PSC 458 - Seminar on Judicial Politics and Behavior (3 cr.)

Are judges in the United States motivated by applying law or creating policy? What effects do race, gender, and economic resources have on the likelihood of litigant success? What roles do precedent, institutional structure, and judges’ ideology play in judicial behavior? Students will read, discuss, and evaluate scholarship on judicial politics and behavior addressing these and many other important questions about what has been called our “Least Dangerous Branch.”
Liberal arts
Prerequisite(s): Senior standing in Political Science or POI
Semester(s) Offered: Annually