I focus on the establishment and maintenance of the rule of law, the tensions and interactions between international and domestic law, and determinants of judicial decision making in a variety of courts within American and comparative contexts.

Judicial Decision-making

• Statutory interpretation and separation of powers
• The role of the U.S. chief justice in court statutory interpretation
• How war and security concerns affect U.S. court decisions, particularly at the expense of civil liberties
• Whether judges’ gender conditions the effect of war on U.S. court decisions

Comparative Courts

• The establishment of judicial independence and its impact on democratization and economic development
• How shifting political environments can create new spaces for courts to take more proactive, rights-oriented approaches (Mexico)
• How gender diversity affects court decisions (Canada)

International Law and Courts

• The influence of inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organization (NGOs) on human rights practices and rights protections by domestic courts
• The influence of international and foreign law on the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. state high courts
• Why states grant regional human rights courts jurisdiction
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights jurisprudence and state compliance to court  decisions
• Strategic decision-making and selection biases at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Indigenous Law

• How the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. state high courts evaluate indigenous rights claims
• How common law courts and federalist structures impact First Nations rights
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights jurisprudence on indigenous rights and state compliance with court decisions in indigenous cases