Professor of Political Science Thomas P. and M. Jean Lauth Public Affairs ProfessorCourtesy Appointment, School of LawAffiliated Faculty, Criminal Justice Studies Program

Curriculum Vitae

Christina L. Boyd is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Thomas P. and M. Jean Lauth Public Affairs Professor. Her research focuses on judicial politics, public law, women and politics, judicial diversity, American politics, and the intersection of courts and the bureaucracy in American politics.

Professor Boyd’s new book, Supreme Bias: Gender and Race in U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings, was published in October 2023 by Stanford University Press. In Supreme Bias, Boyd and her co-authors Collins and Ringhand examine the dynamics of gender and race at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The book uses extensive new data and qualitative evidence to highlight how the women and people of color who have sat before the Committee have faced a significantly different confirmation process than their white male colleagues. Despite being among the most qualified and well-credentialed lawyers of their respective generations, the book’s evidence indicates that female nominees and nominees of color face more skepticism of their professional competence, are subjected to stereotype-based questioning, are more frequently interrupted, and are described in less-positive terms by senators.

In 2022, Boyd’s American Journal of Political Science article on the decision making of female judges, “Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on Judging” (co-authored with Epstein and Martin), was awarded the American Political Science Association Law & Courts Section Lasting Contribution Award. In 2023, Boyd’s article (American Political Science Review), “How the Trump Administration’s Quota Policy Transformed Immigration Judging” (with Blasingame, Carlos, and Ornstein), was the recipient of the Midwest Political Science Association Evan Ringquist and American Political Science Association Law & Courts Section Best Conference Paper awards.

Professor Boyd’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation on multiple occasions. Her previous publications have appeared in Oxford University Press and leading political science and law journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Politics, Groups, and Identities, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Journal of Law, Economics, & OrganizationJournal of Legal Studies, Law & Society Review, Northwestern University Law Review, and Vanderbilt Law Review. Her research has been discussed in media outlets including New York Times, Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek, and National Public Radio.

Professor Boyd is a member of the North Carolina Bar (inactive) and grew up in beautiful western Montana.

Education
  • Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis 2009, Political Science
  • A.M., Washington University in St. Louis 2006, Political Science
  • J.D., Wake Forest University 2004, Law
  • B.A., University of Florida 2001, Political Science
Honors, Awards, and Achievements
  • American Political Science Association Law & Courts Section 2023 Best Conference Paper Award for best subfield paper presented at a 2022 conference for “How the Trump Administration’s Quota Policy Transformed Immigration Judging.”
  • Midwest Political Science Association Evan Ringqust Award for best paper on political institutions presented at the 2022 conference for “The Trump Effect on Immigration Court Cases.” April 2023
  • American Political Science Association Law & Courts Section 2022 Lasting Contribution Award for “Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on Judging.”
  • Lauth Award for Excellence in Teaching in Political Science, Department of Political Science, University of Georgia. 2022.
  • School of Public and International Affairs Excellence in Research Award, University of Georgia, 2020-2021.
  • Lauth Award for Excellence in Teaching in Political Science, Department of Political Science, University of Georgia. 2020-2021.
  • School of Public and International Affairs Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Georgia, 2019.
  • Graduate School Outstanding Mentoring Award, Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Georgia, 2018.
  • Lisa Hertel Memorial Political Science Teaching Award, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 2012-2013.
  • 2008 Pi Sigma Alpha Award for the best paper delivered at the 2007 meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association for “Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on Judging.
Course Instruction
Research on Women & Politics/Judicial Diversity

Work in Progress

Boyd, Christina L., Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand. “Gender, Race, and Interruptions at Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.” Under Review.

Baker, Matthew E.,* Christina L. Boyd, Aidan N. Gonz ́alez,* and Karson A. Pennington.* “Race and Gender in Judicial Selection in the United States” in Michael P. Fix and Matthew Montgomery, eds. Research Handbook on Judicial Politics. Edward Elgar Publishing. Under Review.

Baker, Matthew E.,* Christina L. Boyd, Jennifer Hickey,* and Adam G. Rutkowski.* “How the Politics of Federal Judicial Selection Affect Judicial Diversity and Public Confidence in Courts.” Draft in Preparation.

Boyd, Christina L. and Sidney Shank.* “How Gender Biased Oral Argument Interruptions Opened the Door for Chief Justice Roberts to be a Transformational Leader.” Draft in Preparation.

Publications & Grants

Boyd, Christina L., Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand. Supreme Bias? Gender and Race in U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings. Under Contract, Stanford University Press.

National Science Foundation Grant SES-2141551. Principal Investigator. “Creating the Federal Judicial Database and Research Agenda.” Law and Science Program. 2022-2025. $483,086.

Boyd, Christina L., Paul M. Collins, Jr., Lori A. Ringhand, and Karson A. Pennington.* 2023. “Constructing the Supreme Court: How Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Have Affected Presidential Selection and Senate Confirmation Hearings.” Polity 55: 400-409.

Boldt, Ethan D., Christina L. Boyd, Roberto F. Carlos, and Matthew E. Baker.* 2021. “The Effects of Judge Race and Sex on Pretrial Detention Decisions.” Justice System Journal 42:341-358.

Boyd, Christina L. and Adam G. Rutkowski.* 2020 “Judicial Behavior in Disability Cases: Do Judge Sex and Race Matter?” Politics, Groups, and Identities 8: 834-844.

Boyd, Christina L., Paul M. Collins, Jr., and Lori A. Ringhand. 2018. “The Role of Nominee Gender and Race at U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings.” Law & Society Review 52: 871-901.

Boyd, Christina L. and Michael J. Nelson. 2017. “The Effects of Trial Judge Gender and Public Opinion on Criminal Sentencing Decisions.” Vanderbilt Law Review 70: 1819-1843.

Boyd, Christina L. 2016. “Representation on the Courts? The Effects of Trial Judges’ Sex and Race.” Political Research Quarterly 69: 788-799.

Boyd, Christina L. 2013. “She’ll Settle It?Journal of Law and Courts 1(2): 193-219.

Boyd, Christina L., Lee Epstein, and Andrew D. Martin. 2010. “Untangling the Causal Effects of Sex on Judging.” American Journal of Political Science. 54(2): 389-411.

Research on U.S. Bureaucracy-Courts Intersection

Publications & Grants

Elise N. Blasingame,* Christina L. Boyd, Roberto F. Carlos, and Joseph T. Ornstein. “How the Trump Administration’s Quota Policy Transformed Immigration Judging.” Conditionally Accepted, American Political Science Review

Boyd, Christina L., Roberto F. Carlos, Margaret H. Taylor, Matthew E. Baker,* and Elise Blasingame.* N.D. Congressional Constraint? The Review of In Absentia Immigration Removal Orders in Federal Circuit Courts. Forthcoming Political Research Quarterly.

Boyd, Christina L., Michael J. Nelson, Ian Ostrander, and Ethan D. Boldt. The Politics of Federal Prosecution. Oxford University Press. 2021.

National Science Foundation Grant SES-1626932. Principal Investigator. “How Social Security Administration Appeals Fare in the Federal Trial Courts.” Law and Social Sciences and Science of Organizations Programs. 2016-2021. $243,297. (Co-Principal Investigators Ainsworth and Lynch).

National Science Foundation Grant SES-1626932. Principal Investigator. “Supplemental Funding: How Social Security Administration Appeals Fare in the Federal Trial Courts.” Law and Social Sciences Program. 2019-2021. $45,986.

Boldt, Ethan D.* and Christina L. Boyd. 2018. “The Political Responsiveness of Violent Crime Prosecution.” Political Research Quarterly 71: 936-948.

Barnett, Kent, Christina L. Boyd, and Christopher J. Walker. 2018. “Administrative Law’s Political Dynamics.” Vanderbilt Law Review 71: 1463-1526.

Barnett, Kent, Christina L. Boyd, and Christopher J. Walker. 2018. “The Politics of Selecting Chevron Deference.” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 15: 597-619.

Boyd, Christina L. and Amanda Driscoll. 2013. “The Politics of Adjudicatory Oversight in Executive Branch Agencies.” American Politics Research. 41(4): 569-598.

 

Other Research on Judicial Politics & Public Law

Work in Progress

Boyd, Christina L., David Cottrell, and Geoffrey Sheagley. “Judges as Participants in Democracy.” Draft in Preparation.

Publications & Grants

Boyd, Christina L., Tracey E. George, and Albert H. Yoon. 2022. “The Emerging Authority of Magistrate Judges within U.S. District Courts.” Journal of Law and Courts 10: 37-60.

Boyd, Christina L., Pauline T. Kim, and Margo Schlanger. 2020. “Mapping the Iceberg: The Impact of Data Sources on the Study of District Courts.” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 17(3): 466-492.

Boyd, Christina L., and Adam G. Rutkowski.* 2020. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford University Press. “Trial Courts in the United States.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. Oxford University Press.

Boyd, Christina L. and David A. Hoffman. 2017. “The Use and Reliability of Federal Nature of Suit Codes.” Michigan State Law Review 2017: 997-1032.

Boyd, Christina L. 2017. “Gatekeeping and Filtering in Trial Courts” in The Oxford Handbook of U.S. Judicial Behavior. Lee Epstein and Stefanie A. Lindquist, eds. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Boyd, Christina L. and Ethan D. Boldt.* 2017. “U.S. District Courts.” In Routledge Handbook Judicial Behavior. Robert M. Howard and Kirk A. Randazzo, eds. New York, NY: Routledge.

Boyd, Christina L. 2016. “The Comparative Outputs of Magistrate Judges.” Nevada Law Journal 16:949-982.

Boyd, Christina L. 2015. “The Hierarchical Influence of Courts of Appeals on District Courts.” Journal of Legal Studies 44(1): 113-141.

Boyd, Christina L. 2015. “Litigant Status and Trial Court Appeal Mobilization.” Law & Policy 37(4): 294-323.

Boyd, Christina L. 2015. “Opinion Writing in the Federal District Courts.” Justice System Journal 36(3): 254-273.

Boyd, Christina L., Michael S. Lynch, and Anthony J. Madonna. 2015. “Nuclear Fallout: Investigating the Effect of Senate Procedural Reform on Judicial Nominations.” The Forum 13(4): 623-641.

Boyd, Christina L. 2015. “In Defense of Empirical Legal Studies.” Buffalo Law Review 63: 363-377.

Black, Ryan C., Christina L. Boyd, and Amanda C. Bryan.* 2015. “Revisiting the Influence of Law Clerks on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Agenda-Setting Process.” Marquette Law Review 98(1): 75-109.

Boyd, Christina L. and David A. Hoffman. 2013. “Litigating Toward Settlement.” Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 29(4): 898-929.

Boyd, Christina L. and Jacqueline Sievert.* 2013. “Unaccountable Justice? The Decision Making of Magistrate Judges in the Federal District Courts.” Justice System Journal 34(3): 249-273.

Black, Ryan C. and Christina L. Boyd. 2013. “Selecting the Select Few: The Discuss List and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Agenda-Setting Process.” Social Science Quarterly 94(4): 1124-1144.

Boyd, Christina L., David A. Hoffman, Zoran Obradovic, and Kosta Ristovski.* 2013. “Building a Taxonomy of Litigation: Clusters of Causes of Action in Federal Civil Complaints.” Journal of Empirical Legal Studies 10(1): 253-287.

Black, Ryan C. and Christina L. Boyd. 2012. “The Role of Law Clerks in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Agenda-Setting Process.” American Politics Research 40: 147-173.

Black, Ryan C. and Christina L. Boyd. 2012. “US Supreme Court Agenda Setting and the Role of Litigant Status.” Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization 28(2): 286-312.

Boyd, Christina L. and David A. Hoffman. 2010. “Disputing Limited Liability.” Northwestern University Law Review 104(3): 853-916.

Boyd, Christina L. and James F. Spriggs, II. 2009. “An Examination of Strategic Anticipation of Appellate Court Preferences by Federal District Court Judges.” Washington University Journal of Law and Policy 29: 37-80.

Kim, Pauline, Margo Schlanger, Christina L. Boyd, and Andrew D. Martin. 2009. “How Should We Study District Judge Decision-Making?” Washington University Journal of Law and Policy 29: 83-112.

Epstein, Lee, Andrew D. Martin, and Christina L. Boyd. 2007. “On the Effective Communication of the Results of Empirical Studies, Part II.” Vanderbilt Law Review 60: 798-846.

Grants

National Science Foundation Grant SES-2141551. Principal Investigator. “Creating the Federal Judicial Database and Research Agenda.” Law and Science Program. 2022-2025. $483,086.

Law and Science Dissertation Grant via National Science Foundation (SBE-2016661), administered by Arizona State University. Co-Principal Investigator. “Framing the Law: Judges and Jury Instructions.” 2022-2023. $16,654. Graduate Advisee: Matthew Baker.

National Science Foundation Grant SES-1626932. Principal Investigator. “How Social Security Administration Appeals Fare in the Federal Trial Courts.” Law and Social Sciences and Science of Organizations Programs. 2016-2021. (Co-Principal Investigators Scott H. Ainsworth and Michael S. Lynch). $243,297.

National Science Foundation Grant SES-1626932. Principal Investigator. “Supplemental Funding: How Social Security Administration Appeals Fare in the Federal Trial Courts.” Law and Social Sciences Program. 2019-2021. $45,986.

National Science Foundation Grant SES-1729077. Principal Investigator. “Doctoral Dissertation Research: The People and Process of Federal Criminal Cases.” Law and Social Sciences Program. 2017-2018. Graduate Advisee: Ethan Boldt. $17,615.

Faculty Research Grant in the Sciences. “Policy Making in the Federal District Courts.” University of Georgia Research Foundation. $7,000.

Baldy Center for Law & Social Policy, Annual Research Grant, University at Buffalo, SUNY. 2012-2013; 2011-2012; 2010-2011; 2009-2010.

National Science Foundation Grant SES-0818751. “Doctoral Dissertation Research: Placing Federal District Courts in the Judicial Hierarchy.” 2008. Graduate Advisor: Andrew D. Martin. $11,154.

Data, Research Project, & Google Scholar Links
Contact Information

Mailing address:
Christina L. Boyd
UGA Political Science Department
180 Baldwin Hall
355 S. Jackson Street
Athens, GA 30602

Political Science Department Main Office Phone:
(706) 542-2057 (use for letters of recommendation, if required)