Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit more liberal than other circuits? This paper looks at three possible definitions of judicial liberalism and tests whether the Ninth Circuit is more liberal, using data from the U.S. Courts of Appeals database and Giles et al. Common Space scores. First, the paper compares overall the proportions of liberal decisions in different circuits and finds that the Ninth Circuit is more liberal than most circuits, but with a fairly low probability. Second, the paper looks at the probabilities that a randomly chosen panel in the Ninth Circuit has a more liberal median than a randomly chosen panel in another circuit. Again, while the Ninth Circuit is likely to be more liberal than most other circuits, the probabilities are fairly low. Third, the paper presents estimation results from a hierarchical Bayesian model that compares the influence of judicial ideology on judicial outcomes in different circuits; it finds that this influence is lowest in the Ninth Circuit. As a result, the paper is not able to explain why the Ninth Circuit is singled out as a particularly ideological circuit.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Based on data from 89 in-depth interviews, six years of participant observation, and content analysis of postings from an on-line discussion group, this paper explores the phenomenon of large-scale gay dance parties commonly referred to as, circuit parties. The “circuit” consists of a continuous series of annual, international dance events. Prominent examples include: White Party in Palm Springs, Morning Party at Fire Island, NY, Black and Blue in Montreal, Winter Party in Miami Beach, Hell Ball and Magnitude in San Francisco, Black Party in New York, and the Gay/Lesbian Mardi Gras in Sydney. These circuit events last from 2 to 5 days and often draw tens of thousands of participants to a single party event. Circuit boys, as commonly referred to in the scene, gather with friends, use recreational drugs (e.g., ecstasy (MDMA), alcohol, Special K (Ketamine), GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate), crystal (methamphetamine) and cocaine), dance to house music, and often engage in sex over the course of a circuit weekend. While widely reviled by social conservatives, condemned by law enforcement, and considered pathological by public health authorities, AIDS organizations, and numerous prominent gay intellectuals, my research suggests that circuit events now function to meet a variety of important social and social psychological needs for some gay men. My work also suggests that participation in the circuit culture leads to the development of various patterns of resiliency, and circuit participation frequently also embodies countercultural values and politics.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The question of whether appeals court anticipate how their circuit en banc would decide their case is an important question and is one that has received to date modest empirical attention. If following relevant precedent is an important consideration and goal of an appeals court judge then why would a judge try to predict how their circuit en banc may decide their case? One argument put forth, is that judges participate in this behavior because they fear reversal and will act strategically when deciding cases. The goal of analysis is to determine whether judges behave strategically by altering their decision making in order to avoid review by their circuit en banc in cases that are more likely to be reviewed by an en banc panel. My testing strategy is two-pronged in that I use both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Quantitatively, I examine cases from the Appeals Court Database and employ a random effects logit approach. Qualitatively, I analyze interview data collected from over fifty U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals judges from all but two circuits. Preliminary results suggest that appeals court judges do decide cases differently when they fear reversal from their circuit en banc versus when they do not.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Much attention has been focused on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. To some degree, the attention has been self-created, with high profile decisions on three-strikes laws, punch-card ballots, and the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance generating substantial media coverage and reaction from elected officials. This attention mirrors an ongoing debate about the wisdom of splitting the Ninth Circuit into two smaller circuits. Arguments about splitting the Circuit center on the source of the Circuit’s high reversal rate. There are two competing explanations for that reversal rate: the judges of the Ninth Circuit are more ideologically distant from the Supreme Court than judges on other Circuits, or the size of the Ninth Circuit prevents the circuit majority from correcting “wrong” decisions by panels, a problem augmented by the Ninth Circuit’s reliance on the limited en banc procedure.
This paper sorts out the cause of the Ninth Circuit’s reversal rate by looking at the Court’s relationship with the Supreme Court over the past twenty years. By looking at merits reversals, including unanimous reversals, and attempting a broader assessment of the Ninth Circuit’s status vis-à-vis the other circuits and the Supreme Court, I ultimately argue that both size (though indirectly) and ideological orientation influence the Ninth Circuit’s high reversal rate. These findings have broad implications for how we model the behavior of court of appeals judges and their relationship with the Supreme Court.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The use of closed circuit television (CCTV) to reduce crime has been subject to extensive research, primarily in Britain. This has focused on its impact on crime, though some research has also explored its impact on feelings of safety. This paper describes a quasi-experimental study on CCTV in Málaga, designed in particular to measure its impact on feelings of security. The design breaks new ground by exploring the mechanisms by which CCTV impacts public fears. By matching 40 sites in treatment and control areas, divided further between streets with and nearby cameras, the research tests three competing hypotheses: (1) CCTV will only produce changes in feelings of security in the streets in which CCTV is installed, (2) CCTV will produce a halo effect, in which people using streets nearby also have heightened feelings of security, (3) CCTV will improve citizen security in streets with cameras, but will do so by displacing feelings of insecurity into nearby streets. The paper outlines design considerations and reports on baseline street survey results which describe patterns of insecurity in Malaga.