iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Washu Law is hiring multiple entry level & lateral positions this year! The hiring committee (chaired by me) will be looking broadly across subjects, along with hoping to fill curricular needs in torts, property, contracts, &/or evidence. Full details: law.washu.edu/news/washu-l...

law.washu.edu

WashU Law Hiring Announcement | WashU Law

WashU Law invites applications from entry-level or lateral candidates for tenure-track and tenured positions

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

This book is terrific—incredible new data, amazing and heart wrenching stories, and super timely. Highly recommended to those interested in American politics, political behavior, immigration, and law & society (and beyond).

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Congrats on this awesome achievement! The book is incredible.

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

David H. Montgomery @dhmontgomery.com · 15/04/2026

A shocking new poll result: Many Americans somehow don't have a favorite dinosaur. And only 6% give the correct answer (triceratops). Check out YouGov's new polling on Americans and dinosaurs: yougovamerica.substack.com/p/whats-your...

A split bar chart of YouGov polling data with the headline: "Americans are most likely to say T. Rex is their favorite dinosaur, but many don't have a favorite."

The chart has the sub-headline: "Which of the following is your favorite dinosaur? (%)."

The chart has the note: "Note: "Other" includes responses of archaeopteryx, spinosaurus, plesiosaur, ankylosaurus, allosaurus, parasaurolophus, dilophosaurus, diplodocus, iguanadon, and pachycephalosaurus, as well as responses of "other." We know pterodactyls and plesiosaurs aren't dinosaurs. Opinion about dinosaurs comes from the question, "How much do you like or dislike dinosaurs?""

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

As we note, this non-effect could easily be a Obama specific--his judicial nominee strategy was focused on other areas beyond ideology.

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

My colleagues and I studied the effect on Obama nominees alone, pre- and post- Nov 2013. We find post-filibuster: faster confirmation times, higher confirmation rates, but not a big shift to appoint more liberal nominees (plotted here). www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Definitely potential for a post-filibuster effect, but not enough presidencies per party yet to really see (e.g., for Rs, impossible to untangle filibuster end from a pure Trump effect).

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Institute for Social Research (ISR) - University of Michigan @umisr.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Now on Bluesky: University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research (ISR)! We’re a leading social science research institution, with studies on politics, health, inequality, and economic behavior. Follow for research highlights, behind-the-scenes looks, and insights from our scholars! #Science

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

The research provides important insights into criminal adjudications in the U.S. and includes "expanding, testing, and disseminating novel plea-simulation software designed for both research and educational purposes." 2/2

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

File this under "cool research" . . . In 2019, the NSF funded Wilford's CAREER grant "A system of pleas: Using a role-playing simulation to test plea decision models." 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Current SCDB flat data files (along with lots more info on the SCDB) are here: scdb.la.psu.edu Online queryable data--one of my personal favorite features of the modern SCBD--are available through 2023 here: scdb.wustl.edu/analysis.php 4/4

scdb.la.psu.edu

Home | Supreme Court Database

The Supreme Court Database is the definitive source for researchers, students, journalists, and citizens interested in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Database contains over two hundred pieces of informat...

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

The SCDB contains 247 pieces of info across 6 categories of variables: identifiers, background, chronological, substantive, outcome, and voting/opinion. 3/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

The database "is a comprehensive, public, multi-user data resource containing information about every case decided by the United States Supreme Court from its first decision in 1791 to today." 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

After a little STL tornado delay...let's get back to highlighting some great NSF-sponsored projects. Today's highlight has significant STL connections and has made multiple generations of scholarship (and journalism and teaching) better: The U.S. Supreme Court Database (SCDB) 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

Today's NSF Funding Highlight: The many dissertation improvement grants (and equivalents) funded by the NSF. These grants are small in size but help launch research agendas & careers. These awards=a better dissertation in scope and design. #LowCostHighImpact

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

The data have been frequently used and cited, with an impact that extends from scholars to policymakers to journalists. 3/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

The data record things like details on the reform, whether juries are allowed to be informed of it, how state courts responded to the reform, and whether it was amended by the state legislature. 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Today's NSF Funding Highlight: In 2006, state tort reform was hugely salient, and that continues to endure. Avraham's "Database of State Tort Law Reforms" yielded a state-by-state database tracking state and DC laws. 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Users of the manual include judges (federal and state) but also attorneys, legal scholars, and law students (and likely many more). 4/4 #LowCostHighImpact

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Coverage includes important but highly technical topics like DNA identification and genetic testing, expert testimony, statistical models, survey research, economic damages calculation, toxicology, and more. 3/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

This project brings together a "committee of 10-12 members representing...legal and scientific/ engineering/ medical communities" to partner with the Federal Judicial Center to develop an updated "science for judges" manual. 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Today's NSF Funded Research Highlight: 2021's "Science for Judges-Development of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 4th Ed." by Mazza. Scientific evidence is everywhere in courts today. NSF funding of scientific evidence evaluation improves court processes & outcomes. 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

The project uses jury simulations to "examine jurors' and juries' sensitivity to strong versus weak scientific information presented in court" and whether safeguards can improve jurors' inferences from scientific information. 3/3

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

As the investigators note, jurors are "non-experts who do not possess the necessary tools to differentiate between weak and strong scientific information when making decisions." 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

NSF Funded Research Highlight of the Day: 2017's "Jurors' Use of Scientific Information" by Neal, Gervais, & Schweitzer. The project "addresses fundamental Qs about how humans reason w/ & make inferences & decisions based on the quality of relevant scientific data" w/ jurors. 1/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

I'll feature recent & older grants. Some by people I know, some by folks I have never met. I will start in the law & science area but over time may veer beyond that. I'll use data on grants archived by the NSF, w/ titles, names, and abstracts sourced from there. 4/4

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

The projects yield publicly-available datasets that go on to serve as the backbone for books & articles & introduce students & policymakers to powerful new ways to think in depth about judges, lawyers, litigants, defendants, policies, & more. 3/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

These funded projects are/were often low cost & high impact, tackling significant legal research Qs that help to better society, shape future practices & processes in courts, inform us on public opinion & policy effectiveness, & impact litigants. 2/

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

In the small way that I can--via posts on here in the coming weeks--I want to highlight/celebrate some important NSF-funded projects (& resulting societal knowledge) over the years. 1/

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Valerie Hans @jurygirl.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Useful thread about the restructuring of NSF. Expertise out. Political priorities in. Our science will suffer.

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

From the Supreme Court: Retired Justice David Souter died yesterday at the age of 85.

Supreme Qourt of the United States Washington, D. 4. 2054g
OFFICE OF
PUBLIC INFORMATION
For Immediate Release
May 9, 2025
For Further Information Contact:
Patricia McCabe (202) 479-3211
Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, David H. Souter, died peacefully yesterday at home in New Hampshire. He was 85 years old. Justice Souter was appointed to the Court by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, and retired in 2009, after serving more than 19 years on the Court.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said of Justice Souter: "Justice David Souter served our Court with great distinction for nearly twenty years. He brought uncommon wisdom and kindness to a lifetime of public service. After retiring to his beloved New Hampshire in 2009, he continued to render significant service to our branch by sitting regularly on the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit for more than a decade. He will be greatly missed."
Justice Souter was born in Melrose, Massachusetts, on September 17, 1939. He graduated from Harvard College, from which he received his A.B. After two years as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford, he received an A.B. in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and an M.A. in 1963. After receiving an LL.B. from Harvard Law School, he was an associate at Orr and Reno in Concord, New Hampshire, from 1966 to 1968, when he became an Assistant Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 1971, he became Deputy Attorney General and in 1976, Attorney General of New Hampshire. In 1978, he was named an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire, and was appointed to the Supreme Court of New Hampshire as an Associate Justice in 1983. He became a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit on May 25, 1990.
In addition to hearing cases on the First Circuit, Justice Souter participated in civics education curriculum reform efforts in New Hampshire during his retirement.

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Have I had my own disappointments at the Administrative Office and Judicial Conference not turning over data? Sure. But the solution is definitely not declaring them them part of the Executive Branch.

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

A @reuters.com investigation identified 11 judges whose families faced threats after they ruled against President Trump. Many have come after billionaire Elon Musk attacked them on his social media platform. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Roberto F. Carlos @robertocarlos.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

As I wrap up my last class of the semester, it feels appropriate to announce that I will be joining @umich.edu Political Science & @umisrcps.bsky.social this fall. While leaving my home state and my many wonderful colleagues is hard, I am super excited about what is in store in Ann Arbor. Go Blue!

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

Congratulations to Michigan for snagging an incredible scholar, mentor, and teacher! #GoBlue You've got so many wonderful things to come on the next phase of your adventure. Congrats, Roberto! 🎉🎆

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

A special hat tip to the incredible @dzobrien.bsky.social, @emilythorson.bsky.social, and Sarah Kreps for appearing on this North America list for high volume, impact, and top quality publications in our field! 🙇‍♀️🌟

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

This guy Paul Weiss is on the shortlist for a seat on SCOTUS, right?

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

What a special evening celebrating International Women's Day at WashULaw this week, hosted by the Women's Law Caucus. As she should always be, Lady Justice looms behind me, ever reminding of her presence. And did you know? WashU law has been admitting women law students since 1869!

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Reposted by Christina L. Boyd

Free Law Project ⚖ @free.law · 04/03/2025

Our new "PACER Pray and Pay Project" is launched! This project lets you "Pray" for PACER documents you want, and has a leader board where other people can "Pay" for the most-wanted items. When your prayer is granted, we let you know! Details below and here: www.courtlistener.com/help/pray-an...

An email.

Subject: "A document you requested is now on CourtListener"

Body headline: "Your Wish Has Been Granted!"

The remainder of the email then shows the details of the filing, including the name of the case, a link to the document, and closes with, "You requested it on March 3, 2025. 1 person was waiting for it. Somebody paid $0.20 to make it available to all of us."

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

I'm sure this will be widely adopted 😏

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Christina L. Boyd @theclboyd.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

As we note, “In this high-profile setting, interruptions matter, especially when disproportionally directed to the speech of women and person of color senators and nominees. Interruptions silence the original speaker and elevate the power of the interrupter.”

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