I have accumulated more ideas for political science articles than I will ever be able to write. To be honest, my favorite part of the research process is daydreaming: wondering […]
Using National Apportionment Standards for Redistricting Within States: A Proven Compromise
The one-person-one-vote doctrine solved a real constitutional problem. Before Baker v. Carr, Reynolds v. Sims, and related cases, many states used systems that systematically overrepresented rural counties and underrepresented fast-growing […]
A Wealth Tax is Fool’s Gold
The appeal of a federal wealth tax is undeniable. Progressive politicians tout it as a powerful tool to combat rising inequality, promising to make the ultra-wealthy pay their “fair share” […]
Do Appellate Courts Correct Errors? They Failed the Innocence Test.
The criminal justice system’s most fundamental promise is that innocent people will not be punished. Yet decades of exoneration data show that innocent people are convicted, imprisoned, and sometimes sentenced […]
Bringing Statistical Rigor to Appellate Standards: A Framework for Judicial Clarity
The American appellate system faces a persistent problem that undermines the rule of law: the widespread confusion over which standards of review apply in different circumstances and how to implement […]
Do Appellate Courts Actually Correct Errors?
The conventional wisdom about appellate courts is straightforward: they exist to correct errors made by trial courts. This textbook description portrays appellate courts as institutional safeguards, carefully reviewing lower court […]
Justice Scalia’s Strategic Voting in Arizona v. Fulminante
Understanding how Supreme Court justices make decisions has long fascinated political scientists. While many analyses focus on the attitudinal model—the idea that justices simply vote for their preferred policy outcomes […]
Midterm Surge and Decline: Political Pattern or Statistical Artifact?
The phenomenon of midterm surge and decline has become a staple of American electoral commentary, appearing in nearly every journalistic account of congressional midterm elections. The pattern seems intuitive: the […]
The State of Camera Access to America’s Courtrooms
The American public’s relationship with its judicial system has been shaped by dramatic moments of televised justice: the O.J. Simpson trial’s gavel-to-gavel coverage, the Casey Anthony proceedings that captivated millions, […]
Reality Check: What Happens When Political Parties Actually Try to Work Together
Political rhetoric consistently celebrates bipartisanship as a democratic virtue, yet scholarly attention to this phenomenon remains surprisingly limited. While politicians routinely invoke the need for “reaching across the aisle” and […]
C-SPAN’s Democratic Deficit
For over four decades, C-SPAN has served as America’s primary window into the workings of Congress and federal government. Created with the noble mission of bringing governmental transparency to the […]