Sara Benesh

  • Associate Professor and Chair, Political 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

MW 1:00-2:00 pm & By Appt

Teaching Schedule

Course Num Title Meets Syllabus
L&S SS 268-001 Practicum in Mock Trial I No Meeting Pattern
L&S SS 468-001 Practicum in Mock Trial II No Meeting Pattern
POL SCI 412-001 Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties MW 2:30pm-3:45pm
POL SCI 412G-001 Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

Courses Taught

  • POL SCI 104 - Intro. to American Government and Politics
  • POL SCI 412 - Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
  • POL SCI 417 - The Supreme Court
  • POL SCI 471 - Problems in Law Studies
  • POL SCI 963 - Seminar in 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

  • Wallander, Zachary and Sara C. Benesh. "The Influence of Law Clerks: Evidence from the Blackmun Papers."

Selected Publications

Benesh, Sara C., Armstrong, David A., and Wallander, Zachary. “Advisors to Elites: Untangling Their Effect” Journal of Law and Courts 8.1 (2020): 51-73.
Pashak, Sara C., Jacobson, Jennifer K., Schaeffer, Amanda, and Simmons, Nicole. “Supreme Court Monitoring Via GVRs” Justice System Journal 35.2 (2014): 162-177.
Pashak, Sara C. “Judicial Elections: Directions in the Study of Institutional Legitimacy” Judicature 96.5 (2013): 204-208.
Luse, Jennifer K., McGovern, Geoffrey, Martinek, Wendy L., and Pashak, Sara C. “'Such Inferior Courts . . .': Compliance by Circuits with Jurisprudential Regimes” American Politics Research 37. (2009): 75-106.
Pashak, Sara C., and Spaeth, Harold J. “The Constraint of Law: A Study of Supreme Court Dissensus” American Politics Research 35. (2007): 755-768.

UWM Land Acknowledgement: We acknowledge in Milwaukee that we are on traditional Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk and Menominee homeland along the southwest shores of Michigami, North America’s largest system of freshwater lakes, where the Milwaukee, Menominee and Kinnickinnic rivers meet and the people of Wisconsin’s sovereign Anishinaabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida and Mohican nations remain present.   |   To learn more, visit the Electa Quinney Institute website.