2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Paper Explaining the Increased Polarization in the U.S. Congress
Daniel M Butler, Stanford University
Overview: I model candidates facing the choice between
mobilizing their base or persuading swing voters. I test the model
both cross-sectionally and over time and show how changes in the
two parties’ bases have led to increased congressional
polarization.
Paper Candidate Valence and Ideological Positioning in U.S. House
Elections
Walter J. Stone, University of California, Davis
Elizabeth Simas, University of California, Davis
Cherie D. Maestas, Florida State University
L. Sandy Maisel, Colby College
Overview: The purpose of our paper is to explore the relationships
between candidate's valence-based strategies and positioning on
the left-right scale in U.S. House elections.
Disc. Tracy Sulkin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Robert Jackson, Florida State University
41-3 RESPONDING TO PRINCIPALS AND
PRECEDENTS (Co-sponsored with Public Law, see
42-16)
Room Burnham 1, 7 th Floor, Thur at 2:35 pm
Chair Paul M. Collins, University of Houston
Paper Supreme Court Monitoring Via GVRs
Sara C. Benesh, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Jennifer K. Luse, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Amanda Schaefer, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Nicole Simmons, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Overview: In this paper, we consider use of Grant, Vacate, and
Remand dispositions by the U.S. Supreme Court as a cost
effective means by which it can monitor its agents (the lower
courts).
Paper Comparing the Influence of the Courts on NLRB Rulings
Robert M. Howard, Georgia State University
Cole Taratoot, Georgia State University
Overview: Examining cross sectional time series data from 2000
until 2000 we analyze the influence of the Supreme Court and
Courts of Appeals on Administrative Law Judge Rulings on the
NLRB.
Paper Dynamic Deference in the Judicial Hierarchy
Maxwell H. Mak, Stony Brook University
Overview: Using the principal-agent framework, I examine the
relationship between Supreme Court and Circuit Court liberalism.
I test whether the circuit courts are sensitive to Court liberalism
and to what degree that sensitivity exists in judicial hierarchy.
Paper The U.S. Supreme Court As Agent: Rethinking Court
Hierarchy
Charles A. Smith, University of Miami
Overview: The Supreme Court is configured as the Agent and the
lower courts Principals, supported by a theoretical argument,
empirical data, and a formal model.
Paper Deference or Defiance: Explaining Court of Appeals Decision
Making During the Rehnquist Era
Nathaniel R. Vanden Brook, Western Michigan University
Mark S. Hurwitz, Western Michigan University
Ashlyn K. Kuersten, Western Michigan University
Overview: Current research does not account for the long leash
given to the circuit courts upon the elevation of William Rehnquist
to Chief Justice. During Rehnquist’s tenure as Chief, the number
of cases from the appellate courts that were granted cert
diminished.
Disc. Paul M. Collins, University of Houston
Chad Westerland, University of Arizona
42-2 COMPARATIVE LAW, LEGITIMACY, AND
CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN (Co-sponsored by
Comparative Politics: Industrialized Countries, see 2-
16)
Room Clark 5, 7 th Floor, Thur at 2:35 pm
Chair Rhonda L. Evans-Case, East Carolina University
Paper Constitution, Legitimacy, and Democracy in Turkey
M. F. Bilgin, Sakarya University
Overview: In this work, I develop a notion of constitutional
legitimacy vis-à-vis the idea of democracy and apply this notion to
Turkey.
Paper National Human Rights Institutions in the Courts: A
Comparative Study
Rhonda L. Evans Case, East Carolina University
Overview: This paper examines the role of National Human
Rights Institutions in the institutionalization of human rights
principles at the national level and explores the ways in which
NHRIs can be consequential politico-legal actors through the
courts.
Paper Tuning: Constitutional Emplotment under the Confucian Rule
of Ritual
Jin-Ha Kim, University of Chicago
Overview: Can the pursuit of power promote ethical personality,
which retains elective affinity with civic virtues? This paper
examines the Confucian ecomusical principle of ‘Tuning’ and the
Chosen Korean case of ritual constitutionalism.
Paper Whose Community? Same-Sex Jurisprudence in the U.S,
Germany and South Africa
Jeremy H. Rabideau, University of Notre Dame
Richard Ledet, University of Notre Dame
Overview: The comparative jurisprudences of the United States,
Germany, and South Africa in the domain of same-sex rights are
analyzed and reflected back to Thomistic notions of natural law.
Paper Quality of the Judiciary vs. Corruption Perception: A
Comparative Analysis
Raul A. Sanchez Urribarri, University of South Carolina
Overview: This work discusses the impact of judicial quality on
corruption perception, within a worldwide cross-section sample of
countries. It addresses theoretical questions with respect to this
relationship, and uses a quantitative model to explore it.
Disc. David M. Speak, California Polytechnic University, Pomona
42-14 RIGHTS, INTERNATIONAL LAW, AND
CONTEMPORARY CRISES
Room Dearborn 1, 7 th Floor, Thur at 2:35 pm
Chair Emilia Powell, Georgia Southern University
Paper What Happens When Institutions Attempt To Quash Habeas
Corpus?
Dana R. B. Adams, University of Minnesota
Overview: Why did the number of federal habeas corpus cases
spike following enactment of the AEDPA? I offer a predictive
model to solve this puzzle. Implications of AEDPA data for
habeas in the War on Terror are discussed.
Paper Judicial Ambiguity and Asylum Law in the United States
Canada and Australia
Rebecca Hamlin, University of California, Berkeley
Overview: Domestic legislative context and administrative
structure shape and constrain the way that international refugee
law is interpreted by courts in the United States, Canada and
Australia, leading to more ambiguity in some nations than in
others.
Paper Globalization and the Future of Constitutional Law
David S. Law, University of San Diego & University of
California, San Diego
Overview: This paper explores the thesis that international
competition for capital and skilled labor, self-interested emulation
of the constitutional policies of hegemonic states, and pressures to
conform to the norms and expectations of world culture are
driving.
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