Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Political Science, The Ohio State University, 1991.
B.A., Honors, Summa Cum Laude, Political Science, West Virginia University, 1986.
FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION
Judicial politics, constitutional law, and American government and politics.
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Professor of Political Science, 2009-present.
Duke University, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, 2005-2006.
Trinity College, University of Dublin, Fulbright Scholar, 2001-2002.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Associate Professor of Political Science, 1997-2009.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Assistant Professor of Political Science, 1995-1997.
University of Minnesota, Assistant Professor of Political Science, 1990-1995.
Courses taught: Constitutional Law, Constitutional Law (graduate), Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, Comparative Constitutional Law, U.S. Supreme Court, Judicial Politics, Judicial Politics (graduate), The Politics of Shakespeare, Teaching Political Science, American Government and Politics, American Politics (graduate), Introduction to Political Analysis
AUTHORED BOOKS
Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Institutional Powers and Constraints. 2025 (12th ed., in production). 2023 (11th ed.). With Lee Epstein and Thomas G. Walker. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
Constitutional Law for a Changing America: Rights, Liberties, and Justice. 2025. (12th ed., in production). 2022 (11th ed.). With Lee Epstein and Thomas G. Walker. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
Constitutional Law for a Changing America: A Short Course. 2024 (9th ed.) 2021 (8th ed.). With Lee Epstein and Thomas G. Walker. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court: Cases and Controversies. 2002. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
The Supreme Court Bar: Legal Elites in the Washington Community. 1993. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. (Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award, 1995; C. Herman Pritchett Award for best book in the field of Law and Courts, Honorable Mention, 1994.)
EDITED BOOKS
New Directions in Judicial Politics, ed. 2012. New York: Routledge.
Institutions of American Democracy: A Republic Divided. 2007. With Joel D. Aberbach, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Bruce W. Hardy, Patrick E. Jamieson, Mary E. McIntosh, Mark A. Peterson, Paul J. Quirk, and Daniel Romer. (Credited as The Annenberg Democracy Project.) New York: Oxford University Press.
Institutions of American Democracy: The Judiciary. 2005. Edited with Kermit L. Hall. New York: Oxford University Press.
Creating Constitutional Change: Clashes over Power and Liberty in the Supreme Court. 2004. Edited with Gregg Ivers. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
SCHOLARLY ARTICLES
“Birth Order, Preferences, and Norms on the U.S. Supreme Court.” 2015. Law & Society Review 49:945-972.
“The Psychological Origins of a Constitutional Revolution: The Supreme Court, Birth Order, and Nationalizing the Bill of Rights.” 2013. Political Research Quarterly 66:441-453.
“Measuring Policy Content on the U.S. Supreme Court,” with Georg Vanberg, Charles E. Smith, Jr., and Gregory A. Caldeira. 2009. Journal of Politics 71:1305-1321.
“Public Schools, Religious Establishments, and the U.S. Supreme Court: An Examination of Policy Compliance.” 2009. American Politics Research 37:50-74.
“Lawyers, Justices, and Issue Salience: When and How Do Legal Arguments Affect the U.S. Supreme Court.” 2007. With Andrea McAtee. Law & Society Review 41:259-278.
“Are the Justices Serving Too Long? An Assessment of Tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court.” 2005. Judicature 89:8-15.
“The Least Dangerous Branch Revisited: New Evidence on Supreme Court Responsiveness to Public Preferences,” with James A. Stimson. 2004. Journal of Politics 66:1018-1035. Winner of 2005 McGraw-Hill Award for Best Journal Article on Law and Courts Written by a Political Scientist.
“The Institutionalization of the U.S. Supreme Court.” 2004. Political Analysis 12:128-142.
“Lobbyists, Revolving Doors, and the U.S. Supreme Court.” 2000. Journal of Law & Politics 16:113-138.
“Explaining Executive Success in the U.S. Supreme Court.” 1998. Political Research Quarterly 51:505-526.
“Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Flag,” with John A. Clark. 1996. Political Research Quarterly 49:771-781.
“Issues, Agendas, and Decision Making on the Supreme Court,” with Barbara Palmer. 1996. American Political Science Review 90:853-865.
“Issue Fluidity on the U.S. Supreme Court,” with Barbara Palmer. 1995. American Political Science Review 89:691-702.
“Repeat Players in the Supreme Court: The Role of Experienced Lawyers in Litigation Success.” 1995. Journal of Politics 57:187-196.
“Amici Curiae and Strategies for Gaining Access to the Supreme Court.” 1994. Political Research Quarterly 47:821-837.
“Advocacy in the U.S. Supreme Court: Expertise within the Appellate Bar.” 1994. Constitutional Commentary 11:267-285.
“Lawyers, Organized Interests, and the Law of Obscenity: Agenda Setting in the Supreme Court,” with Gregory A. Caldeira. 1993. American Political Science Review 87:746-755.
“Lawyers and the U.S. Supreme Court: The Washington Community and Legal Elites.” 1993. American Journal of Political Science 37:365-390.
“Obscenity, Libertarian Values, and Decision Making in the Supreme Court.” 1990. American Politics Quarterly 18:47-67.
CHAPTERS IN EDITED VOLUMES
“Public Opinion, Religion, and Constraints on Judicial Behavior.” 2012. In New Directions in Judicial Politics, ed. Kevin T. McGuire. New York: Routledge.
“The Judicial Branch: Judging America’s Judges.” 2007. In Institutions of American Democracy: A Republic Divided, eds. The Annenberg Democracy Project. New York: Oxford University Press.
“The Judicial Process and Public Policy.” 2006. In Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions, eds. R.A.W. Rhodes, Sarah Binder, and Bert Rockman. New York: Oxford University Press.
“What Americans Know About the Courts and Why It Matters,” with Gregory A. Caldeira. 2005. In Institutions of American Democracy: The Judiciary, eds. Kermit L. Hall and Kevin T. McGuire. New York: Oxford University Press.
“Funding Religion and Free Speech: Rosenberger v. University of Virginia.” 2004. In Creating Constitutional Change: Clashes over Power and Liberty in the Supreme Court, eds. Gregg Ivers and Kevin T. McGuire. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.
“The Supreme Court Bar and Institutional Relationships.” 1999. In The Supreme Court and American Politics: New Institutionalist Approaches, eds. Howard Gillman and Cornell W. Clayton. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
“Capital Investments in the U.S. Supreme Court: Winning with Washington Representation.” In Contemplating Courts, ed. Lee Epstein. 1995. Washington: CQ Press.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS
“Anthony Kennedy and the 2017-18 Term of the U.S. Supreme Court.” 2018. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press.
“Theory and Causation in Barry Friedman’s The Will of the People.” 2010. Michigan State Law Review 3:741-756.
“There Was a Crooked Man(uscript): A Not-So-Serious Look at the Serious Subject of Plagiarism.” 2010. PS: Political Science & Politics 43:107-113.
“Continuities in Political Research: Evidence from the APSR since the 1960s,” with Samuel C. Patterson and Jessica R. Adolino. 1989. PS: Political Science & Politics 22:866-878.
ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICE (SELECTIONS)
Member, Search Committee for Position in American National Institutions, University of North Carolina, Department of Political Science, September 2010.
Member, Search Committee for Pearsall Chair in State Politics, University of North Carolina, Department of Political Science, January 2006.
Associate Chair, University of North Carolina, Department of Political Science, Spring 2005.
Member, Search Committee for Position in Formal Theory, University of North Carolina, Department of Political Science, January 2003.
Member, Search Committee for Position in American National Institutions, University of North Carolina, Department of Political Science, November 2002.
Member, Search Committee for Position in American National Institutions, University of North Carolina, Department of Political Science, January 1998.
Associate Chair, University of North Carolina, Department of Political Science, 1997–2000.
Member, Advisory Committee for Undergraduate Research Opportunities, University of Minnesota, 1993-94.
Director of Undergraduate Studies, University of Minnesota, Department of Political Science, 1992-93.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Chair, Selection Committee for Lifetime Achievement Award, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 2023.
Chair, Selection Committee for Pi Sigma Alpha Best Paper Award, Southern Political Science Association, 2022.
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Law and Courts, January 2021 – present
Editor, Journal of Law and Courts, September 2017 – 2019
Member, Editorial Board, Law & Politics Book Review, 2016 – present
Chair, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 2015-2016.
Member, Program Committee, Southern Political Science Association, 2010.
Member, Executive Committee, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 2009-2011.
Chair, Selection Committee, American Judicature Society Award, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 2009.
Member, Executive Council, Southern Political Science Association, 2008-2011.
Chair, Selection Committee, CQ Press Award, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 2007.
Member, Selection Committee for Lifetime Achievement Award, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 2006.
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Politics, 2005-2007.
Member, Program Committee, Midwest Political Science Association, Public Law, 2005.
Member, Peer Review Committee, Fulbright Senior Scholars Program, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 2004.
Chair, American Judicature Society Award Committee, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 2004.
Member, Editorial Board, Law & Courts, 2003-2006.
Member, Program Committee, American Political Science Association, Law and Courts, 2003.
Co-Editor, Series on Constitutionalism and Democracy, University of Virginia Press, January 2002-present.
Consulting Editor in Political Science, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 2000-2006.
Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Politics, 1998-2001.
Member, Executive Committee, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 1998-99.
Member, Selection Committee for Lifetime Achievement Award, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 1998.
Member, Program Committee, Midwest Political Science Association, Judicial Politics and Public Law, 1997.
Member, Selection Committee for Editor of Law & Politics Book Review, Organized Section on Law and Courts, American Political Science Association, 1996.
Member, American Judicature Society Award Committee, 1994.
Member, American Political Science Association, Midwest Political Science Association, Southern Political Science Association, Western Political Science Association.
Referee, American Journal of Political Science, American Political Science Review, American Politics Research, Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Journal of Politics, Judicature, Law and Policy, Law & Society Review, National Science Foundation, Perspectives on Politics, Political Analysis, Political Research Quarterly, Polity, Public Choice, Social Science Quarterly, Women and Politics, various university and commercial presses.
HONORS AND AWARDS
American Judicature Society Award for best paper on law and courts presented at a professional meeting, presented by the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association, 2006.
Faculty Fellow, Parr Center for Ethics, University of North Carolina, 2005-present.
McGraw-Hill Award for best journal article on law and courts written by a political scientist, presented by the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association, 2005.
American Judicature Society Award for best paper on law and courts presented at a professional meeting, presented by the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association, 2005.
Ethics Fellow, Institute for the Arts and Humanities, University of North Carolina, 2003-2004.
Fulbright Fellowship for Lecturing and Research in Political Science, Trinity College, University of Dublin, 2001-2002.
American Judicature Society Award for Best Paper presented on Law and Courts at a professional meeting, Honorable Mention, 2001.
Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award, 1995.
C. Herman Pritchett Award for best book in the field of Law and Courts, Honorable Mention, 1994.
Graduate Student Alumni Research Award, The Graduate School, The Ohio State University; 1989-1990.