James L. Gibson and Michael J. Nelson discuss their research into the impact state supreme courts have on civil rights.
Your user agent does not support the HTML5 Audio element.
Michael Nelson is the Jeffrey L. Hyde and Sharon D. Hyde and Political Science Board of Visitors Early Career Professor…
James L. Gibson earned his BA in political science from Emory University in 1972 (with highest honors, and membership…
Lee Rawles joined the ABA Journal in 2010 as a web producer. She has also worked for the Winston-Salem…
Most of the spotlights are on the U.S. Supreme Court when it comes to legal cases that impact civil rights. But state supreme courts are the final arbiters of what each state’s own constitution dictates. They can have enormous influence on Americans’ civil rights and daily lives—and there isn’t nearly as much scholarship available on them, particularly when it comes to civil rather than criminal cases. Political scientists James L. Gibson and Michael J. Nelson hope to change this with their new book, Judging Inequality: State Supreme Courts and the Inequality Crisis.
When Gibson and Nelson set themselves the task of analyzing civil cases and the court makeups of all 50 state supreme courts, they realized without additional manpower it would be a daunting one, they tell Lee Rawles in this episode of the Modern Law Library podcast. With the help of students, they created a database to track the outcomes of seven kinds of civil cases that would come before each court, and looked to see which courts tended to support the “haves” against the “have nots.” They also analyzed the backgrounds of each justice, to the best of their ability. One of their most important findings? It’s not as facile as a red state/blue state divide.
In this episode, Gibson and Nelson discuss the work that went into their study, the results they found most surprising, and what they as political scientists think that the legal profession should be discussing when it comes to the highest courts in each state.
Notify me when there’s a new episode!
ABA Journal: Modern Law Library features top legal authors and their works.
James L. Gibson and Michael J. Nelson discuss their research into the impact state supreme courts have on civil rights.
Wanda M. Morris, author of “All Her Little Secrets”, discusses her 13-year journey towards publication, tips she has for fellow lawyers who want to…
The ABA Journal team looks back at 2021 through the lens of what they read and watched, and looks forward to 2022.
Lewis A. Grossman discusses the historical skepticism Americans have held towards medical authorities through the majority of the country’s history and what these attitudes…
Author and business professor Phil Rosenzweig discusses his book “Reginald Rose and the Journey of 12 Angry Men” about the man who brought 12…
Dana Montalto shares how she became involved in veterans legal services, answers some common questions lawyers have when considering pro bono work in this…
Subscribe to our newsletter, and never miss another episode.
Newsletter Signup
Listen to your favorite podcasts anywhere, anytime.
iPhone Android
Menu
