I am a John L. Nau III Assistant Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. I study judicial politics in the United States, with particular interests in the lower federal courts and public attitudes toward the judiciary. One ongoing project considers how the U.S. federal court system shapes the decision-making of lower court judges, focusing on how judges on the U.S. Courts of Appeals change their behavior when the composition of their circuits changes. I also am working on a book project with Andrew Stone on how Americans view principles of judging and how elites communicate about these principles to the public. My current research also considers topics such as judicial behavior in voting rights cases, the public's influence on the courts, and the effects of judicial appointments and the diversification of the bench on judicial decision-making. My work is published or forthcoming in the Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy and Justice System Journal. I received a B.A. from Marquette University and a J.D. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.