Introduction
The impetus for this volume was a multitude of conversations regarding pedagogy and teaching related to our judicial process courses. Based on these conversations, we identified four main needs of our colleagues: First, many of us bring or want to bring more “political science” into our classes, though we also want to avoid the high costs of reinventing successful existing courses to do so. Second, our programs all require a political methodology course, and we want to reinforce those lessons in our substantive courses. We want to encourage our students’ understanding of how to read and understand research studies as well as how to craft their own research questions. Third, we want to keep our courses as current as possible. And fourth, we wanted to find a way to bring the cost of our courses down as we see so many students struggle with the high costs of a college degree. This volume (as well as any future editions) addresses each of these concerns.
Open Judicial Politics is a compilation of new and original research in judicial politics written specifically for the undergraduate audience, thus providing accessible examples of political science research that also address some of the more current concerns and controversies in our field. Additionally, every article is accompanied by some type of classroom activity—from basic discussion questions to full-blown simulations—that makes it easier for instructors to adapt the material to their courses and enhance them with interactives. The chapters of these volumes generally follow the well-worn path of most textbooks of judicial politics, making the volumes an easy companion for adoption, and the material should fit seamlessly into the preestablished structures of most courses.
Finally, these volumes are an open-source resource, and adoption of the text adds no cost to our students. Whether using 1 or 10 articles, the resulting cost remains nil. Open Judicial Politics, version 3, includes 46 original contributions. In the first volume, we include two topics: “actors in the judicial process” and “court procedure.” These topics include chapters examining lawyers, judges, interest groups, and Congress, as well as trial and appellate procedures. The second volume discusses judicial decision making, public opinion, media, and policy making. The studies in both volumes cover the breadth and scope of the field of judicial politics, with attention to both appellate and trial courts, national high courts and intermediate appellate courts, and US courts and their international counterparts, thus providing a large range of materials to complement any judicial process course or text. We are especially pleased that undergraduate students played key roles in the creation of several of these studies, from data collection and analysis to complete authorship from stem to stern. For the third version, we have added 13 articles that continue to illustrate key concepts and aspects of judicial politics following the same formula of empirical research tailored for an undergraduate audience accompanied by a variety of classroom activities.
