University of North Texas faculty available to comment on Supreme Court vacancy

Monday, February 15, 2016 - 17:20

Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Saturday (Feb. 13), Senate Republicans have said they will block a vote on any nominee that President Barack Obama would make to replace Scalia, calling for the president who will be elected in November to be the person to fill the vacancy.

The following University of North Texas faculty members are available to discuss issues related to the vacancy on the Supreme Court after Scalia's death:

Bethany Blackstone, assistant professor in UNT's Department of Political Science,  regularly teaches courses on the American legal system, the Supreme Court and judicial politics. Her current research focuses on the impact of the Supreme Court on congressional decision-making and strategic behavior in the U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Phone: 404-626-2381
E-mail: bethany.blackstone@unt.edu

Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, recently co-authored a paper on the timing and prevalence of presidential comments about Supreme Court cases. He is the co-author of Breaking Through the Noise: Presidential Leadership, Public Opinion and the News Media and The President's Speeches: Beyond "Going Public." He has been interviewed by the Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Governing magazine, NPR, San Francisco Chronicle and Scripps Howard News Service, among other media outlets.

Phone: 940-565-2329
E-mail: mes@unt.edu

Kimi King, an associate professor of political science, teaches a constitutional law course on discrimination and the powers of the government and a course on laws and institutions in American government. She also researches institutional powers and equal protection, civil rights and civil liberties, and criminal procedure.

Phone: 940-597-4802
E-mail: kking@unt.edu

Philip Paolino, associate professor of political science, will discuss the effect of the vacancy on the presidential election. He researches voters' perceptions of candidate viability, voting patterns, political psychology and political participation during election season. He has published articles in a number of scholarly journals, including American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science and Political Analysis.

Phone: 703-310-7162
E-mail: paolino@unt.edu

UNT News Service
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