4 Experts Available for Timely Analysis on Supreme Court Nominee

Director of Communications

Senate confirmation hearings begin today for President Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. For reporters covering this historic moment, the following experts are available to provide comments and analysis:

Stetson University College of Law
Torres-Spelliscy

Torres-Spelliscy is co-author of the study Improving Judicial Diversity and has written multiple shorter pieces on judicial diversity as well. Her work focuses primarily on the issue of money in politics and on strengthening election laws more generally.

University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law

Powell's research focuses on constitutional law, rooted in Critical Race Theory. Overarching themes in Powell's writings include the ways in which neutrality reinforces oppression and subjugation in various areas of society. Subjects of Powell's writings include the Fourteenth Amendment, affirmative action, school desegregation, the First Amendment and hate speech, and political process theory. He is completing work on a forthcoming book, Post-Racial Constitutionalism and the Roberts Court.

CUNY Brooklyn College

Unlike most law professors, political scientists view the federal courts as hybrid institutions, half legal and half political. As a political scientist who does research and teaches in federal courts, Professor Law can anchor her comments in her field's research indicating how a judge's background might influence their judicial behavior. She recently wrote on those topics for Politico about both the Amy Coney Barret appointment and Breyer's impending retirement.

Tulane University
SJKheadshot.jpg

Kenney is an expert on the importance of a diverse and representative bench, with special expertise in women judges. She is author of the book Gender and Justice: Why Women in the Judiciary Really Matter.