Department of Political Science

The issue of devotional activity in the public schools has long been a staple of the U.S. Supreme Court's agenda, but knowledge of the local implementation of school prayer policy remains limited to ...

In pursuing their goals, members of the U.S. Supreme Court are affected by their institutional setting. How has that institutional environment changed over time and what have been the political consequences ...

A good deal of scholarly evidence suggests that the decision making of the U.S. Supreme Court is affected by legal argument. At the same time, it seems clear that in a great many cases the justices ...

In making decisions on the merits, the members of the U.S. Supreme Court are often willing to provide authoritative answers to questions that have not been asked and to disregard issues that the parties ...

In the process of case selection in the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyers try to secure space on the justices' plenary agenda; through briefs amicus curiae, interest groups try to advance their policy views. Thus, both ...