Prosecution; Criminal Courts; Corrections; Liberty Decisions and Punishment; Policy Analysis and Evaluation; Comparative Criminal Justice

Biography

Dr. Vîlcică joined the faculty of the Department of Criminal Justice at Temple in 2009. Before that, she served as a Definitive (life-tenured) Judge at the Court of the Fourth District of Bucharest, Romania. She received a Bachelor of Law degree in 1997 from the School of Law, University of Bucharest, a post-graduate Judge Diploma in 1998 from the National Institute of Magistrature and Ministry of Justice of Romania, and her Ph.D. degree in 2008 from Temple’s graduate program in Criminal Justice.

Her research interests include: progressive prosecution; pretrial justice and adjudication; parole and correctional processes; policy analysis and evaluation; and comparative criminal justice. All these research components tie directly into issues of system legitimacy, make contributions to theories of punishment, and have immediate public policy implications. Dr. Vîlcică is currently working collaboratively on a project funded by the Arnold Ventures Foundation: “Evaluating Prosecutor-Led Criminal Justice Reform in Philadelphia: A Mixed-Methods Approach”. 

Curriculum Vitae

Selected Publications

[*Denotes graduate student co-author; ˣdenotes undergraduate student co-author]

  • Vîlcică, E. Rely, Megan Mohler*, Jesse Brey*, & Jeffery Ward. 2025. Organizational Culture and Context in Progressive Prosecutorial Reform: Lessons from Philadelphia. Journal of Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102374.
  • Ward, Jeffrey, E. Rely Vîlcică, Jesse Brey,* Megan Mohler,* and Cheyenne Dolbear*. 2025. Progressive Prosecution Policies in Philadelphia: An Assessment of Implementation Fidelity. American Journal of Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-025-09792-0.
  • Yu-Heng Chen*, E. Rely Vîlcică, Jeffrey Ward, Makayla Maynardˣ, Cadee Eberhardtˣ & Ajima Olaghere. 2024. Legitimacy of Parole as a Consequence of Policy Shock: The Lived Experiences of Incarcerated Persons during the Parole Moratorium in Pennsylvania, U.S. Law & Policy. https://doi.org/10.1111/lapo.12239.
  • E. Rely Vîlcică & Sarah Jones*. 2023. Cash Bail Reform: Empirical Evidence and Policy Recommendations. Public Policy Lab Policy Brief # 21. Philadelphia: College of Liberal Arts, Temple University.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely & Steven Belenko. 2021. Designing Effective Pre-Release Programs: Challenges and Pathways towards Successful Reintegration. Advancing Corrections, 11, 112-127. (Special Issue, Envisioning Corrections in 2030.) https://icpa.org/resources/advancing-corrections-journal.html.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely, Kimberly Houser, & Veronica Nelson*. 2020. The Role of Mental Health Risk Factors in Predicting Parolee Performance in the Community: An Empirical Examination in a Large US Jurisdiction. Advancing Corrections, 9, 44-67. (Special Issue, Management and Treatment of the Mentally Ill and Mentally Unwell in Corrections.)
    https://icpa.org/resources/advancing-corrections-journal.html.
  • Kimberly A. Houser, E. Rely Vîlcică, Christine A. Saum, & Matthew L. Hiller. 2019. Mental Health Risk Factors and Parole Decisions: Does Inmate Mental Health Status Affect Who Gets Released? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (16), 2950. (Special Issue, Health of Marginalized People).
    DOI: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/16/2950.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely. 2018. Revisiting Parole Decisionmaking: Testing for the Punitive Hypothesis in a Large US Jurisdiction. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62 (5), 1357-1383.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X16668512.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely. 2016. Challenges in Parole Supervision: Views from the Field. Corrections: Policy, Practice and Research, 1 (4), 266-292.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23774657.2016.1219886.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely. 2016. Studying Parole in the Spotlight: Lessons from a Large American Jurisdiction. European Journal on Criminal Policy & Research, 22(1), 61-88.
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-015-9284-8.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely. 2015. The Influence of Inmate Visitation on the Decision to Grant Parole: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(6), 498–509.
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2015.11.003.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely & John S. Goldkamp (posthumously). 2015. Bail Prediction: Exploring the Role of Neighborhood Context in Philadelphia. Criminal Justice & Behavior, 42(11), 1159-1182.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854815599022. 
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely. 2014. The Role of Dismissal in the American Criminal Court: Court Theories Revisited. Justice System Journal, 35(2), 205-232.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0098261X.2013.869156.
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely. 2012. Nature and Consequences of Dismissals: Implications for Public Safety and Crime Prevention in Criminal Courts in America. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(2), 103-116.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2012.01.006. 
  • Vîlcică, E. Rely, Steve Belenko, Matt Hiller, & Faye Taxman. 2010. Exporting Court Innovation from the United States to Continental Europe: Compatibility between the Drug Court Model and Inquisitorial Justice Systems. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 34(1), 139-172.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2010.9678821.
  • Goldkamp, John S. & E. Rely Vîlcică. 2009. Judicial Discretion and the Unfinished Agenda of American Bail Reform: Lessons from Philadelphia’s Evidence-Based Judicial Strategy. Studies in Law, Politics and Society, Special Issue New Perspectives on Crime and Criminal Justice, 47, 115-157.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/S1059-4337(2009)0000047007.
  • Goldkamp, John S. & E. Rely Vîlcică. 2008. Targeted Enforcement and Adverse System Side- Effects: The Generation of Fugitives in Philadelphia. Criminology, 46(2), 371-410.
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2008.00113.x.

Courses Taught

Undergraduate

  • CJ 0812 - Criminal Behavior (GenEd)
  • CJ 1001 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CJ 2401 - Nature of Crime
  • CJ 2597 - Criminal Justice Research Methods (writing-intensive)
  • CJ 3006 - Crime and Justice around the World

Graduate

  • CJ 8320 - Crime and Justice around the World: Critical Issues
  • CJ 8302 - Advanced Methodological Issues in Criminal Justice Research

Independent Study

  • Diamond Peer Teacher - Undergraduate
  • CJ 9082 - Graduate (Directed Readings in Comparative Drug Policy; Pretrial Justice)