Project Mentor
Dr. Virginia Hettinger
Department: Political Science
Research Project Overview:
What happens when a judge is rude to litigants in the courtroom?
What happens when a judge falls so far behind that justice is no longer being served?
What happens when a judge commits a crime, whether it is in the course of their duties or in their life off the bench?
This research project focuses on how states deal with judges accused of ethics violations. A major part of this project involves developing a complete data base of all publicly reported instances of ethics violations.
Role of a SHARE Summer Apprentice:
Research apprentice will work on a research project on ethics violations committed by judges. Responsibilities will include reading and summarizing state Supreme Court opinions that determine the guilt of accused judges and impose sanctions on judges found guilty of committing ethics violations.
The apprentice will develop skills in reading court opinions, recognizing core judicial holdings, and using Google Forms and Google sheets for data entry. By the end of the summer the apprentice will have access to a partial data set and be able to conduct analysis of the data set created. Possible research questions the apprentice could pursue include:
- Which judges/offenses get punished most severely?
- Are there difference across states? Can we figure out what might cause those differences?
Training will include reading and discussing background papers on the topic, learning how to find and read opinions in Lexis-Nexis, using Google sheets and Google forms to summarize cases.
I will meet with apprentice regularly to review problem cases and develop steps for the next stages of research.
As we wrap up the data collection and transition to data analysis, I will work with the apprentice to demonstrate how to conduct basic statistical analysis and create visual presentations of those analyses.
Summer Schedule/Time Commitment:
I am very flexible regarding hours, though availability between July 13th and July 30th would be ideal.
Preferred Qualifications:
Students interested in law are preferred.
College or ECE version of Introduction to American Politics or any college level law related classes would be helpful.
To Apply:
CLOSED – Click here to submit an online application for this research apprenticeship through the Quest Portal. The application deadline is Friday, March 26, 2021 at 11:59pm.
Click here to view an outline of the application questions. There are no additional questions specific to this apprenticeship application.