Supreme Bias
Gender and Race in U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings
Christina Boyd author Paul M Collins author Lori Ringhand author
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Stanford University Press
Published:17th Oct '23
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£23.99(9781503636880)
This insightful book explores the biases faced by women and people of color during Supreme Court confirmation hearings, offering recommendations for change.
In Supreme Bias, authors Christina L. Boyd, Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand deliver an in-depth examination of the interplay between race and gender during Supreme Court confirmation hearings. This comprehensive analysis draws on extensive qualitative and quantitative research, shedding light on the unique challenges faced by women and people of color in these high-stakes proceedings. The authors argue that despite their impressive qualifications, nominees from these groups encounter a notably different and often more hostile confirmation process compared to their white male counterparts.
The book highlights the systemic biases that manifest during the hearings, illustrating how female nominees and nominees of color are frequently subjected to skepticism regarding their professional abilities. They experience stereotype-driven questioning, are interrupted more often, and are described in less favorable terms by senators. Through these findings, Supreme Bias reveals the troubling reality that even at the pinnacle of U.S. legal authority, race and gender biases remain prevalent.
Moreover, the authors do not merely expose these biases; they also offer actionable recommendations aimed at mitigating such discrimination in future confirmation processes. By advocating for reforms and raising awareness of these issues, Supreme Bias serves as both a critical resource for understanding the current landscape and a call to action for creating a more equitable judicial selection process.
"Supreme Bias is an important book. The research is vital, timely, and innovative as it is the first book to comprehensively focus on gender and racial biases during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings. Collins, Ringhand, and Boyd present novel qualitative and quantitative data and find that female nominees and nominees of color face very different confirmation hearings than white male nominees. The work is theoretically rich, and the scope and depth of the book is remarkable. In short, Supreme Bias will transform how scholars study Supreme Court confirmation hearings."
—Jennifer Bowie, University of Richmond
"Supreme Bias deepens our understanding of the way the U.S. Senate exercises its advice and consent power. Boyd, Collins, and Ringhand leverage the most comprehensive and sophisticated dataset of U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings to systematically assess the dynamics of senator-nominee interactions, illuminating how senators' treatment of nominees is shaped by gender, race, and partisanship."
—Eve Ringsmuth, Oklahoma State University
"In this excellent and timely book, Boyd, Collins, and Ringhand provide compelling evidence that confirmation hearings play out in a context in which a nominee's race and gender are relevant to how hearings unfold. They also demonstrate that potential improvements, such as by increasing diversity on the Senate Judiciary Committee, are unlikely to eliminate in full the racial and gender bias often on display. This thorough analysis provides an important contribution to our understanding of the collision between efforts to diversify the Supreme Court and how nominees are treated in the most public part of the appointment process."
—Lisa M. Holmes, University of Vermont
"Supreme Bias describes how race, gender, and partisanship interact to produce a two-tiered confirmation process for individuals nominated to the Supreme Court. Drawing on theoretical literature on in-groups and out-groups, the authors mine an 'original data set' gleaned from Judiciary Committee hearings that took place between 1939 and 2022. The results are stark.... Essential reading for students of the Court."
—P. Watkins, CHOICE
"Supreme Bias provides a valuable contribution and should be read by anyone interested in Supreme Court confirmations and the role of diversity in elite institutions more broadly."—Jonathan P. Kastellec, Congress & the Presidency
ISBN: 9781503632691
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
290 pages