51ÁÔÆæ

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Sara Benesh

  • Professor, Political Science
  • Director, L&S Curriculum and Governance
  • Secretary of the College, Letters & Science

Education

  • PhD., Political Science, Michigan State University, 1999
  • MA, Political Science, Michigan State University, 1997
  • BA, Political Science and English, Saint Norbert College, 1995

Office Hours

By Appt

Courses Taught

  • POL SCI 250 - Law & Society
  • POL SCI 410 - Law Through Popular Culture
  • POL SCI 412 - Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
  • POL SCI 417 - The Supreme Court
  • POL SCI 725 - Judicial Politics and Behavior

Research Interests

  • Judicial decision making
    • U.S. Courts of Appeals
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • State courts of last resort
    • Lower federal and state courts
  • Legitimacy of courts and institutions.

Current Projects

  • U.S. Supreme Court Justice Appearances (with Wendy Martinek, Taraleigh Davis, and Michael Catalano)
    • 51ÁÔÆæ SURF Project

Books

Segal, Jeffrey A., Harold J. Spaeth, and Sara C. Benesh. 2005. The Supreme Court in the American Legal System. New York: Cambridge University Press.  
Benesh, Sara C. 2002. The U.S. Court of Appeals and the Law of Confessions: Perspectives on the Hierarchy of Justice. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing.

Selected Publications

Edelstein, Benjamin and Sara C. Benesh. 2024. "." State Politics and Policy Quarterly 24(1): 77-98.
Davis, Taraleigh and Sara C. Benesh. 2023. "
Benesh, Sara C., David A. Armstrong, and Zachary Wallander. 2020. 8(1): 51-73.
Benesh, Sara C., Jacobson, Jennifer K., Schaeffer, Amanda, and Simmons, Nicole. 2014. 35(2): 162-177.
Benesh, Sara C. 2013. "." Judicature 96(4): 204-208.
Luse, Jennifer K., Geoffrey McGovern, Wendy L. Martinek, and Sara C. Benesh. 2009. 37: 75-106.
Kaheny, Erin, Susan Haire, and Sara C. Benesh. 2008.  52(3): 490-503.
Benesh, Sara C., and Harold J. Spaeth. 2007.  35: 755-768.
Benesh, Sara C. 2006. 68(3):697-707.