colleagues in political science. the formal update to the Garand and Giles journal ranking survey is now live. many of you will receive an email momentarily inviting you to participate. in the event you do NOT receive an invitation, please see this website to self-enroll. thanks! sharing = caring!

More than you've ever wanted to know about the consequences executives face for defying courts, available for 20% off with discount code TEJR2025 at www.cambridge.org/core/books/e...!

JOB: psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...

Penn State is searching at the Assistant Professor level in in American political behavior, broadly defined. We are seekign someone who can offer undergraduate and graduate courses in political methodology or social data analytics.

Penn State is searching in Comparative Politics or International Relations for someone with a focus on non-democratic politics who can offer undergraduate and graduate courses in political methodology.

📢 @davidkosar.bsky.social & Patrick Leisure introduce the concept of judicial overstay ⚖️ and argue that we should pay more attention to this transnational phenomenon 🌍. 📖 Read their new article on the IACL blog ✍️📰 🔗 blog-iacl-aidc.org/2025-posts/2...

It is that time of year where the handout I made about how to read a social science article comes in useful for faculty and students. In case it is helpful for you: mjnelson.org/Teaching/How....

Really pleased to announce that my paper "The Path of Law: Legal Uncertainty and Cases of First Impression in the U.S. Courts of Appeals" has been accepted at the APSR. The paper can be found here: anthonytaboni.com/wp-content/u...

Constitutionalism in a nutshell

Everything is awful, but a new paper with @profjvross.bsky.social provides new evidence that state court chief justices are much more like academic department chairs than ideologically-driven seekers of policy outcomes. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Attention #polisky! Apply for @utaustin.bsky.social LBJ School of Public Affairs with a focus on American Political Institutions. I'm on the committee, so please reach out with questions. See below: apply.interfolio.com/170943

@abbymatthews.bsky.social & Rachael Hinkle's analysis of judicial citations demonstrates that diversity in race, gender, *and* partisanship plays a critical role in the evolution of legal doctrine, with judges sharing all 3 salient traits experiencing a 25% increase in citation probability.

Thrilled that this book, with Driscoll and Krehbiel, is out this week. Its topic that become surprisingly relevant: under what conditions does the public punish presidents who ignore court decisions?

Historian friends: tell me about your favorite research & writing tools. As a bonus, would love to know where you learned how to use them & if you'd be interested in sharing your knowledge w/ others.

Explains when, where, and how constitutional courts help citizens hold executives to account and protect the rule of law The Efficacy of Judicial Review by Amanda Driscoll, Jay N. Krehbiel (@ubuffalo.bsky.social‬), & @mjnelson.bsky.social‬, Out Now #LawSky 💙📚 #Politics https://cup.org/4fbNxVd

Political science suggests liberals are more tolerant of the Supreme Court when it makes decisions they don't like. Kathryn Haglin, Soren Jordan, Alison Higgins Merrill and @joeura.bsky.social ask: does that still hold up with the new-look Court? Read more: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

We are hiring at @opensecrets.org! If you are interested in working with and analyzing large datasets - and you care about government transparency and accountability - apply now to join our research team. www.opensecrets.org/about/jobs?1

For folks looking for some stats about the Court, Epstein, Martin, and I have a preliminary report on the term: static1.squarespace.com/static/60188.... Hopefully this will be useful for teaching. SCDB data update will be out in August.

New publication alert! @elizabethlane.bsky.social and I examine how the institutional interests of the Office of the Solicitor General shape its positions and the justices' reactions to them 1/3 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Voters in Mexico are going to the polls today to elect judges, from their national Supreme Court down to the local courts. This is the biggest implementation of simultaneous judicial elections anywhere.

Voters in Mexico are going to the polls today to elect judges, from their national Supreme Court down to the local courts. This is the biggest implementation of simultaneous judicial elections anywhere.

This is excellent background material on state supreme courts.

Driscoll, Krehbiel, and I have been polling with @today.yougov.com about Americans' support for defying the judiciary since the start of covid. Overall story has been stasis. But, since July, a 12% increase among Democrats in support for presidents obeying courts and a 17% drop among Republicans.

Partisan sorting, fatalism, and Supreme Court legitimacy by Nicholas T. Davis and Matthew P. Hitt is now available in Early View. @matthewhitt.bsky.social ajps.org/2025/04/28/p...

Heading your way in the July edition of the JOP! @jamilscott.bsky.social, @elizabethlane.bsky.social, and I started it as grad students. Seven years, multiple surveys, countless hours of work…we are delighted (and in mild disbelief) to see it in print! www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

its officially alive 😭 online-first: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... background: @matthewhitt.bsky.social and I struck out on an NSF in 2022, but later won a RAPID grant. the project doesnt happen w/o Reggie Sheehan at the NSF. winding journey but working w one of your best mates is a joy.

[Unnamed people, to me, circa 2009]: "Why would you study judicial elections? No one cares about them and they are not important" [Social media, circa 2025]: [Analyzing result of single spring off-cycle election in a midwestern state to generalize to the state of all contemporary American politics]

Unfortunately the public costs of contravening courts are substantively pretty small. Lots of this in Driscoll, Krehbiel's and my forthcoming CUP book (and some new data coming soon): www.cambridge.org/us/universit... (Would be happy for the public to prove us wrong!)

This was a great conversation about the implications of our upcoming book. Worth a listen!

This is dope, but courts aren't magic; their decisions aren't self-enforcing. Eisenhower sent the army to Little Rock to enforce court-ordered desegregation. Trump is poised to test whether anyone will make him abide by judicial decisions. Only substantial public pressure will hold the line.

Abortion bans and regulations have shifted to the state level of government, and the judges presiding over abortion lawsuits have become more important in determining how expansive or limited abortion rights are. @mjnelson.bsky.social #politics #abortion reprorights.substack.com/p/state-supr...

Here we go! Coming late spring (supposedly)

This Buccianeri, Volden and Wiseman paper is the biggest step forward for American state politics data since the Shor+McCarty ideal points 14 years ago. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Hi Bluesky friends! I thought I’d use my first-ever post to announce that it’s publication day for my book, Courts Unmasked: Civil Legal System Reform and COVID-19 with @univpressofkansas.bsky.social 🎉🎉 1/🧵

US-style constitutional review is not associated with better observance of different kinds of rights nor with faster economic growth, but it is associated with higher income inequality. See papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Are you a junior scholar studying law and politics looking for a friendly place to receive feedback on your work? Apply to present at the Junior Law and Politics Research Community's spring seminar series! Submit by January 24 for full consideration: tinyurl.com/16ixldoz

Super happy to announce that the State Democracy Index 2.0, covering 2000-2023, is done and about to be publicly posted (probably tomorrow). Hope fellow nerds find it useful.

bout to find out how low this baby can go. -> bsky.app/profile/ntd....

New @3streamsblog.bsky.social @mjnelson.bsky.social -experimental: people value abortion, LGBT rights as much as cheaper housing -obs: childbearing age women + BA holders less likely to live in, sharper drop in medical residency apps to abortion ban states post-Dobbs medium.com/3streams/doe...

If you are looking for information about voter trends and public opinion I've put together a website using ANES data. Tried to make it transparent and easy to understand. Hopefully help to educators, students, journalists, etc almanacofuspolitics.com

Biden's newfound support for court reform made me dig into a new YouGov survey (N=1500) I conducted in July measuring the public's attitudes toward the Supreme Court.

Fun fact: circuit riding was so entrenched in the the structure of the federal courts that it lasted in practice until Congress passed the Evarts Act of 1891, the same act that gave #SCOTUS the power to determine which cases it heard on appeal. The pairing is not a coincidence. 🗃️

I'm just a historian, but I think this Q shows how corrupting the "apolitical" justice fiction is. 1/4 of 19th c. justices were presidential candidates so you knew pretty well their preferences! (Even true when they were involved in the Election of 1876.) Supporting insurrection? Not acceptable. 🗃️

"Democratic Backsliding in the American States: The Case of Judicial Independence" I link court-curbing by state legislatures to judicial independence and demonstrate the use of curbing in the states is related to other types of democratic backsliding. doi.org/10.1093/publ... polisky

We're hiring! Clemson University is searching for a full-time lecturer in American Politics to start next fall. The position is open with respect to specialty within American politics, but the ability to offer public law classes is a plus. apply.interfolio.com/144002 #polisky

This looks like a remarkable resource for the state politics and lobbying communities!

We (Paul, Lori, & I) are delighted to share “Gender, Race, and Interruptions at Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings” w/ APSR (doi.org/10.1017/S000... ).   We find higher interruption rates of women & people of color during Supreme Court confirmation hearings (1939-2022). Let’s unpack it! 1/ 🧵

Thanks to @cloudresearch.bsky.social for inviting me to write about my research (forthcoming at JEPS) about the effect of state-level democratic backsliding on Americans' leisure travel preferences! www.cloudresearch.com/resources/bl...