This paper focuses on the anti-torture campaign that was catalyzed into existence in mid-2004 following the publication of the Abu Ghraib photos and the release of the first batch of "torture memos." Because the Bush administration essentially "legalized" torture, litigation has been the primary...

This paper begins from the assumption that in order to understand political development in sub-Saharan Africa we must locate our analysis at the intersection of the state and civil society. One way to do this is through the lens of a profession. Analyzing the internal dynamics of a profession...

Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Restorative Justice are regarded as the two major theoretical foundations or justifications for problem-solving courts such as drug courts, community courts, domestic violence courts, and mental health courts. In recent years, these problem-solving courts have...

At the core of the debate on how judges should be selected is the issue whether the judiciary should be accountable or independent. Among the various selection systems in the states, including partisan elections, non-partisan elections, gubernatorial and legislative appointment, and the...

According to the most prominent proponents of the Attitudinal Model, justices on the United States Supreme Court decide cases based solely on their political preferences and ideology. Law and precedent, these advocates say, provide no more than convenient rationalizations. At this point, there...

How does a U.S. court of appeals deal with a Supreme Court intervention into its ongoing work? A law-changing ruling affects not only the immediate parties but also many factually similar or related cases, and the affected court must cope with the situation. Mandates in recently-decided cases...

We examine the influence of the continued presence of judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals after the decision has been made to leave active status for senior status. We find that senior judges, who have a growing presence on the U.S. Courts of Appeals from 1977 to 2008, have tended to blunt the...

We explore the extent to which status quo (SQ) models, whether situational or psychological, are useful for modeling decision making on the U.S. Supreme Court. We conclude that such models, when combined with other variables, are useful for modeling Supreme Court decision making at the...

This paper examines Supreme Court confirmation hearings and their role in the political process. In particular, we are interested here in exploring the relationship between nominee candor and the Judiciary Committee's votes. Do senators support nominees who are more forthcoming and vote against...

Lacking both an electoral connection and a means of enforcing its rulings, public esteem is arguably more important to the Court's political health than it is to the democratically accountable branches. Given the importance of public support to the Supreme Court's political health, and given the...