Sara Benesh

Professor, Political Science
Director, L&S Curriculum and Governance
Secretary of the College, Letters & Science

Education

PhD., Political Science, Michigan State University, 1999
MA, Political Science, Michigan State University, 1997
BA, Political Science and English, Saint Norbert College, 1995

Office Hours

By Appt

Courses Taught

POL SCI 250 - Law & Society
POL SCI 410 - Law Through Popular Culture
POL SCI 412 - Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
POL SCI 417 - The Supreme Court
POL SCI 725 - Judicial Politics and Behavior

Research Interests

Judicial decision making
- U.S. Courts of Appeals
- U.S. Supreme Court
- State courts of last resort
- Lower federal and state courts
Legitimacy of courts and institutions.

Current Projects

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Appearances (with Wendy Martinek, Taraleigh Davis, and Michael Catalano)
- UWM SURF Project

Books

Segal, Jeffrey A., Harold J. Spaeth, and Sara C. Benesh. 2005. The Supreme Court in the American Legal System. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Benesh, Sara C. 2002. The U.S. Court of Appeals and the Law of Confessions: Perspectives on the Hierarchy of Justice. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing.

Selected Publications

Edelstein, Benjamin and Sara C. Benesh. 2024. "Recusal as Remedy: Disincentivizing Donors." State Politics and Policy Quarterly 24(1): 77-98.

Davis, Taraleigh and Sara C. Benesh. 2023. "Procedural Justice and the Shadow Docket." Emory Law Journal 73(2), 443-469.

Benesh, Sara C., David A. Armstrong, and Zachary Wallander. 2020. “Advisors to Elites: Untangling Their Effect” Journal of Law and Courts 8(1): 51-73.

Benesh, Sara C., Jacobson, Jennifer K., Schaeffer, Amanda, and Simmons, Nicole. 2014. “Supreme Court Monitoring Via GVRs” Justice System Journal 35(2): 162-177.

Benesh, Sara C. 2013. "Judicial Elections: Directions in the Study of Institutional Legitimacy." Judicature 96(4): 204-208.

Luse, Jennifer K., Geoffrey McGovern, Wendy L. Martinek, and Sara C. Benesh. 2009. “'Such Inferior Courts . . .': Compliance by Circuits with Jurisprudential Regimes” American Politics Research 37: 75-106.

Kaheny, Erin, Susan Haire, and Sara C. Benesh. 2008. “Change Over Tenure: Voting, Variance, and Decision Making on The U.S. Courts of Appeals” American Journal of Political Science 52(3): 490-503.

Benesh, Sara C., and Harold J. Spaeth. 2007. “The Constraint of Law: A Study of Supreme Court Dissensus” American Politics Research 35: 755-768.

Benesh, Sara C. 2006. “Understanding Public Confidence in American Courts” Journal of Politics 68(3):697-707.