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26%

of domestic students are students of color

41%

of our doctoral students are international

58%

of political science Ph.D. students are women

Laura Jenkins

Laura Jenkins

Contact Information:

lejenk01@syr.edu

Research Collaboration:

Keith J. Bybee

Laura Jenkins

Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science Department


Graduate Research Associate, Campbell Public Affairs Institute

Bio

I am currently a Ph.D. Candidate and University Fellow at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
My dissertation "Paradise Lost: The Effect of Judicial Review on Congressional Debate" examines constitutional deliberation in Congress and assesses how Congress changed how it debated the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012).  My dissertation finds that Sebelius decreased constitutional deliberation in Congress over the ACA and changed the nature of congressional debate. After Sebelius, members of both parties expressed their acceptance of the Supreme Court’s decision. Conversely, before Sebelius members of Congress had advanced their own interpretations of constitutional clauses. My dissertation argues that the Supreme Court should not exercise judicial review in cases where the other branches of government are already engaging in a robust constitutional dialogue over the constitutional issues involved. Instead, the Supreme Court should let the democratic processes play out regardless of the outcome.

Areas of Expertise

Politics of evolutionary biology; legal inequality

Research Grant Awards and Projects

I am currently co-authoring a journal article on conceptions of "the people" that animated arguments for and against press censorship in 16th and 17th century England.

Political Science Department
100 Eggers Hall