Madhavi McCall

Dr. Madhavi McCall joined the SDSU Political Science department in 2001. She earned her PhD in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis, her Masters from The University of Akron and her B.A from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. McCall teaches classes in public law, concentrating on examining the relationship of politics and society to the development of legal principles. Currently, she teaches core classes in the American field dealing with the courts, including both classes in the Constitutional Law sequence (PolS 347 A and B) and Law and the Political System (PolS 346). Dr. McCall hopes to offer a class on women in the legal system soon.

Her research interests center on the voting behavior of state supreme court justices and the determinates of judicial behavior. Her dissertation examined the differences in dissent behavior on state supreme courts between 1968-1984 in abortion and antitrust cases and found that elected justices tended to exhibit more conservative voting patterns than their appointed brethren. Interested in other aspects of judicial behavior as well, she also studies the differences in the voting patterns of male and female justices as well as the influence money has on elections, with both types of research conducted on state supreme courts. Dr. McCall’s research on the United States Supreme Court tends to revolve around an examination of recent decisions and the impact these decisions may have on public policy.

An example of her published or accepted work include:“Buying Justice in Texas: The Influence of Campaign Contributions on the Voting Behavior of Texas Supreme Court Justices.” American Review of Politics, Vol. 22, Fall 2001, pages 349-373.

“Gender, Judicial Dissent and Issue Salience: Voting Behavior of State Supreme Court Justices in Sexual Harassment Cases, 1980-1998.” Forthcoming, Social Science Journal.

“The Politics of Judicial Elections: The Influence of Campaign Contributions on the Voting Patterns of Texas Supreme Court Justices, 1994-1997.” Forthcoming, Politics and Policy.

“Constitutional Rights and Technological Innovation in Criminal Justice” with Professor Christopher Smith, Michigan State University. Forthcoming, Southern Illinois Journal of Law.

“Criminal Justice and the 2001-2002 Supreme Court Term” with Christopher Smith, Michigan State University. Forthcoming, Law Review of Michigan State University - Detroit School of Law.

Dr. McCall enjoys reading, working with stain glass, and playing with her five year old son.